The Beginning of St. Michael The Archangel
By The Rev. Dr. John Flora

On Sunday, January 4, 2004 Saint Michael the Archangel Orthodox Mission offered its first
worship service as a community of catechumens in the chapel of Saint George Cathedral.
After thirty-one years of ministry as a priest of the Episcopal Church, I led worship as a
layman in a Western Rite Mission of the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese.
On our first Sunday most of the congregation were former members of the Episcopal parish
I served for 21 years as rector. 

 

My first contact with Orthodoxy was during my studies at the General Theological Seminary
in New York City in the late sixties. I became a member of the Fellowship of Saint Alban
and Saint Sergius, an ecumenical dialogue group comprised of Anglicans and Orthodox.
I also frequented the services of the Coptic community which worshipped in the seminary
chapel on Sunday afternoons.

 

In 1976 I was married to a very devout Catholic woman who for the sake of unity in our family
became an Episcopalian. The following year during our first summer vacation as a couple
she insisted that we attend a Russian Orthodox Church in East Hartford, Connecticut. We
both loved the beauty and power of the liturgy and felt nurtured by the warm welcome we
received. Today, we know that God was speaking to us and calling us to Holy Orthodoxy.

 

From 1982 to 1986 I worked on a doctorate in liturgy from the Virginia Theological Seminary
in Alexandria. My dissertation was entitled, “Pastoral Leadership and Eucharistic
Presidency in the Pre-Nicene Church. ”For my research I read many Patristic sources
and Orthodox theologians and began to love and embrace the theological vision of Orthodoxy.

 

In 1989 I took my first trip to the Holy Land and I became acquainted with the Palestinian
Christian community which is overwhelmingly Greek Orthodox. I have had the privilege to
experience Orthodox Holy Week in Jerusalem seven times and studied at Saint George
College an Anglican school dedicated to the study of the history and the religious heritage
of the Holy Land. During my time there I was exposed to the life and worship of the Orthodox
in Jerusalem. I came to love the Palestinian people and the faith that has sustained the
Christian Arab community through over fifty years of occupation.

 

Ever since the beginning of Eighth Day Books Warren Farha has been a friend to both me
and my wife. Warren and his wife Chris have been a source of strength to us as we struggled
with being a clergy family in a denomination that was increasingly rejecting the very foundation
doctrines of authentic Christianity. Through both of them and others at Saint George’s God
was calling us home.

 

Several years ago we decided that when I retired we would become Orthodox. After the
Episcopal Church decided to confirm the election of a homosexual priest as Bishop of
New Hampshire my wife and I said, We cannot remain Episcopalians any longer. Shortly
after this decision I had my first of many meetings with Bishop Basil and Fr. Paul O'Callaghan.
The result of our praying and talking will be realized when Saint Michael’s has it first service
of Matins on January 4th. The warm welcome we have received from the Cathedral, its clergy,
people and Parish Council is confirmation that the journey we are making is God's will.

 

God willing our little mission will grow and offer spiritual safety to others who feel betrayed by denominations which are abandoning Christianity. On Easter Day 2004 I was ordained to the
holy priesthood and Saint Michael's Mission was established as the third Antiochian
congregation in Wichita and Kansas’ first Western Rite parish. It has been a long journey
and it is so good to arrive Home.