August 25, 2023 - Utica, New York

His Eminence, Archbishop Stephen will celebrate the Feast of the Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos on August 27th and 28th at the Metropolitan's Chapel at the Episcopal Residence. His Eminence will preside at the Great Vigil on Sunday evening, August 27th at 6:30 pm at the Chapel. On Monday morning, August 28th, the Feast of the Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos, His Eminence will celebrate Divine Liturgy at 8:00 am. A community meal breaking the fast will be held immediately after Divine Liturgy in the Episcopal Residence.

August 1, 2023 - Utica, New York

The Italo-Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of the Americas and Canada today launched a completely redesigned website in an effort to streamline existing information, provide more intuitive navigation, and create moments of “encounter” for visitors to www.igoarchusa.org.The new website, which is mobile-friendly is aimed first and foremost at Orthodox Catholics in the pews and those people who may want to inquire about the Orthodox Catholic faith or a local parish for the first time.

“We are called to ‘Go and make disciples.’ That means meeting people where they are, even if it’s on a website,” said Archbishop Stephen, Primate of the Italo-Greek Byzantine Orthodox Catholic Church and Ruling Hierarch of the Italo-Greek Orthodox Holy Metropolitan Archdiocese of the Americas and Canada, “We don’t simply want to provide facts and information; we want to provide an opportunity for people to make a personal connection with the Italo-Greek Byzantine Orthodox Catholic Church and the Italo-Greek Orthodox Archdiocese, and through that connection, to experience the love and mercy of Jesus Christ at work in their lives.”

New features on the website include a “How to Become..." that covers such topics as becoming an Orthodox Catholic Christian, becoming a priest, finding a parish, or making a donation. Other new highlights include a brief history of the Archdiocese, individual pages for several of the Archdiocese's principal ministries, and a clean and contemporary design that makes it easy to search out the necessary information. All of the Archdiocese’s offices and departments have pages, as do critical ministries that are of particular importance to Orthodox Catholics from the region: faith formation, marriage and family life, respect life, evangelization, and more. The home page design has photo icons to take visitors to some of the most popular pages and to the Archdiocese’s key partner organizations.

“After much study and careful planning, it became clear that the most sought-after information on the website was information about the Archdiocese and the Italo-Greek Byzantine Orthodox Catholic Church, parish listings, and key ministry information. We worked closely with our designer and developer to create a site that is both intuitive and informational for visitors, no matter what their reason for seeking us out,” said Krishan Sesathpura, Chief of Staff for the Office of the Archbishop. “We want to engage visitors, whether that’s through email, phone calls, in-person visits, or registrations. Faith is about a person-to-person experience, and we’re hoping this new site will encourage and invite that kind of interaction among our staff and the people and parishes, missions, and congregations we serve throughout the Archdiocese.”

The site was designed by Orthodox Web Solutions

CONTACT:

Krishan Sesathpura

Chancery Office