St. Johnsbury, Vermont, March 25, 2026
Photo: caledonianrecord.com
The Orthodox Church in America has granted provisional mission status to a small community in St. Johnsbury, Vermont, placing it under the Heavenly protection of the recently canonized St. Olga of Kwethluk.
The decision was made by His Grace, Bishop Benedict of the Diocese of New England on February 20, according to the official OCA site.
The mission currently meets at St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church in downtown St. Johnsbury and has approximately two dozen regular members. It is led by Fr. Ambrose Powell, who serves at Holy Resurrection Orthodox Church in Claremont, New Hampshire, roughly an hour and a half’s drive to the south.
St. Olga Mission is one of three OCA communities in Vermont, alongside one established parish and one other mission in the state.
Fr. Ambrose also maintains a YouTube presence for the mission, featuring a series of brief spiritual reflections.
The community traces its origins to 2011, when, with a blessing from Fr. Andrew Tregubov, rector of Holy Resurrection Orthodox Church in Claremont, several parishioners who lived more than an hour from the parish began gathering for Readers’ Vespers on Saturday evenings at the St. Johnsbury home of Subdeacon Mark and Laura Montague.
For many years the group consisted of just two families, one of which came to Orthodoxy through the gatherings, along with the occasional visitor. In 2021, two more families joined, and the group formed a small choir. Gatherings included a potluck meal following the service and a reading group.
By 2025 the community had grown to more than 20 persons. In January 2026 the group moved out of the Montague home and began renting space at St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church, with 27 persons attending the first service of Great Vespers at the new location.
A mission parish in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, was also named in honor of St. Olga of Alaska in 2024.
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