"God, who made the world and everything in it...has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their preappointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings, so that they should seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us; for in Him we live and move and have our being..." (Acts 17.24). 

Glory to Jesus Christ! Welcome to all those who seek the Lord.  The purpose of this website is to provide information about the Orthodox Christian Faith, as well as our parish, and to provide ministry tools and other factual information for those who are opened to seek the Lord and discover the Truth--for He is Truth.  

    The Orthodox Church, known in its official canonical and liturgical texts simply as the Church of God, or more fully as the Holy Orthodox Catholic and Apostolic Church (also called Orthodox Christian or "Eastern Orthodox"), is the oldest and second largest Christian body in the world, and has been deemed by many as "the best kept secret in America." It is also the native Christian Church of the Holy Land, having owned and operated the Holy Sites of Christianity for the past two millennia. 

The Orthodox Church is evangelical, but is not Protestant. It is Orthodox, but not Jewish. It is Catholic, but not Roman. It isn't non-denominational, it is pre-denominational. Perhaps you may recognize such phrases as "Greek Orthodox" or "Ukrainian Orthodox," which, together with all of the local Orthodox Churches throughout the world comprise the worldwide Orthodox Catholic Church of Christ, which is neither Roman Catholic nor Protestant, but categorized in academics as one of the three main types of Christianity.  

Here is a basic entry in the Encyclopedia Britannica for the Orthodox Church:  "official name Orthodox Catholic Church  one of the three major doctrinal and jurisdictional groups of Christianity. It is characterized by its continuity with the apostolic church, its liturgy, and its territorial churches."  (http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9106196/Eastern-Orthodoxy).   Here is what Bishop Kallistos Ware wrote in The Orthodox Church:  "Today the Orthodox Church numbers approximately 300 million Christians who follow the faith and practices that were defined by the first seven ecumenical councils. The word orthodox ("right belief and right glory") has traditionally been used, in the Greek-speaking Christian world, to designate communities, or individuals, who preserved the true faith (as defined by those councils), as opposed to those who were declared heretical. The official designation of the church in its liturgical and canonical texts is 'the Orthodox Catholic Church' (gr. catholicos = universal)." 

Saint Vladimir Parish, belongs to the worldwide communion of God's Holy Orthodox Catholic and Apostolic Church, known more simply as the Orthodox Church, and is within the jurisdiction of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople , being a parish of the Western Eparchy of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the United States of America (UOC of the USA); Archpastor is His Grace Bishop Daniel.

We welcome all Orthodox Christians and all others who seek the Lord regardless of nationality, in accordance with Holy Scriptures, the Canons and rulings of the Ecumenical Councils and approved local councils of the Holy Church which have conveyed truths of the Faith. As Scripture states:  "God shows no partiality.  But in every nation whoever fears Him and works righteousness is accepted by Him" (Acts 10.34-35) 

      As the Body of Christ and members of Christ, the mission of our parish is to love the Lord and all mankind by becoming more Christ-like and providing a welcoming nurturing environment to all those who seek God, and by supporting those who are in need with the outstretched arms of God (the outstretched arms of God--that's you and me--that IS the Church). 

It is in this way that we embrace the continuous presence of the Holy Spirit in our timeless Orthodox heritage and pass it down to all generations - present and future - by reaching out to the community and thereby helping Christ's Body to grow which is a responsibility of every Orthodox Christian. 

      We are located at 4051 Melrose Avenue, Los Angeles CA 90029.  For directions and other information on our parish please click on Driving Directions.  Divine Liturgy on Sundays begins at 10:00 am and is in Ukrainian and English.   For other services and events, please see the schedule. Here we welcome all to visit us and to "come and see".   If you have never been to an Orthodox Christian Church before, you may want to click on the following link and read The 12 Things I wish I had known before my first visit to an Orthodox Church by Fredrica Mathewes-Greene.   We look forward to seeing you, and if you are without a spiritual home, we invite you to make us your spiritual home.  If you are just visiting Los Angeles, we welcome you and invite you to make us your spiritual "home away from home."