First Liturgy at the Protection of the Most Holy Theotokos Mission, Rathdrum, Idaho

On June 10th, 2018, on the Sunday celebrating All Holy Saints of Russia, the Right Reverend Andronik, Archbishop of Syracuse and St. Nicholas, served the first liturgy at our new mission in the city of Rathdrum, Idaho.

Chad and Lidia Arneson, along with their five children, greeted the bishop on Saturday with a large and tasty lenten lunch at their home where the mission is located. Over lunch, they described their family’s long path in search of True Orthodoxy from Protestantism, to Catholicism, to the Moscow Patriarchate, and finally to the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad.

The services started with the baptism of their four year old daughter, Sunniva, named after the 10th century western Norwegian saint and Irish princess.

Right after the baptism, the All-night Vigil was served where Aedan, the Arneson’s only son, served as an altar boy for Abp. Andronik. The Arneson daughters, Anastasia, Mariam, Sunniva helped sing in the choir. Even nine-month old Sophia joined in from time to time.

During a key moment in the past during the families spiritual path, the Arneson’s prayed to the Most Holy Theotokos and received her motherly protection and thus, the mission parish was named after the Protection of the Most Holy Theotokos.

May God bless the Arneson family and guide them in their God-pleasing work!