Video Collection What is the Orthodox Church? with Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick An Introduction to the Orthodox Worship Space with Frederica Mathewes-Green The Chasm Between What We Read and How We Live - Abbot Seraphim A Heart on Fire for All Creation (Chronicles of the Desert Episode 11) The Holy Fire of Jerusalem (The Reliquary) St. Arsenios the Seeker of Silence Holy Ground - St. Catherine's Monastery on Mt. Sinai with Fr. Justin Sinaites Cloaked in Faith and Humility: the Life of St, Gabriel, Fool for Christ St. Hermione Of the First Unmercenary Healers A Wellspring of Humility Saint Nektarios of Aegina Elder Joseph the Hesychast and the Jesus Prayer With the Eyes of the Soul: The Life of St. Porphyrios Vessel of Grace: The Life of Saint Paisios the Athonite A Visit to the Holy Mountain Athos (60 Minutes Documentary) Modern Demons: How Politics Breaks Us Apart Saint Spyridon the Wonderworker (and Champion of Orthodoxy) You Shall Not Partake: Abbot Tryphon Holy Ground: St. Catherine's Monastery on Mt. Sinai with Fr. Justin Sinaites Is Christian Forgiveness too easy? Bishop Irenei Answers:

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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

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 (770)639-3641 Mail priest@saintjamesorthodoxchurch.org 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! Christine Reindl - President Andy Roussey -Treasurer Beth Green - Secretary Tara Freeman - Antiochian Women's Group Leah Baumgardner - Sunday School Co-Director Steven Reif - Antiochian Men's Group (AMEN) Khouria Christine Ritter - Choir Director Kaytee Newton and Leah Baumgardner Sunday School Directors Lorez Roussey Coffee Hour Coordinator Jessica Green Digital Media/Newsletter Editor-At-Large

Use Paypal to make a donation to St. James Orthodox Church Please Bring All Donations for Good Samaritan Food Ministries to the Tote Bin in the Narthex October Charity Collection Please Donate Toiletries and Hygiene products Community Rewards 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.”

St. James Orthodox Church is more than a building, we are a family, celebrating together. 1/2 IMG_6482 IMG_6482 1/1 IMG_6482 IMG_6482 1/1 Evan & Jessica Green Wedding October 2023 IMG_6482 IMG_6482 1/1 Evan & Jessica Green Wedding October 2023 IMG_6482 IMG_6482 1/1 Installing and Blessing St. James Orthodox Church Playground 2024 487216948_1057212096435854_5051896718611965539_n 487299890_1057212159769181_5245701093057045677_n 486553812_1057212109769186_7598852601209410764_n 487216948_1057212096435854_5051896718611965539_n 1/27 Baptism of Sarah (Marina) Swope 2024 000 487134920_1057209813102749_5268848091746983155_n 486724936_1057209766436087_9188945593353998706_n 000 1/52 First Service at New Location (McEver Road, Gainesville, GA) January 24th, 2024 485140124_1052291640261233_4087270908331087523_n 484814634_1052291963594534_7670108102836682455_n 484954226_1052293170261080_8946948980769822372_n 485140124_1052291640261233_4087270908331087523_n 1/26 Installation of the New Holy Table at St. James Orthodox Church 2024 20241114_182501 20241114_182509 20241114_182412 20241114_182501 1/22 Baptism of Alan Panter 2024 486549204_1057212349769162_3495819200340511240_n 486670302_1057212666435797_8258245343165986092_n 486647439_1057213579769039_3167781371140717275_n 486549204_1057212349769162_3495819200340511240_n 1/58 Tonsuring of Subdeacons Mike Doster & Jason Jardina 2023 Ren1 DSC_1449 IMG_6482 Ren1 1/26 Wedding Ceremony of Evan (Sebastian) and Jessica (Mary) Green 2023 IMG_6482 IMG_6482 1/1 Tonsuring of Readers Evan (Sebatian) Green & Jason Lambros 2023 20231029_101512 20231029_101557 07f2c5fa-ea0e-45c5-96aa-5e786eea6da1 20231029_101512 1/104 Churching of Maximos Saba 2023 20230820_101727 20230820_102005 20230820_101334 20230820_101727 1/21 Baptism of Leah (The Righteous) Bumgartner 2023 347245732_805977694464832_5079130576703868867_n 349687312_539946051471277_8827938894334381061_n 347260284_1422389361883196_6460613687584954751_n 347245732_805977694464832_5079130576703868867_n 1/10 Holy Saturday 2023 Screenshot 2026-06-02 at 13-37-29 Image Blurriness Issue 81872c95-1c6b-467c-ad63-a39c418dd13e image Screenshot 2026-06-02 at 13-37-29 Image Blurriness Issue 1/17 Sunday of Orthodoxy 2023 20230305_115439 20230305_115433 20230305_115400 20230305_115439 1/12 Baptism of Ella Ash IMG_7110 IMG_7512 IMG_7289 IMG_7110 1/25 Baptism of Tammy Nash TammyNash_Baptism_25 TammyNash_Baptism_20 TammyNash_Baptism_22 TammyNash_Baptism_25 1/27 Baptism of Basil Ritter IMG_6895 - Copy IMG_7038 IMG_7021 IMG_6895 - Copy 1/29

St. James Orthodox Church Sunday School SUNDAY SCHOOL IN NOW IN SESSION to enroll your student please contact Leah and Kaytee sundayschool@saintjamesorthodoxchurch.org Dear parents, Regular Sunday school attendance is of the utmost importance for our children and teens to fully benefit from these lessons. ALL CLASSES MEET IN THE "St. James Village" Classroom is in "Love" (Cabin 3 closest to the hall) St. James Sunday School) Kid's Class (3-12): Immediately Following Communion Teen Class (13-18) : During Coffee Hour Children should line up to receive Holy Communion right after the altar servers, newly illumined, etc. and then follow teachers to their classrooms. Please pray for our Sunday school program, students, and teachers. As always, it is a blessing to teach your children. Parents and Teacher Resources: The Antiochian Orthodox Department of Christian Education (AODCE) Orthodox Pebbles Ancient Faith KIDS

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!

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 The Very Rev. Archpriest Steven Ritter Priest Rev. Anthony Bridges Deacon Rev. Ted Werthmuller Deacon Khouria Christine Ritter Choir Director Christine Reindl Parish Council President Tara Freeman Antiochian Women's Group - President Steven Reif Antiochian Men's Group [AMEN] President Andy Roussey Treasurer Leah Baumgardner Sunday School Co-Director Kaytee Newton Sunday School Co-Director Jessica Green Digital Media Director/Newsletter Editor-At-Large Beth Green Parish Council Secretary Lorez Roussey Coffee Hour Coordinator Our Parish Council Christine Reindl - President Andy Roussey -Treasurer Beth Green - Secretary Tara Freeman - Antiochian Women's Group Leah Baumgardner - Sunday School Co-Director Steven Reif - Antiochian Men's Group (AMEN) Mary King - Member At Large Allan Panter - Member At Large Jessica Green - Member At Large Khouria Christine Ritter - Choir Director Kaytee Newton and Leah Baumgardner Sunday School Directors Lorez Roussey Coffee Hour Coordinator Jessica Green Digital Media/Newsletter Editor-At-Large

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

Our Bi-Monthly Newsletter! Stay Up-To-Date with everything going on at St. James Orthodox Church in Gainesville, GA Issue #42 October 2026 The Nativity Fast. "On the Upcoming Fasting Season" "Who to Contact at Saint James" From the Priest: What Does Autumn Mean To You? From the Priest: What Does Autumn Mean To You?... Who to contact at St. James...