10th Anniversary of St. John the Baptist Church in Denver, Colorado
St. John the Baptist is the Western Diocese’s newest parish and the first and only Serbian church ever to serve Colorado. It has become a gathering place not only for the people living throughout the Denver metropolitan area but also for the entire region’s Serbs, many of whom travel to the church from Colorado’s ski towns in the mountains as well as from Colorado Springs, the state’s No. 2 metro area. Worshippers have included star basketball center Nikola Jokić of the NBA’s Denver Nuggets.
His Grace Bishop Maxim of the Western American Diocese blessed the parishioners of St. John the Baptist Serbian Orthodox Church in Lakewood, Colorado, with his presence Sept. 19 and 20. at the 10th Anniversary Jubilee of the parish’s church. This modest celebration marked 10 years almost to the day since the parish’s priest, the Very Rev. Radovan Petrović, with Bute Deanery Dean V. Rev. Fr. Ilija Balach held the first Orthodox Divine Liturgy in the building.
Bishop Maxim presided over the 10th anniversary Sunday Divine Liturgy alongside Hiеrоmonk Father Christodoulos, Fr. Radovan, and the faithful. After the Gospel reading His Grace emphasized the importance of love towards one another, noting that today’s social networks give us the impression that we are close to the distant persons, persons who are far away, but in the same time we tend to forget to be loving and kind to persons who are, by all means, very close to us. Afterward, His Grace was the guest of honor at lunch in the church hall, where His Grace was warmly greeted by parishioners and their guests. Father Radovan addressed the parish after lunch, recounting the remarkable efforts that resulted in today’s church complex — now the epicenter of Serbian spiritual growth, religious development, and social life in Colorado.
The many Serbian families who gathered recognized the dedication, generosity, and hard work of parish members who had pooled their modest resources and purchased an old and dilapidated Christian meeting house in 2009. They then completely renovated it and transformed it through the grace of God into an Orthodox Christian house of worship. So extensive was the renovation, much of it by hands of the parish’s many craftsmen, the stately and beautiful Orthodox-style church that stands today — including a church hall and rectory completed later — does not even resemble the original structure.
The joyful Sept. 20 event follows by almost exactly four years the parish’s consecration in September 2016, which was attended by Bishop Maxim as well as His Grace Bishop Longin of the Midwestern American Diocese; Serbian Orthodox priests from as far away as Arizona, Nebraska, and Nevada, and by other Orthodox clergy from throughout the Denver area.
