The Dormition (Falling Asleep) of the Theotokos is one of the Great Feasts of the Orthodox Church, celebrated on August 15. The Feast of the Dormition, which is also sometimes called the Assumption, commemorates the death, resurrection and glorification of Christ's mother.

On Wednesday evening, August 14, we celebrated vespers with litya for the Great Feast of the Dormition of the Mother of God. Divine Liturgy was held the next morning for the feast. We also have some photos here from Divine Liturgy on Sunday August 18, followed by a fabulous meal with leftovers from the parish picnic.

Following Agape Vespers on the afternoon of Pascha, we celebrated with St. Herman Orthodox Church to have a combined Agape picnic at a local park located in between our two churches.

Saturday begins with Vesperal Divine Liturgy followed by a small meal of bread, fruit and wine. In the evening, we return to church at 11:30pm for Midnight Office followed by Matins and the Divine Liturgy! Then the joyful blessing of easter baskets around 2 a.m. On Sunday, Agape Vespers is held before the joint picnic with St. Herman's Orthodox Church. Christ is Risen!

Photos from a few of the services held the week before Pascha - Lazarus Saturday, Palm Sunday, and Holy Week services through Friday

On Saturday afternoon, April 20, 19 people from our parish came together with a similar number from St. Herman Orthodox Church, at St. Catherine Greek Orthodox Church. Joining parishioners from St. Catherine's - 96 of us in all - we packed 200 lbs. of beans and other ingredients to create 1600 bean soup meals for needy local people. We also created 109 greeting cards for local veterans being served by a meals-on-wheels organization. This was the 2nd annual "Orthodox Day of Service" in the Denver area , sponsored by the clergy brotherhood's Good Samaritan Project.

The Sunday of the Cross and the Feast Day for St. Tikhon were both celebrated beginning on Saturday evening with Great Vespers w/Litya, and the Divine Liturgy on Sunday. Several visitors came to share our patronal feast day with us. Because it was also the Sunday of the Cross, we did full prostrations in front of the cross at several points during and after the liturgy. 

On the first Sunday of Great Lent, the Sunday of Orthodoxy, March 24, we participated in the Divine Liturgy, then took our icons and processed around the building with them. This was done to celebrate the restoration of the veneration of icons after the period of iconoclasm in the Church.

Friday 1/5/2024: Festal Vespers with Litya
Saturday 1/6/2024, Theophany of Christ: Divine Liturgy with the Great Blessing of the Waters
Sunday 1/7/2024: Divine Liturgy, followed by children's nativity play  

Christmas services at St. Tikhon Mission - Vespers on Saturday, December 23, Divine Liturgy and Vespers on December 24, Christmas Eve Vigil on December 24, and Divine Liturgy on December 25.

Christ is Born!

Divine Liturgy was preceded by the investiture of a mother and son to the catechumenate. Father gave a homily to the children, and St. Nicholas also visited us after Liturgy. (On his feast day he visits the churches that hold services that day. Since we did not hold a special service for his feast, he waited and visited us today.) The children put one of their shoes in the narthex of the church, and found presents in them afterwards.

On Saturday evening, November 18 we were joined by His Eminence, Archbishop Benjamin, and visitors, for Great Vespers. On Sunday, November 19, his Eminence served the Hierarchical Divine Liturgy. He also tonsured Reader Christopher and elevated Deacon John to Protodeacon. Fr. Alexander served as choir director in the absence of our regular choir director, and Fr. James served in Fr. Alexander's place in the altar. Protodeacon John gave the homily.

A few highlights of Divine Liturgy followed by the "Heavenly Hosts" celebration where the children dressed up and shared the story of their saint.

Our annual diocesan assembly was held October 24-26, 2023 at St. Seraphim of Sarov Orthodox Cathedral, Santa Rosa, California. It was attended by some of our parishioners and clergy as well as those from other churches and missions in the diocese.

On Sunday, October 8 we welcomed a family into the catechumenate, held Divine Liturgy, and were updated on the parish's strategic plan during lunch/ fellowship hour. A great day!

Wednesday evening, September 13: Vespers and Litya for the feast of the Exaltation of the Precious and Life-Giving Cross.
Divine Liturgy, September 17: the Sunday after the feast. We also commemorated Martyr Sophia and her three martyred daughters Faith, Hope and Love.

Saturday evening, August 5 at Holy Transfiguration Cathedral in Denver - we attended Festal Vespers and joined in the cathedral's 125th anniversary celebration. Archbishop Benjamin was also present, as was Fr. Christodoulos of the Brotherhood of St. George Monastery in Denver. Fr. Thomas Soroka, rector of St. Nicholas Orthodox Church in Pittsburgh, PA was a special guest. He gave several talks during the three days of festivities, including one talk Saturday evening. Finally, we learned that Dn. John, our deacon, is going to be raised to the level of Protodeacon the next time Archbishop Benjamin visits our mission. Congratulations to Dn. John!

Sunday, August 6: Divine Liturgy for the feast of the Transfiguration. Fruit was blessed, the Transfiguration (represented by its icon) was magnified and Father also blessed the parishioners by spraying them with holy water.

Midnight Office followed by Matins and Divine Liturgy for Pascha, then Agape Vespers and picnic. Christ is Risen!

Holy Friday and Holy Saturday services held at St. Tikhon Mission

Lazarus Saturday on April 14 and Palm Sunday on the 15th; tying palms between services

Presanctified Liturgy; Feast Day for our Patron Saint Tikhon; potluck meal and fellowship

Annunciation of the Most Holy Theotokos was on a Saturday this year. After the Divine Liturgy, there was a farewell lunch for founding members Subdeacon Paul and Submatushka Elizabeth who are moving to Texas. They were presented with an icon with St. Tikhon and St. Herman together.

In the Orthodox Church, the Cross of Christ is given special reverence, including full prostrations. At the beginning of the service, the cross was brought out of the altar by our priest, and then everyone bowed down before it and sang special hymns. At the end of the liturgy our priest and deacon circumambulated the cross, censing it, while the choir sang the Troparion of the Cross, "O Lord, Save Thy People."

Today St. Tikhon Mission welcomed a family of new catechumens, and had a procession for the Sunday of Orthodoxy

Celebration of the Nativity of Our Lord according to the Flesh, Christ is Born!

On Saturday morning, December 24, Divine Liturgy was celebrated for the Eve of the Nativity, followed by Vespers for the Nativity of Christ. Later on Saturday, a vigil service for the Nativity was celebrated, then Divine Liturgy for the Nativity on Sunday morning, December 25.

A group from St. Tikhon Mission joined friends at Parker UMC for the annual packing event to support Feed My Starving Children (November's charity of the month). Enough food was packed at this event to feed almost 300 children for a year in an impoverished country.

Newly illumined infant Gregory, may God grant him many years!

On September 14, our mission served Divine Liturgy for the feast of the Exaltation of the Precious and Life-Giving Cross

Panikhida for His Beatitude, Metropolitan Herman who fell asleep in the Lord on September 6.

Parish family and friends enjoyed a great meal, a fun afternoon and Vespers at the annual Parish Picnic BBQ

Pentecost - Divine Liturgy and Kneeling Vespers

Christ Is Risen!  Pascha at St. Tikhon Mission - photos from Midnight Office, Procession, Matins, and Divine Liturgy, followed by the blessing of baskets. Indeed He Is Risen!

Several parishioners from St. Tikhon Mission attended pan-Orthodox vespers at Holy Transfiguration Cathedral.

The first services of Great Lent take place during Clean Week. These photos were of the service on March 8, Clean Tuesday.

Indoor blessing of the waters at St. Tikhon Mission, Sunday after Theophany

Photos from Christmas 2021 Services - Vesperal Liturgy, Vigil on Christmas Eve, and Divine Liturgy on Christmas Day.

Annual parish picnic hosted by the Sandbothe family, followed by evening Vespers

Visit from His Eminence, Archbishop Benjamin; also Macarius is tonsured a reader and ordained subdeacon and Father Alexander elevated to Archpriest

CHRIST IS RISEN! (Al'Masiah qam! Ji-du fu-huo-le! - Ekhrestos af tonf! - Christ est Ressuscité! - Erid Krist! - Christus ist auferstanden! - Christos Anesti! - Ua Ala Hou 'o Kristo! Harisutosu fukkatsu! - Kristo bu-hwal hasho-nay! - Christus resurrexit! - Kristus ir augsham tsalies! - Hristos a Inviat! - Christos Voskrese! - Cristo ha resucitado!), INDEED HE IS RISEN!

During the season of Holy Theophany, it is customary to bless water in church, and also at a local stream or lake. This is the third year that St. Tikhon Mission gathered to bless the waters of Cherry Creek.

Today's Divine Liturgy commemorates the Dedication of the Temple of the Resurrection of Christ at Jerusalem. We are thankful to be able to gather for worship amidst extra safeguards during the pandemic. Glory to Jesus Christ for all things!

It has been a few months since our last update in the photo gallery!  Sunday, August 23 was the final day (leave-taking) of the feast of the Dormition.  Here is a photo of the congregation at prayer during Divine Liturgy, and a glimpse of the current seating arrangements which allows for 6-foot distancing between each family group. Also today, Father Alexander blessed an icon of St. Moses the Ethiopian, which was recently donated to the mission.

A full schedule of services during Holy Week was streamed live online. Here are several photographs from Matins on Friday evening, and Vesperal Liturgy on Saturday morning. We truly miss seeing all of you in person during these difficult, isolating times. In the meantime, we are still thankful to be able to offer worship services using modern technology, streamed live through Zoom and Facebook. Online services will continue through Bright Week and beyond.

For the Sunday of Orthodoxy, after the Divine Liturgy, a procession was made outside around the building. Everyone carries an Icon and a yellow card with the joyous hymns to sing!

Welcome to new catechumen, Dea!

Panikhida service for founding member Jacque Kemper on the 3-year anniversary of her falling asleep in the Lord. May Jacque's memory be eternal!

Father Alexander, Father Deacon John, and Nancy from St. Tikhon Mission attended the 2020 Mission Deanery Retreat at Church of the Annunciation in Milwaukie, Oregon. The retreat was a great opportunity for learning, making connections, sharing ideas, and prayers.

Here are the first few photos from the Blessing of Cherry Creek which occurred on the Eve of the Theophany of our Lord. Following the Divine Liturgy and a Vespers service at St. Tikhon Mission, clergy, parishoners and choir members went to the banks of Cherry Creek in Parker. While hymns were sung to recall the baptism of Christ in the river Jordan, a cross tied to a rope was thrown three times into the water.

St. Tikhon Mission sent two of clergy and two lay delegates to the 2019 Diocesan Assembly from October 15-17. It was held at the Glen Eyrie Castle and Conference Center in Colorado Springs. Hierarchical Divine Liturgy was served at Holy Theophany Church on the 17th.  Our delegates reported it was a blessing to interact with the many people who work diligently to manage the many facets of activity within the diocese.

The annual church picnic was held just after the end of the Dormition Fast, hosted again graciously by Nina and Longinus at their home in Elizabeth and featuring "The Band." After a great feast and much merriment, we finished the day honoring our Lord with a Vespers service.

Palm Sunday - the Entry of the Lord into Jerusalem - is one of the Twelve Great Feasts of the liturgical year. 

May God grant Andrew many years!

It was a joy to have so many visitors and clergy, along with Archbishop Benjamin, for the Feast Day of St. Tikhon!

Special guest today at the Divine Liturgy - His Eminence, Archbishop Benjamin of San Francisco and the West

The choir from St. Tikhon Mission was honored to participate in the 2019 Parker Interfaith Night of Music. They performed a selection of Lenten Orthodox hymns for several hundred guests from the local Parker area.

Blessing homes is an ancient tradition in the Orthodox Church. In the early part of each year, the Priest visits parish families to bless their homes and businesses with the Holy Water of Theophany. On this day, parishioners from St. Tikhon Mission gathered at Isabel's Coffee in Elizabeth, Colorado for the blessing of a business.  

O Christ our God, who has revealed thyself and illumined the world, Glory to Thee!

Several parishioners from St. Tikhon Mission joined 105 faithful attending the Continental Divide Blessing of Waters - Blessing of the Snowpack - at Monarch Pass.

In accord with the Church’s ancient practice, the Feast of Holy Theophany, immediately following the Twelve Days of Christmas, annually commemorates the Baptism of Christ in the Jordan by St. John the Baptist and Forerunner, son of the high priest Zacharias.

The significance of the name Theophany, or “appearance of God,” is that all three persons of the Trinity are manifested simultaneously: above God the Son, standing in the river, there is heard the voice of God the Father speaking, and there is seen the Holy Spirit descending as a dove.

Theophany is one of the twelve Great Feasts of the Orthodox Church, and is one of the few events recorded in all four Gospels: Matthew 3:13-17, Mark 1:9–11, Luke 3:21-22, and in John 1:28-37. Its observance on January 6th has been since at least the Second Century at Alexandria, Egypt.

At the Blessing of the Water service, prayers are offered for our local community, and the entire world. The service ends with the local priest, Rev. Alexander Vallens, immersing a gold cross in Cherry Creek, symbolizing Jesus Christ’s baptism in the River Jordan almost two thousand years ago.

The Fifth Annual St. Tikhon Parish Picnic was hosted by one of our parish familes at their beautiful home and ranch in Elizabeth, Colorado.  Vespers was held in the evening.  Everyone had a wonderful time!

A fun group from St. Tikhon Mission joined the food packing event for Feed My Starving Children, held at Parker United Methodist Church. We were honored to serve with many other volunteers and this amazing organization to help feed hungry children around the world.

A most blessed event at St. Tikhon Mission for the wedding of David and Marie.  May God grant them many, many years!

St. Tikhon Mission was honored to once again welcome His Eminence, Archbishop Benjamin, June 16 and 17, along with other visiting clergy, servers, and guests.  A Hierarchical Divine Liturgy was held on Sunday, followed by a fellowship meal.  *Plus, a rare all-group photo from the day*

Grave blessings and parish picnic at Chapel Hill Cemetery on a beautiful St. Thomas Sunday.

On Bright Monday, we sing for Pascha and the Feast of our patron Saint Tikhon. There is much to celebrate because Christ is Risen! We are honored to welcome many visitors and clergy from around the region and to have Father Alexander directing the choir.

A festive afternoon weaving palms at St. Tikhon Mission, and later that evening is the Vigil for Palm Sunday.

A clear but chilly day, a procession at St. Tikhon Mission begins the week of the Triumph of Orthodoxy:
"It is today that the Holy Orthodox Church solemnly recalls its victory over the Iconoclast heresy and other heresies and gratefully remembers all who fought for the Orthodox faith in word, writing, teaching, suffering, or godly
living." -from Bishop Tikhon sermon at the Cathedral in San Francisco, 1903

Panikhida for our dear Jacque Kemper on the one year anniversary of her falling asleep in the Lord

The 4th annual parish meeting was held January 28, 2018, as we reflected upon the recent 5 year anniversary of the first Divine Liturgy served in this community, our second year in the current church location on Plaza Drive, and plans for the future.

With great joy on this day, we also welcome Macarius as newest member of the parish council. May God grant Macarius many years!

Students from the Church School at St. Tikhon Mission presented a Christmas program for the parish, after the Divine Liturgy.  Characters from the play were the Virgin Mary, Archangel Gabriel, Saint Elizabeth the Mother of Saint John, Saint Joseph, angels, shepherds, and the Wise Men. Our sincere thanks to Transfiguration Cathedral for the program materials and costumes, as well as everyone involved from St. Tikhon Mission - the children, the choir, our reader, the Church School teachers and to Masha Maria for directing.  We hope to continue this wonderful Christmas program in years to come.

Volunteers from St. Tikhon Mission, in hairnets and bright blue shirts, joined the mobile packing event in Parker for our third year along with other church, school, and community groups. Feed My Starving Children provides nutritional meals for malnourished children around the world. Each time we finish another case of food packages (rice, soy, vitamins, and dried vegetables), ready for shipping, our group shouts loudly over the music in the warehouse, in different languages that "CHRIST IS RISEN!"

The Elevation of the Holy Cross (Exaltation of the Cross) is one of the Great Feasts of the Orthodox Church, celebrated on September 14.

Before Thy Cross we bow down in worship, O Master, and Thy holy Resurrection we glorify.

Food, fellowship, farm animals, and more at the annual parish picnic held at a parish family home in Elizabeth, Colorado, followed by evening vespers.  A favorite event for all ages!

St. Tikhon Mission was honored to welcome Archbishop Benjamin for hierarchichal Divine Luturgy on Sunday, August 13th, and Great Vespers on August 12th, along with many visitors.

...with the baking of communion breads. Here are some photos of small prosphora (pros = forward, phora = bring/brought) that the faithful offer up to God. The faithful write down the names of people living or dead on a piece of paper or a small prayer-list book. The names and a prosphora loaf are taken into the altar where the priest says intercessory prayers for those specified. The ones pictures are about 2 inches in diameter.  READ FULL ARTICLE

CHRIST IS RISEN!  St. Tikhon Mission celebrates the greatest of all holy days, the feast of Christ's resurrection.

Christ is risen from the dead, trampling down death by death, and upon those in the tombs bestowing life!

Holy Week services were held at St. Tikhon Mission on April 13, 14, and 15: Holy Thursday, Great and Holy Friday, Holy Saturday.  In the photographs you will see the Tomb of Christ adorned with flowers and and the Crucifix, which is a recent gift to the Mission.

Services on Lazarus Saturday included Divine Liturgy and Evening Vigil; on Palm Sunday a Procession around the building

Annual parish feast day for our Patron Saint:  April 7, repose of St. Tikhon, Patriarch of Moscow and Enlightener of North America

Annunciation of the Most-Holy Theotokos and Great Vespers on the Forefeast of the Annunciation (April 24); also several of our parishioners attending Pan-Orthodox Lenten Vespers on Sunday 4/26 at St. John The Baptist Serbian Church

On the Third Sunday of Great and Holy Lent, the Orthodox Church commemorates the Precious and Life-Giving Cross of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  Services include a special veneration of the Cross.

On the first Sunday of Great Lent we celebrate the Triumph of Orthodoxy in memory of the final defeat of Iconoclasm and the restoration of the icons to the churches.  Here are photos from our 2017 procession around the building in Parker, Colorado. We carry our icons while singing the traditional hymns. 

Forgiveness Vespers marks the beginning of Great Lent with the ceremony of mutual forgiveness, at which all present will bow down before one another and ask forgiveness.  In this way, the faithful begin Great Lent with a clean conscience, with forgiveness.

A Presanctified Liturgy was also held March 3rd - Clean Friday - at St. Tikhon Mission. The entire first week of Great Lent is often referred to as "Clean Week" for the leaving behind of sinful attitudes and non-fasting foods. 

We welcome new catechumen Jennifer: 

O Lord our God, who dwellest in the heavens, and lookest down upon all thy works, look down upon thy servants, the catechumens, who have bowed their necks before thee, and grant them a light yoke. Make them honorable members of thy holy Church, and vouchsafe unto them the laver of regeneration, the forgiveness of sins, and the robe of incorruption, unto the knowledge of thee, our true God.

Handmaiden of God Jacqueline Kemper fell asleep in the Lord on February 18, 2017.  Jacque was a founding member of St. Tikhon Orthodox Mission in Parker and a dear friend to all in our parish community.  Photos from the funeral service held at St. Tikhon Mission and burial at the Olinger Chapel Hill Cemetery are posted with permission from the Kemper family.  May her memory be eternal!

Father Alexander gave a children's sermon about the Proskomedia - the Liturgy of Preparation - during which the Priest prepares five loaves in remembrance of the five loaves that fed 5,000 people in the Gospel.  Both children and adults were attentive to this rare opportunity!

The St. Tikhon parish community gathered today, along with Father Andrew visiting from Chicago, for the crowning of Luke and Jenny (Mary), on the 14-year anniversary of their civil union.  This was the very first wedding service at St. Tikhon Mission!

December 24th - Eve of the Nativity

December 25th - Divine Liturgy, Nativity of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ

December 26th - Divine Liturgy, Synaxis of the Most-Holy Theotokos.  Fr. Andrew Harrison and F. Kyrill Williams serve with our own Fr. Alexander Vallens.

Our youngest group from St. Tikhon Mission gave a delightful presentation to share some history about our country's traditional holiday, "Thanksgiving."  Special thanks to Matushka Maria and to Marie for writing the program, and of course many thanks to the children!

In 2016 we resumed participation in Feed My Starving Children (FMSC), the Christian aid organization that aims to provide healthy meals to malnourished and starving children throughout the world. On this date, 14 adults and children from St.Tikhon Mission headed to the Parker United Methodist Church to help pack the nutritious meal pouches for FMSC.

Fr. Alexander reports: "It was not only a blessing to contribute to this excellent ministry, but we proclaimed an Orthodox presence in the Parker area by participating as a group, decked out in our blue St. Tikhon “Christ is Risen” t-shirts."

Third Annual Parish Picnic held at a parish family home in Elizabeth, Colorado.  Everyone enjoyed amazing food, outdoor activities and gardens, farm animals, and a live band.

We celebrated the Divine Liturgy on the Sunday after Transfiguration with an honored visit from Bishop Daniel - the Right Reverend Daniel, Bishop of Santa Rosa, CA.

Holy Saturday, Great and Holy Pascha, and Agape Vespers and Picnic: April 30-May 1, 2016.  

It was a great joy to hold our mission's first Paschal services in the new space.

Following Agape Vespers, we had our annual Agape picnic at the Hidden River HOA clubhouse.

We held Presanctified Liturgy and celebrated the Feast Day for St. Tikhon along with an open house in our new meeting space, where we had many visitors.

We have a new facility that we moved into and had our first Vespers service on January, 23rd, 2016. We started work on the new facility on Jan 1st. It was an existing building, and there was quite a bit of construction work to be done (new walls, flooring, paint, etc.) that took several weeks to complete with the help of a lot of people. Our original goal was to be in the new space by the end of January, and we hit our goal and had an open house and Vespers on Jan 23rd. It took a lot of effort to make this happen. Thanks to all involved for your great dedication and work to get this completed on schedule.

The service of the Blessing of the Waters was conducted following the Divine Liturgy on January 10, 2016.  This was one the last services in our old meeting space before the move. We are extremely grateful to the Hidden River HOA for allowing us to conduct weekly services in their clubhouse for over two years until we were able to move into our own location.

2015 parish events included the Icon Exhibit, a visit from Archbishop Benjamin, Music Director Workshop; continuation of weekly services at our clubhouse meeting space, annual parish picnic and much more.

2014 parish highlights include formation of parish council, first patronal feast celebration for St. Tikhon, booth at Parker Days, Ruth Chapel event, first annual parish picnic, Feed My Starving Children service outreach project, and Heavenly Hosts party.

**New Mission in Colorado** (News Article from Diocese of the West, dowoca.org)

The cold and the snow did not deter the faithful from celebrating the first Divine Liturgy of the newly established Orthodox Mission in Parker, Colorado on Sunday, December 09, 2012. Inspired and led by Father Anthony Karbo, this group of 41 missionaries planted the seeds of Orthodoxy on fertile ground in an area of the Southeastern Denver Metro area containing 60,000 people but not one Orthodox Church of any jurisdiction. Faithful from Elizabeth, Parker, Aurora, Centennial, Colorado Springs and Littleton converged on this neighborhood community center to establish this foothold of Orthodoxy.

From the portable iconostasis to the angelic voices of the choir, this first service exceeded everyone’s expectations. This mission is a collaborative effort of three OCA parishes in the Rocky Mountain Deanery; Holy Theophany in Colorado Springs, St Herman’s in Littleton and Holy Transfiguration in Denver. Although this mission church is sponsored by the Orthodox Church in America, its goal is to become a pan Orthodox oasis for anyone to have a place to worship should they not be able to travel to other churches in the area. Attendees of today’s services acknowledged they travel anywhere from 25 minutes to over an hour to get to the nearest Orthodox church from their homes.

After the service, everyone shared in fellowship over a pot luck luncheon. For now, the mission will celebrate Diving Liturgy on the second Sunday of each month, starting at 9:30 am. Through God’s grace they hope to expand beyond the 41 people who attended this first service and reach out to others; providing the opportunity for many to worship our Lord and Savior who live in the Southeast Denver Metro area.

The Holy Spirit is indeed inspiring this group of missionaries as they spread the work of our Lord to a section of this Denver Metro area. All of the people involved in cultivating this vineyard of our Lord ask that you keep them in your prayers as they continue to spread his word.