We welcome you to the web site of St. Anthony of the Desert.  Please take the time to look through our material.  We urge you, especially, to check the service schedule and the monthly calendar, then the announcement page, and lastly to browse through our pastor's writings in the section "About Orthodoxy." To read about the growth of Orthodoxy in America, consult the church history section in "About Orthodoxy." 
  
Please come visit us soon!  We welcome all visitors in a spirit of Christian love.

The church is located at the corner of Hadley and Alameda.  Our office is at 255 W. Hadley Street.  There is a signboard in front of the building announcing our office.

Here's a powerful link for those considering becoming Orthodox: www.journeytoorthodoxy.com/#axzz0wnGKKi1V
I encourage all visitors to our web site to check this out.

We sponsor the Orthodox Christian Fellowship (OCF) Chapter at New Mexico State University.  Dr Louiza Fouli is faculty advisor.  Sergej Jem Baker is president; Artur Shustov treasurer.  We meet twice a month, and we will have a table in the Corbett Center (student union) at NMSU for the "Club Rush" on September 8th.

TO HEAR MORE ABOUT THE MISSION, CHECK OUT OUR PODCAST "MUSINGS ON MISSION," AT ANCIENT FAITH RADIO.  Most recent podcast added August 19:  Report.  An update from Fr Gabriel on mission developments and hopes for the future.

Fr Gabriel's SUN-NEWS columns are published every other week.  NEW 03 September 2010: "A Humorous Approach to Spiritual Life."  Check under ABOUT ORTHODOXY.

St George's Orthodox Military Association is under the blessing of Bishop Daniel, Western Eparch of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, USA. SGOMA connects over 1000 servicemen and women of the Orthodox Faith or who are looking for Orthodoxy with one another and with the church.  Leading is our Sub-deacon Vladimir Laven, firefighter at White Sands Missile Range.  Web site:  www.orthodoxmilitary.org. 

  Their courageous story reminds us that with faith and love we can make a difference in one person's life.

   John is wrapping up his Eagle Scout Leadership Project. John had his sorting and packing night on Aug. 19 with a lot of work leading up to that.  You can see some photos of that night if you go to www.troop362.com, then JL eagle project.
 

Christian faith spread through the Ancient Near East, which was part of the Roman Empire, very early.  In 313 the faith was legitimized in the Empire. In time, people began to move out of cities into desert hermitages.  These grew into great monastic centers, and St. Anthony was at the heart of the movement.

Archbishop ANTONY of our national church agreed that Las Cruces would be an appropriate place for the new mission.  Fr Gabriel had attended several mission and evangelism conferences sponsored by the AOC.  Both he and Pani-Matka Susan had background in campus ministry and so the fit seemed natural, despite the fact that we had no firm contacts with which to begin.  Fr Gabriel and Pani-Matka Susan both sought employment in the area and found opportunities at the University, Pani in food services, Fr Gabriel in teaching. 

We moved into our home on 15 September 2007.  Our first services began two Sundays later in our home in Mesilla and in December of 2007 we moved into the chapel of St Andrew Episcopal Church, Las Cruces, where we continue. 

We are blessed to serve under Metropolitan CONSTANTINE and our Bishop for the Western Eparchy, Vladyka DANIEL.

We are a mission of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the USA but we conduct all our worship in English and we are seeking to develop as an American Orthodox Church.  Our current membership consists of cradle and convert Orthodox people and we have a number of seekers and catechumens in process of becoming members.