Our Parish

Beginnings

Saints Constantine and Helen Orthodox Church began in 1974 when Metropolitan Vladimir of blessed memory made contact with Orthodox faithful in Colorado Springs. At the time, liturgical services were periodically held at the Air Force Academy by Orthodox chaplains. Encouraged by the response, Metropolitan Vladimir asked Father John Schreiber, then assistant priest at Saint Innocent Church in Tarzana, CA, to consider starting a mission in our city. While on vacation in August of 1974 Father John stopped in Colorado Springs. One month later he moved here and began work with the mission.

The first official service took place on September 8, 1974—the Feast of the Nativity of the Theotokos, and the beginning of the liturgical year… truly a fitting and appropriate beginning for a new Orthodox community. In those early days, Metropolitan Vladimir dedicated the community in memory of the heavenly patrons Saints Constantine and Helen. Divine Liturgy was celebrated every Sunday morning in various donated facilities, while Vespers and Feast Day services were held in Father John’s apartment. In August of 1975, a little less than one year after the start of the mission, the Church was incorporated and an acre of land was purchased on North Chestnut Street.

At the Annual Meeting of January 1977, the parish discussed the possibility of a building program. A series of meetings were held with representatives of a church finance program, as the council explored selling bonds to build a Temple. All issues regarding such a program passed unanimously, the week of September 15th was declared “Bond Week”, and the entire issue of $40,000 sold in only four days! On October 2, 1977 Father John conducted the ground-breaking ceremony. Nine months later, on July 22, 1978 Great Vespers was held in Colorado Springs’ first Orthodox Christian Temple, followed by Divine Liturgy the next morning.

Growth

It has been many years since those exciting days. Many people have come and gone, reflective both of the military influence, and the local economic booms and busts of Colorado Springs’ past. Begun as a pan-Orthodox community, Saints Constantine and Helen became a haven for those from other religious backgrounds.

In 1995, a young priest by the name of Father Anthony Karbo, along with his wife Matushka Elizabeth, arrived from St. Tikhon’s Orthodox Seminary. Before Father Anthony’s arrival, the parish had seen a number of priests come and go, only serving the community for a few years at a time. Father Anthony’s tenure ended up lasting almost three decades.

Holy Theophany

In 1999 Saints Constantine and Helen Church felt the time was right to plan for a long-awaited new and glorious Orthodox Temple to be built on the existing property. Several initial drawings and revisions were done, but each leaving something to be desired: they just “weren’t right”. It was determined that we were going about the whole process wrong, prioritizing cost over vision, practicality ahead of theology, works (what man can do) above faith (what God can do). Frustrated, we did what should have been done at the beginning of the process: looked to the Scriptures with respect to how and what to build. In the book of Exodus (chapters 34-35) we discovered that:

• God Himself designs the temple
• The Temple is to be built with the best that we have to offer God
• The Temple is a reflection of Who God is and His heavenly Kingdom
• Those who have a willing heart will give

In September 2001, under Fr. Anthony’s leadership, Ss. Constantine and Helen Church was blessed to break ground on a second new and glorious temple—reflective of both the quantitative and qualitative growth of Orthodoxy in southern Colorado. Not only is it larger, to accommodate growth, but it witnesses to the world the beauty, majesty, and fullness of Orthodox faith and our life together in Christ. The new temple, Holy Theophany, was completed in June of 2002.

The iconostasis of our temple was done by a master carver in Bulgaria, entirely from walnut. Encho Avromov was our resident iconographer for the iconostasis, working in traditional egg-tempera to match the style of icons to the 12th century architecture. The “frescoes” on the walls of the temple are by another local iconographer and artist, Michael Greer, after the pattern and style of Dionysiou Monastery on Mt. Athos.

Father Anthony Karbo

It is impossible to speak about the history of our parish without mentioning our former rector, the Archpriest Anthony Karbo. Father Anthony served as parish priest for almost thirty years, and his tenure was marked by unceasing growth, both in attendance and in depth of spiritual life for the parish.

During his time in Colorado Springs Father Anthony not only oversaw the building of Holy Theophany, but also established other missions in the area. He initiated both St. Tikhon’s Mission in Parker, CO, and St. John the Baptist Mission on the eastern side of Colorado Springs. In 2005, together with several faithful parishioners, he saw to the establishment of the Agia Sophia coffee shop and bookstore in Old Colorado City, which served as the first introduction to Orthodoxy for many people in the community.

With a background in Young Life, Father Anthony had a heart for teens and children. One of his great loves were the teen camps (both in the summer and winter), which he vivified and made into annual events of joy and inspiration for young Orthodox Christians of Colorado and beyond. He had an astounding ability to speak both simply and profoundly about the matters of faith, and was able to instruct and inspire both children and adults.

He led teams on dozens of work trips to Mexico and Alaska, and inspired many of his parishioners to serve as missionaries. He also sent a number of parishioners to seminary, of which over half a dozen today serve as priests and deacons in the Church. Truly, Holy Theophany would not be the community it is today without the fervor, faithfulness and love of Father Anthony Karbo, who fell asleep in the Lord on March 19, 2024. May his memory be eternal!

St. John the Baptist Orthodox Church

As the community of Holy Theophany kept growing it became increasingly clear that not even our new temple could house all those who found their way to Orthodoxy in search of salvation. In the two-year span from 2022-2024 over 160 people were baptized into the Church! In response, before his repose, Father Anthony Karbo and the faithful of the parish were able to purchase property on the east side of Colorado Springs, and began construction of a second temple in the same architectural style as Holy Theophany. The mission was named “St. John the Baptist,” signifying its connection with Holy Theophany – which commemorates the baptism of the Lord.

Welcome

Visiting Holy Theophany today, you will find approximately 300 or so of us struggling to live the fullness of Christian life together as it has been preserved and handed down. More than half of us are relatively new to Orthodoxy, a third of us range from new-born to young adult, we are not just a few young families, while a few of our respected original founders are still among us to this day. We are Greek, Russian, Bulgarian, Romanian, Serbian… we are also South African, German, Anglo, Hispanic, Swedish… Texan, Californian, Pennsylvanian… American. You will find us regularly participating in our Liturgical life as a community. We have our Sunday fellowship meals, our social activities, our small groups, our fund-raisers, church schools, camps, and retreats. We keep the fasts, we celebrate the Feasts. We struggle, we pray, we take to heart the Lord’s commandment: “deny yourself, take up your cross… come and follow Me” (Matthew 16:24). We seek to be evangelists by acquiring the virtues of Christ, becoming the “savour” of acceptable sacrifice (2 Corinthians 2:15; Matthew 5:16). We work to love one another (1 John 4:12). We strive to be faithful.

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