Community Leaders

Community Milestones

2007, spring
Father Justin Foster is assigned as assistant priest. Holy Apostles is now able to have a full liturgical cycle including festal liturgies and weekly Great Vespers.

2004
Chapel expansion/renovation adds ten extra feet of space along the right side, increasing the total inside space by 400 square feet.

2001, December 24th
Remodeling of "Hovey House", Renovation of Chapel, First Service in Chapel on Hovey Ave., Normal.

2001, February 10th
Deacon John Dickson Brown, ordained an Orthodox Priest, and is assigned Priest-in-Charge, by Bishop JOB.

2000, September 23rd
Sub-deacon John Dickson Brown, ordained Deacon by His Grace, Bishop JOB.

2000, fall
Holy apostles purchases 2.36 acres of land, at 1702 W. Hovey Avenue in South West Normal.

2000, August
Holy Apostles incorporates, adopts bylaws, and organizes a Parish Council—the first step of growing from a Mission into a Church.

1999, October 4th
The OCCBN becomes Holy Apostles and is elevated to full mission status.

1998, February
Weekly Sunday morning services begin.

1998, January 6th
Bishop JOB blesses the OCCBN as a mission station under St. Joseph's Church of Wheaton.

1997, December 24th
1st Divine Liturgy of the OCCBN

1997, fall
Birth of the OCCBN (Orthodox Christian Community of Bloomington-Normal)

1970s–1980s
First organized Orthodox presence

How We Began

Back in the late 1970's Mr. Nicholas Brill initiated an Orthodox University mission for students at ISU, under His Grace Bishop Boris. Because of the transitory nature of the student population this effort ended in the early 1980's. In the spring of 1997, after a fairly long series of email correspondence with Fr. John Matusiak, John Iliff converted to Orthodoxy. After several talks with Fr. John he agreed to spearhead the formation of a mission station in Bloomington-Normal, Illinois. Contacts were made with other Orthodox Christians in the Bloomington-Normal area. Most often these Orthodox Christians had no idea that there were other Orthodox locally. "I thought I was theonly one!" was a common refrain. By the fall of 1997 a small nucleus of people had been gathered expressing an interest in Orthodoxy in general and in the formation of a community in particular. Temporary quarters were secured on the campus of Illinois Wesleyan University in Bloomington. On Christmas Eve 1997, Fr. Mark Stevens celebrated the first Divine Liturgy for what became known as the Orthodox Christian Community of Bloomington-Normal.

On January 6, 1998, Bishop JOB gave his blessing to organize the mission as a part of St. Joseph's parish, no doubt due in part to the B-N mission's relative geographical isolation to other OCA communities. Fr. Mark and Nancy Stevens transferred to St. Andrew's parish in New Port Richey, Florida shortly thereafter. Clergy from St. Joe's began traveling from Wheaton to B-N on a weekly basis to celebrate services and provide organizational guidance. As word spread, more individuals and families began attending services. For several this was their first ever opportunity to "see" and "feel" Orthodoxy, not just read about it in a textbook. For about six months the mission community held services in a chapel connected to Holy Trinity Church.

In June of 1999 services were moved across the street to the Chapel of Central Catholic High School. At that time the morning Divine Liturgy was moved to 9:30AM and a Church School program was initiated. Fr. Alex Lisenko celebrates the Liturgy on the 2nd and 4th Sundays of each month, and Deacons John Coleman and Joe Kopka celebrate the Proliturgy on other Sundays.

Impressed with the growth of the B-N mission, his Grace Bishop JOB made his first archpastoral visit to the mission station in the summer of 1998. With the appointment of Fr. Basil Aden as Midwest Diocesan mission director, additional guidance is being offered to the downstate OCA'er's. In 1998, the parishioners of St. Luke's parish in Palos Park donated their mission baptistery for use in Bloomington-Normal. It is hoped that this will become a tradition, and that the baptistery will travel to future mission communities for the building up of God's Kingdom. On January 13th, 1999 Father Basil presided at the mission's first annual meeting, at which it was decided that the mission would work to obtain its own resident priest hopefully by Pascha 2000.

His Grace Bishop JOB made his second archpastoral visit to Bloomington-Normal on October 4, 1999. His Grace celebrated the Liturgy with us and elevated our mission station community to full mission status. He also bestowed on us our new patronal name, which immediately became part of our emerging identity. Many of us are from church backgrounds that had no bishops or (as in my case) the bishop was an administrator in a distant city. It has been a delight to relate to our Bishop as spiritual father and as a flesh and blood human being. How fortunate we are.

We are about 50-50 "cradle/convert", with the riches of Greek, Serbian, Belarusian, and Russian Orthodox heritages currently represented. Several of us have returned to active, regular practice of their Orthodox faith after years away. Our converts range from Roman Catholic to evangelical Protestant, Lutheran and other backgrounds. Age-wise we are a young group. We are especially pleased to have our Fr. John Dickson Brown, and his wife Patty and sons have been an integral part of our mission effort from the beginning. Fr. John comes from an evangelical Protestant and Anglican-Catholic background, serves as an Army Reserve chaplain, and also currently is serving as a Chaplain with the Federal Prison System in Pekin, Illinois. He and Matushka Patty bring many gifts and talents for service in God's Church.

We are a focused group that enjoys time with one another, and look forward to reaching out to our friends and neighbors with the timeless truths of Holy Orthodoxy.

Lastly, our motto is: "Building a vibrant Orthodox Christian community in a contemporary American setting." God willing, we will!