WELCOME TO OUR CHURCH
Two milestones define the history of the ecclesiastical body: the Pentecost, the day the Church was founded, and the Kingdom of Heavens, the ultimate destination of the Church. Christ, as the "new humanity" (Eph. 2:15) and as the "last Adam" (I Cor. 15:45) came on earth "doing good and healing" (Acts 10:38) and paved the way for those "shielded by God's power until the coming of the salvation" (I Pet. 1:5).
Since Pentecost, the day on which the Church was formed and began to exist historically, the Church meets, embraces, and receives the entire humankind to make humans partakers of God. Like open arms to all people, the Church's ontology is evident in the icon of the Pentecost. In this icon, the Apostles form a semicircle rather than a closed circle. This arrangement depicts the Church as an entity without borders in its communication with the people. The Church does not raise walls yet embraces all people without ethnic, racial, cultural, or other discrimination.
The Archdiocese of Thyateira and Great Britain, under the guidance of His Eminence Archbishop Nikitas, follows the Church tradition in setting love as the central pole of the Christian life, within which all people, as persons, are being included and, through people, all cultures are being included. The Orthodox Church in the United Kingdom unites by distinguishing and distinguishes by uniting. The Orthodox Church in the United Kingdom harmonises the wealth that each person carries along with the faith to the Pentecost and the Kingdom of Heavens, so as "we may live a new life" (Rom. 6.4).
The Parish and Community of St John the Baptist, in North London, is an eloquent example of this effort for all people to join the path of new life in Christ. Our Parish celebrates the religious and cultural legacy of all the first-generation migrants who came from Cyprus and Greece to the United Kingdom for a better future. At the same time, our Parish embraces the subsequent generations, proudly acknowledging Orthodox faith as an indispensable part of their identity. Moreover, our Parish opens to British society and welcomes every single person of goodwill, seeking Christ.
We all have a common destination: the haven of God's love. We all share what St Hippolytus of Rome stated: "The Church is like a ship tossed in the deep, but not destroyed, for she has with her the skilled Pilot, Christ." (On Christ and the Antichrist, 59).
We look forward to seeing you at our Church!
