On December 4/17, the Russian Orthodox parish of Holy Greatmartyr Barbara in Orange County celebrated its patronal feast day. Founded in 2006 on the slopes of Southern California’s former “Orange Empire”, the mission is the only Russian Orthodox parish between Los Angeles and San Diego. It was organized by a parishioner from L.A. Natalia Hayes and her American husband had set up a chapel in their own home and named it in honor of their daughter Varvara’s patron saint.

At first, services were held rarely. But in 2011 a permanent priest, Fr. Georgy Gulin, was appointed to serve the community. A graduate of the Moscow Theological Seminary, he had previously served in Chicago and Sacramento. Together with his devoted Matushka and six adolescent children, the Gulin family was able to expand the parish and rent a spacious hall for worship, providing it with a massive central chandelier from Greece, a large mosaic altar icon from the Trinity-Sergius Lavra, a set of bells, all the necessary church items, numerous icons and a significant number of holy relics. The Church of Saints Peter and Paul in Santa Rosa gifted a beautiful carved iconostasis, and the analogion icon of St. Barbara was written by Matushka herself. Architecture apart, one may feel that they are standing in a small cozy church somewhere in the Moscow region rather than in a rented warehouse.

The holy items in the temple include the icons with the relics of St. John the Baptist, Holy Great-martyrs Barbara and Anastasia, Holy Hierarchs Nicholas and Spyridon, Holy Great-martyrs George and Panteleimon, Holy Hierarchs Luke of Crimea and John of Shanghai, Venerable Fathers of the Kiev Caves, Venerable Father Seraphim Sarov and others.

Services are held regularly on Saturdays and Sundays and on all the main liturgical holidays. Next to the church, the parish rents another hall for a Russian Sunday school and the holiday luncheons. In addition to serving the parish, Fr. George also organizes pilgrimages to Russia, Ukraine, Greece, Italy, the Holy Land, Georgia, and Armenia.

This year’s parish feast was marked by a solemn Vigil, an Akathist to the Holy Great-martyr Barbara, a Divine Liturgy with a Cross-Procession and a festive meal. Despite it being a weekday and long driving distances, about 40 people prayed at the mission, which included pilgrims from Los Angeles and guests from San Diego. First-time visitors to the local services feel the togetherness, comfort, friendliness and Christian spirit of fraternal unity, often inherent in small communities, where everyone works for the common good and beautification, and where even the occasional wanderers tend to soon become part of the parish family.

Rd. Vitaly Efimenkov