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Brief History of our Parish

 

St John of Chicago parish began in May 2011 as a "mission station" of the Orthodox Church in America (OCA).  Our first services were held in the basement of one of our parishioner's home.  This space was just the right size to accommodate our small group.  In October 2011, we moved to a location in the Prairie Creek community, just east of Rogers, Arkansas. Through the dedicated efforts and contributions of our parishioners, we were been able to make this space beautiful, in spite of the limitations of being located in a  strip-

mall. We purchased the building at our current location in February, 2015 and, after an extensive renovation, moved in on April 1, 2015, just in time for Holy Week.

 

In August 2012, we were granted "mission status" by the OCA and given the name "St John of Chicago". St John Kochurov was a missionary of the Russian Orthodox Church during the first decades of the 20th century.  He helped establish churches in the Chicago area, as well as parishes in Buffalo, NY, Hartshorne, OK and, possibly, Slovak, Arkansas.  St John returned to Russia in 1907 and, on October 31, 1917, was arrested by the Bolsheviks and shot outside of the city of Tsarskoe Selo, becoming the first martyr of the Bolshevik revolution.  His feast day is October 31. In November of 2023 we were elevated to parish status.

 

Our desire, as a parish, is to love and serve the people of Northwest Arkansas, imitating St John in his love, service and missionary zeal.

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