Our Community
History of St. Michael Orthodox Church
St. Michael’s Antiochian Mission was started in 1994 at Ft. Rucker, Al. to meet the worship needs of the Wiregrass region since the closest Orthodox Churches were more than two hours away.
Fr. Isaiah Gillette was our first Priest. Fr. Isaiah became the Army Chaplain in 1995, and, when he was transferred to Missouri, the Mission moved to Dothan, Al.
Following the move, visiting priest Fr. Michael Keiser and Fr. Andrew Moore kept the Mission going serving the Holy Eucharist twice a month.
Fr. Andrew Moore was coming the 1st and 3rd Sundays each month from St. Stephen’s church in Hiram, Georgia, so that the Mission could have the Holy Eucharist twice a month!
St Michael started with five families attending regularly, and with five additional visitors attending.
The Present of St. Michael Orthodox Church
We are happy to announce that, starting in June 2022, Our Mission is able to have regular Services every Sunday at 10:00 AM. This is a milestone for our church, as we have not had regular services in the previous 20 years.
Currently, the congregation has a limited income. As we continue to grow, we would like to be able to be able to support a full-time priest, as well as expand our charitable and educational mission in the community.
Community outreach is part of our mission statement, and we feel there are many Orthodox families in the area, as well as people in need, that would be able to benefit.
Fr. Ernesto and Deacon Simeon are now performing services every Sunday (please see our schedule ).
See our pictures and videos here.
The Future of St. Michael Orthodox Church
Currently our church is at the beginning of a journey of growth. Eventually, the community is projected to reach a level where a full time priest will be able to live in the area close to his community. At that point, we would look towards constructing a church building. Until then, we are blessed we have a good starting point at our current location (see our address and contact information below).
We are grateful for your presence and support. You can help by visiting our church services, and becoming a member of our growing church family.
Orthodoxy is not just a religion. It is a culture that has a history of 2000 years, as the oldest and unchanged branch of Christianity.
We invite you to start exploring it by attending our Sunday Divine Liturgy and Saturday Vespers (please see our Announcements page for details)