St. Innocent's Mission

In the northern Catskills region of New York, there is a light that shines from between the mountains. That light is the Mission of St. Innocent, Apostle to America located in the picturesque town of Oneonta. Its services are attended by Orthodox faithful, catechumens, and those of other Christian confessions in their search for a home in Christ and in His Holy Church.

St. Innocent brought the word of Christ to the inhabitants of the Aleutian Islands, the Bering seacoast, and beyond. The Mission seeks to continue the work in North America that was started by its beloved patron saint by bringing the Orthodox Faith to the people of the Oneonta/Cooperstown area, making it accessible, available, and present for anyone and everyone to encounter and experience.

Founded in 1997 and with great help from its Mother Parish, SS. Peter and Paul Orthodox Church in Endicott, NY, the community meets and holds the divine services in a small chapel located in the basement of St. James’ Episcopal Church on Main Street in “downtown” Oneonta. The parish welcomed its new full-time pastor, Fr. Vasil Dubee, in December, 2015. He was ordained to the Holy Priesthood on October 9 th , 2015 at St. Tikhon’s Monastery by His Eminence, Archbishop Mark, and was received into our diocese by His Eminence Archbishop Michael a short time afterwards. Fr. Vasil and his family look forward to making Oneonta their permanent home.

The parish hopes to immediately create OCF chapters at Hartwick College and SUNY Oneonta campus. Adult religious education classes are held on Saturday evenings following Vespers, and the children are taught following the Sunday Divine Liturgy. At Christmas, new iconography was donated and mounted on the iconostas, magnificently adorning and beautifying the chapel’s interior. The parish also is seeking to purchase a rectory for Fr. Vasil and his family and has created a fund for the building of an Orthodox temple. The city of Oneonta lies 60 miles northeast of Binghamton, NY, midway between Binghamton and Albany, and is an excellent location for a permanent Orthodox church-community.

Greatly blessed with many young families and very dedicated parishioners, the Mission is growing steadily. Undoubtedly, “with God, all things are possible” (Matthew 19:26), and we trust in Him and give glory to His name. We joyfully invite everyone to worship with us, both Orthodox and non-Orthodox. All are welcome! We also ask everyone to pray for our Mission. We also ask for your financial support as well, that we may continue to do God’s will and that He may bless us in return according to His great mercy.

For more information and to contact Fr. Vasil: http://www.stinnocentmission.org/