Our Purpose

The Church of the Mother of God is a local parish of the Orthodox Church in America, gathered together to worship God, to grow in communion with Him, and to live the life of the Gospel according to the Holy Scriptures and the Holy Tradition of the Orthodox Church.

As a parish, we seek to deepen the faith and spiritual life of our members, to welcome those who are searching for God or seeking a church home, and to share with them the fullness and beauty of the Orthodox Christian faith. We strive to educate our members and those who wish to learn more about the faith, to offer charitable assistance to those in need, and to bear witness to Christ and His Church throughout southern New Jersey.

Our purpose is ultimately simple: to know Christ, to live in Christ, and to invite others to come and see.

This Website

This website is one of the ways we seek to fulfill that mission. It provides a place where those who are already part of our parish can find information and resources, and where those who are discovering the Orthodox Church can learn more about who we are and what we believe.

Most importantly, we hope this website will encourage you to take the next step—to visit us, meet us, worship with us, and discover the life of the Orthodox Church for yourself.

Come and see!

Among the many resources available on this website are:

Calendar — upcoming services, events, and parish activities
News — parish news and announcements
Articles — articles on the Orthodox faith and Christian life
Salvation History — the story of God’s work of salvation throughout history
Prayers — prayers of the Orthodox Church

Some of these resources tell you more about our parish; others introduce the faith, worship, history, and spiritual life of the Orthodox Church.

The Orthodox Church in America

The Orthodox Church in America is a local, self-governing (autocephalous) Church within the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church established by Jesus Christ.

The Orthodox Church is the living Body of Christ. Through the Holy Scriptures, the worship and sacramental life of the Church, the teachings of the Holy Fathers, and the guidance of the Holy Spirit, the Church continues the apostolic life entrusted to her by Christ.

At the heart of this life is the Divine Liturgy. In the Eucharistic gathering of the Church, bishops, priests, deacons, and laity come together as one Body in Christ. Through worship, prayer, the Holy Mysteries, and the life of the Christian community, we are continually called to grow in communion with God and with one another.

The Orthodox Church is not simply an institution or an organization. It is a people gathered into Christ and sent into the world to proclaim the Gospel and make known the Kingdom of God.

The Orthodox Mission in North America

The Orthodox Christian mission in North America began in 1794, when a group of Orthodox monks arrived in Alaska from Russia. They came to share the Gospel and the life of the Orthodox Church with the Native peoples of Alaska.

That missionary calling continues today.

The history of the Orthodox Church in America grew from this original Russian mission and developed through a succession of dioceses and communities across North America. In 1970, the Russian Orthodox Church granted the Orthodox Church in America its autocephaly, or self-governance, through the Tomos of Autocephaly.

Today, the Orthodox Church in America understands itself as an indigenous, multi-ethnic, missionary Church, called to share the Orthodox Christian faith with all people throughout this continent.

Its life is rooted in the inheritance of the Orthodox mission in North America while looking toward the future and working for the unity of Orthodox Christians throughout the continent.

The Orthodox Church in America affirms:

Its calling to be a missionary Church, bringing the Orthodox Christian faith to all people.
Its historical roots in the Russian Orthodox mission of 1794 and the continuing development of Orthodox Christianity in North America.
Its status as a self-governing Church, with its own bishops, Primate, and ecclesiastical administration.
The hope that the various Orthodox jurisdictions in North America will one day be united as one territorial and autocephalous Orthodox Church.
Its commitment to work with other Orthodox Churches in North America toward this unity.

Where Are We Going?

As we look toward the future, our parish seeks to grow in three closely connected areas.

Growing in Christ

We seek continual spiritual renewal and growth, so that the life of Christ may become increasingly visible in us and among us.

Our hope is that those around us will encounter Christians who live with the peace, joy, mercy, humility, and love that come from life in Christ.

Reaching Out in Love

We seek to live the commandment of Christ:

“Love one another as I have loved you.”
— John 13:34

This means reaching beyond ourselves and drawing near to those who are hungry, thirsty, lonely, suffering, or in need, remembering Christ’s words that whatever we do for one of the least of His brethren, we do for Him (Matthew 25).

Missionary and charitable work are not separate from the life of the Church. They are expressions of that life.

Working Toward Orthodox Unity

We also seek to participate faithfully in the work of building a united Orthodox Church in North America, embracing the many peoples, cultures, languages, and traditions that make up the Orthodox Christian community on this continent.

What Guides Us

In our life together, we are guided by the following convictions:

The Gospel of Jesus Christ is the heart of the Church’s life. Through the Holy Spirit, the Church continues to proclaim and live the Gospel and to hand on the faith received from the Apostles.
The Church is the living Body of Christ. Her life is expressed through worship, prayer, the Holy Mysteries, Holy Scripture, Holy Tradition, and the communion of her people.
The Church is both hierarchical and conciliar. Bishops, clergy, and laity each have their proper place and responsibility within the life of the Church, working together in love, humility, obedience, trust, sacrifice, and integrity.
Every person is created in the image and likeness of God. Each person has unique gifts that can be offered for the glory of God and the building up of His Church.
Creation is God’s good gift. Although creation has been wounded by sin, through the Incarnation of the Word of God, Jesus Christ, creation is being restored and brought into its proper relationship with its Creator.
Unity does not require uniformity. The unity of the Church is expressed through the many gifts of the Holy Spirit and through the common participation of the faithful in the sacramental life of the Church.
The Church is a community of many peoples. Orthodox Christians come from many cultures, ethnic backgrounds, and languages. Following the example of the Apostle Paul, we seek to become “all things to all men” so that Christ may be “all and in all.” (1 Corinthians 9:22; Colossians 3:11)
Mission and charity belong to the very life of the Church. Having received the Gospel, we are called to share it and to serve our neighbor.
The Christian life calls us to spiritual struggle and growth. Through prayer, repentance, fasting, worship, and the cultivation of the virtues, each Christian participates in the life and growth of the Church.
Both monasticism and Christian life in the world are integral to the life of the Church. Each bears witness, in its own way, to the call to follow Christ.
The work of the Church should be conducted with integrity and openness, according to the moral and ethical principles of the Christian faith, the laws of the land, and the proper participation and consent of the people of the Church.

The Faith We Have Received

The Orthodox Church does not understand the Christian faith as something newly created by each generation. We receive the faith handed down to us through the Apostles, the Fathers, the Ecumenical Councils, the worship of the Church, and the witness of generations of faithful Christians.

The proclamation of the Seventh Ecumenical Council expresses this continuity beautifully:

“As the Prophets beheld,
As the Apostles taught,
As the Church received,
As the Teachers dogmatized,
As the Universe agreed,
As Grace illumined,
As the Truth revealed,
As falsehood passed away,
As Wisdom presented,
As Christ awarded,

Thus we declare,
Thus we assert,
Thus we proclaim Christ our true God
and honor His saints,

In words,
In writings,
In sacrifices,
In churches,
In holy icons.

On the one hand, worshiping and reverencing Christ as God and Lord;
and on the other hand, honoring and venerating His Saints as true servants of the same Lord.

This is the Faith of the Apostles.
This is the Faith of the Fathers.
This is the Faith of the Orthodox.
This is the Faith which has established the Universe.”

This is the faith we seek to receive, live, preserve, and share.

And so, whether you are already Orthodox, returning to the Church, searching for a deeper relationship with God, or simply curious about the Orthodox Christian faith, you are welcome to come and see.

Purpose