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Located in Gainesville, Georgia. St. James Orthodox Church is an Eastern Orthodox Parish of the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America. St. James Orthodox Church Gainesville, Georgia REGULAR WEEKLY SCHEDULE Saturday Evening Vespers 4: 00 PM Sunday Morning Orthros 9: 00 AM Sunday Morning Divine Liturgy 10:00 AM Full Calendar You are Welcome! Contact us, and plan your visit to St. James Orthodox Church First Name Last Name Email Write a message Submit Thanks for submitting! You Can Now Use PayPal to Donate to St. James Orthodox Church St. James Orthodox Church is located in Gainesville, Georgia, in the northeast metropolitan Atlanta area, serving all of north and northeast Georgia. Founded in 2013, we are a quickly growing mission of the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America . Our services are family-friendly and are celebrated in English. "C ome and see." (John 1:46) Join Our Livestream Service via YouTube Daily Readings Weekly Bulletin Listen to Fr. Steven's Weekly Sermon 2025-02-23 Sunday of the Last Judgment 00:00 / 18:28 Click Here! To Hear Additional Sermons by Fr. Steven Ritter More Videos

Use Paypal to make a donation to St. James Orthodox Church Use Paypal to make a donation to St. James Orthodox Church The way to God lies through love of people. At the Last Judgment I shall not be asked whether I was successful in my ascetic exercises, nor how many bows and prostrations I made. Instead I shall be asked did I feed the hungry, clothe the naked, visit the sick and the prisoners. That is all I shall be asked. About every poor, hungry and imprisoned person the Savior says 'I': 'I was hungry and thirsty, I was sick and in prison.' To think that he puts an equal sign between himself and anyone in need. I always knew it, but now it has somehow penetrated to my sinews. It fills me with awe.”

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Welcome Visitors! Whether you are a curious inquirer or a visitor from another Orthodox parish, please know that you are welcome at St. James. Many of the members of our congregation journeyed to the Orthodox Church from other Christian faith traditions and denominations and some non-Christian religious and spiritual traditions. So whether you are “on a journey” or just wanting to visit a local Orthodox parish, we would be honored to have you join us for prayer and worship. 3579 McEver Road, Gainesville, GA 30504 Phone Mail (770)639-3641 frstevenr@gmail.com St. James Facebook Page You are Welcome! Contact us, and plan your visit to St. James Orthodox Church First Name Last Name Email Write a message Submit Thanks for submitting!

Please enjoy Fr. Steven Ritter's weekly sermons online, or come and see them every Sunday at our Divine Liturgy. Weekly Sunday Sermons The sermon is delivered by Father Steven Ritter each week on Sunday 2023-09-10 Sunday before the Exaltation of the Cross(1) Fr. Steven Ritter 00:00 / 15:32 2023-09-03 Thirteenth Sunday after Pentecost Fr. Steven Ritter 00:00 / 17:05 2023-08-27 Twelfth Sunday after Pentecost(1) Fr. Steven Ritter 00:00 / 17:11 2023-08-20 Eleventh Sunday after Pentecost Fr. Steven Ritter 00:00 / 15:43 VIEW ALL 2023 Archive

St. James Orthdox Church Family Photo Album St. James Orthodox Church is more than a building, we are a family, celebrating together. Leah Bumgartner Baptism 1/2 Holy Saturday 2023 1/5 Tammy Nash Baptism 1/3 Sunday of Orthodoxy 2023 1/2 Ella Ash Baptism 1/3 Basil Ritter Baptism 1/4

St. James Orthodox Church Kids & Teens Dear parents, Regular Sunday school attendance is of the utmost importance for our children and teens to fully benefit from these lessons. *Preschool – 1st Grade (ages 3-6) Class meets in Classroom A, immediately following Holy Communion *Elementary, Grades 2nd – 5th (ages 7-10) Class meets in Classroom B, immediately following Holy Communion **Young Teens & Tweens, Grades 6th – 9th (ages 11-14) Class meets in Classroom A, during coffee hour Children in the two younger classes will line up to receive Holy Communion right after the altar servers, newly illumined, etc. and then go quickly to their classrooms. Please pray for our Sunday school program, students, and teachers. As always, it is a blessing to teach your children. In Christ, Sh. Sophia Bridges - Sunday School Director Mail The Antiochian Orthodox Department of Christian Education (AODCE) Orthodox Pebbles Ancient Faith KIDS

With Father Steven Ritter This weekly series features the lesser known saints of the Orthodox Church, Narrated by Fr. Steven Ritter, Pastor of St. James Orthodox Church in Buford, Georgia Holy Martyr Charitine (October 5) Holy Martyrs Isaac and Joseph, the Brothers of Georgia (September 16) Holy Martyr Sozon (September 7) The New-Martyr Angelis (September 1) Vassa of Edessa (August 21)

About Us “And the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch.” Acts 11:26 St. James first began as the "Gwinnett Orthodox Mission" and had its first Divine Liturgy in a classroom at Mountain View High School in Lawrenceville on March 3, 2013. The services at St. James are all in English and are meant to meet the spiritual needs of the Orthodox faithful regardless of ethnic, national, or jurisdictional background. Whether you are an inquirer or a visitor from another Orthodox parish, please know that you are welcome at St. James. Whether you are “on a journey” or just wanting to visit a local Orthodox parish, we would be honored to have you join us for prayer and worship. Our Story St. James Orthodox Church was first established to serve those Orthodox Christians in Northern Georgia and Metropolitan Atlanta, and surrounding areas who have been commuting long distances to attend an Orthodox Church (or perhaps even not attending a church at all), and also to serve as a witness to those who are interested in learning about and becoming Orthodox. St. James is part of the ancient Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch, where The Book of Acts tells us the first believers were mockingly called “Christians” (Acts 11:26). We are part of the world-wide Eastern Orthodox Church community, which includes national churches in traditionally Orthodox countries like Russia, Greece, Romania, Serbia, the Middle East, and India but also many other countries that you might not expect. There are over 250 million Eastern Orthodox Christians in the world today and over 1 million in the United States. While many Orthodox churches in the U.S. continue worship in the original language of immigrant populations, an increasing number of Orthodox churches now have their services in all or mostly English. The services at St. James are all in English and are meant to meet the spiritual needs of the Orthodox faithful regardless of ethnic, national, or jurisdictional background. St. James first began as the "Gwinnett Orthodox Mission" and had its first Divine Liturgy in a classroom at Mountain View High School in Lawrenceville on March 3, 2013. It wasn't long before we outgrew that location and moved to a store-front location on Horizon Parkway in Buford. Our attendance has been steadily growing since then, and we are grateful to announce we have finally moved into a permanent location in Gainesville, Georgia in 2024! Whether you are an inquirer or a visitor from another Orthodox parish, please know that you are welcome at St. James. Many of the members of our congregation journeyed to the Orthodox Church from other Christian faith traditions and denominations and some non-Christian religious and spiritual traditions. So whether you are “on a journey” or just wanting to visit a local Orthodox parish, we would be honored to have you join us for prayer and worship. Meet Our Staff His Beatitude JOHN X Patriarch of Antioch and all the East The Most Rev. Metropolitan SABA Archbishop of New York and Metropolitan of the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America The Right Rev. Bishop NICHOLAS Diocese of Miami & the Southeast Fr. Steven Ritter Pastor Fr. Anthony Bridges Deacon Khouria Christine Ritter Choir Director Tom Taratsas Parish Council President Tara Freeman Antiochian Women's Group - President Steven Reif Antiochian Men's Group [AMEN] President Our Parish Council Tom Taratsas - President Andy Roussey -Treasurer Beth Green - Secretary Norma Whitten - Member At Large Steven Reif - Member At Large Christine Reindl - Member At Large Sh. Sophia Bridges Librarian and Sunday School Director Kathy Downer Coffee Hour Coordinator Jessica Green Digital Media/Newsletter Editor

The Holy Apostle James the Just Brother of the Lord, First Bishop of Jerusalem, and Author of the Epistle "Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded." (James 4:8) A s one of his last blessings of new church communities, His Eminence M etropolitan Philip of blessed memory graciously granted us a charter and name for our church in honor of St. James th e Apostle, First Bishop of Jerusalem and the Brother of our Lord Jesus Christ, whose feast-day is celebrated on October 23. St. James has a lot of titles, more than most, doesn't he? It can get confusing – there are two other James that are also listed as "apostles." These other two, James son of Zebedee (and brother of St. John the Theologian) and James the son of Alphaeus (and brother of St. Matthew the Apostle and Evangelist) are of the "twelve" apostles originally called by our Lord Jesus Christ. James the Brother of the Lord (also known as the "just" or the "righteous") is not one of the original twelve apostles, but he is one of four saints from apostolic times whom the church has also designated as "apostles" (of the "Seventy" mentioned in St. Luke's gospel) whose writings are included in the New Testament, the other three being St. Paul, St. Mark the Evangelist, and St. Luke the Evangelist. The four are included in all the collections of the lives of the Apostles, and in fact the life of St. James says that he was appointed Bishop of Jerusalem not only by the other Apostles, but by the Lord also! St. James's authority is confirmed by his mention in Chapter 15 of the Book of Acts, where he makes the deciding judgment at the First Council of Jerusalem, despite the fact that Sts. Peter, Paul, and Barnabas were there and spoke also. His decision was put into the text of the first Apostolic letter that went to the churches with the conciliar decisions. For this reason he is considered an Apostle in equal dignity to those of the "twelve." His piety was a cause of renown everywhere, and he was held in the utmost respect by all for his 26 years of episcopal service. St. James is of course the author of the canonical Epistle of St. James, and of the very first Christian liturgy in existence, which is still served today, and which our church celebrates at least two times a year. St. James is called Brother of the Lord or Brother of God because he is the son of St. Joseph the Betrothed (one of four brothers), the husband of the Most-holy Mother of God, by St. Joseph's first wife, Salome, and thereby a stepbrother of our Lord Jesus Christ, who is both God and man. This appellation leads some people to mistakenly think that the Mother of God had other children aside from our Lord, but this is simply not true, as the term "brother" was much more expansive in apostolic times than our current understanding. Finally, St. James, after incurring the wrath of the Scribes and Pharisees (who admired him, mistakenly believing that he shared their opinions) who asked him to proclaim his teachings from the summit of the Temple during the Passover, was cast down to the ground by the same when he gave an unexpected confession of true faith in Jesus Christ. He survived the fall, whereupon they then stoned him and clubbed him fatally on the head. He reposed in 61 or 62 AD under the reign of the Emperor Nero, and many considered his martyrdom the cause for the subsequent calamities that befell Jerusalem during Vespasian's invasion of Jerusalem in 67 AD, and its fall in 70 AD. Holy Hieromartyr and Apostle James, pray to God for us!

Our Parish Library St. James has a small but very functional and well-organized parish lending library to serve both adult and children's Orthodox religious educational needs. Our library is conveniently located in the Coffee Hour area, and a volunteer library helper is available there every Sunday morning after Divine Liturgy to help patrons find and check out books. Please refer to the St. James Parish Library Collection document (last updated on April 22, 2015) for a list of books that are available. See Our Library Collection New Titles to Borrow at St. James Parish Library Children of my Heart: Finding Christ Through Adoption by Ashley Lackovich Van-Gorp Rock and Sand:An Orthodox Appraisal by Fr. Josiah Trenham Face to Face: Knowing God Beyond Our Shame by Fr. Stephen Freeman Apocrypha: An Introduction to Extra-Biblical Literature by Fr. Stephen de Young

Orthodox Christianity The Orthodox Christian Church, also called the "Eastern Orthodox," "Greek Orthodox" Church, or simply "the Orthodox Church," is the oldest Christian Church in the world, founded by Jesus Christ and with its beginnings chronicled in the New Testament. (Our own Patriarchate of Antioch, one of the most ancient of Orthodox churches, was originally founded in A.D. 34 by Ss. Peter and Paul. All other Christian churches and groups can be traced historically back to it. With roughly 250 million members worldwide, Orthodoxy is second in size only to the Roman Catholic Church. However, in spite of its size, relatively few Americans are aware that it exists. The Orthodox Church has deep and lasting roots in Christian antiquity and is steeped in rich Biblical tradition. It has been the context of Christian living for millions of Christians for almost twenty centuries. Yet one cannot understand the Orthodox Church merely by reading about it. Just as reading a biography about someone is no substitute for knowing the biography's subject personally, Orthodox Christianity must be experienced firsthand to be understood.