Upcoming Events

Interested in unplugging and creating a space to experience the presence of God more deeply? Then consider setting your sights on a pilgrimage. Out of all the possibilities, there is one out there for you! 

On October 15th, Axia will be hosting a pilgrimage panel to explore the many ways we can be a pilgrim.  Our panel will cover the emotional, physical and spiritual benefits that come from traveling to and/or creating a sacred place to worship and experience the presence of God. Through the stories and lived experience of four different women, we will work through a broad definition of what it means to be on pilgrimage - whether alone or with others; virtually or physically; staying put in a sacred place or a walk that is just as important as the destination. 

We will be making a special announcement during the panel discussion—you don’t want to miss this!

https://app.aplos.com/aws/events/pilgrimage_101

About Our Panelists

Arpi Nakashian: After growing up in the Old City of Jerusalem, where she encountered pilgrims from across the world, Arpi went on to lead both in-person and virtual pilgrimages, eventually inspired by the pilgrims’ faith to establish her own pilgrimage ministry, Holy Land Lights.

Jennifer Rich: The author of 'Prayer Spa: Ancient Treatments for the Modern Soul’ and member of the Orthodox Speakers Bureau, when not tending her flock of sheep and stationery business Oblation Press in Portland, Oregon, Jennifer leads pilgrimages such as her recent tour with Frederica Mathewes-Green to Greece, focused on stillness in prayer.

Jen Nahas: An REI guide certified in both spiritual accompaniment and outdoor meditative walks, Jen’s adventurers all prepared her for the Camino de Santiago, one of the many pilgrimages she has sauntered.  

Teva Regule: Among her contributions as President of the Orthodox Theological Society of America, Teva was one of the motivators behind the creation of the annual New Skete pilgrimage in New York and hopes to be an example for anyone else who would like to create a pilgrimage place for their own community.

STORIES WANTED!!!

Starting September 1, Axia's church year will be focused on PILGRIMAGE.

If you've taken part in a pilgrimage recently or long ago, we'd love to hear about it!  It could be a journey to a monastery, a weeks-long trek on the Camino or other established trail, or a trip to a place that is holy to you, or some other sacred travel. The piece should be between 500 and 1500 words long. Send to axiawomen@gmail.com with the subject line "My Pilgrimage Story." We'll be picking at least six for our new blog series over the coming months. 

We can't wait to read what you write!

(Orthodox women only, please.)

Join us to learn from Dr. Ioana Popa --psychiatrist, spiritual advisor, theologian--on how to use your environment to support your rituals and spiritual goals.

6 pm eastern | 5 pm central | 4 pm mountain | 3 pm pacific

$12 (Let us know if cost is an issue.)

Register here!

(Orthodox women only, please.)

We are delighted to offer a webinar by Carrie Frederick Frost, PhD,  author of The Church of Our Granddaughters, with a special focus on menstruation. 

In many parishes and areas of the Orthodox world, women and girls are excommunicated during their periods. Sometimes they are instructed not to venerate icons, light candles, kiss the cross, bake prosphora, or engage in other acts of worship, and sometimes they are even prohibited from coming to church at all. Dr. Frost will discuss how these popular practices–though widespread–diverge from core Orthodox theology related to women, the human body, and the Incarnation, and suggest ways to bring this particular set of practices in line with our theology.

If you want to read the book before the webinar, it is available from Cascade Books and Amazon.com.

Register here ($12--let us know if cost is an issue)

(Orthodox women only, please.)

Sunday, June 25, 2023

7 PM-8:30 PM Eastern on Zoom

Moderated by St. Phoebe Center Board Member Dr. Teva Regule

Co-sponsored with Axia Women, Dr. Patricia Fann Boutneff

Greater participation of girls and women in the liturgical assembly of the Orthodox Church benefits the entire community. This event, co-sponsored with Axia Women, will offer the perspective of Orthodox women who have experienced these ministries as girl altar servers and tonsured readers or chanters. Topics explored will be how to encourage the expansion of these ministries and how they do, and do not, connect with the revival of the ordained order of deaconesses.

Register here!

Nurses wear many hats as caregivers for patients. They care for patients, explain situations to families, collaborate with other medical professionals, and pursue their own professional development. Very often, they also have family and parish responsibilities! Axia Women offers this networking opportunity to bring any nurses in our community together and connect! Share your experiences, your tips for multitasking, and some relaxed time in one another’s company.

Our facilitator will be Miho Ochiai Ealy, a trained chaplain and matushka of a parish in Dayton, Ohio.

June 11 at 8:30pm Eastern/ 7:30 Central/ 6:30 Mountain/ 5:30 Pacific

(Orthodox women only, please.)

Register here!

Sign up here!

Christ is risen! 

Good things happen when Orthodox women come together!

Many of us celebrate the Myrrhbearing Women this coming Sunday. And with these courageous women in mind, we launch our second annual Axia Myrrhbearing Women fundraiser. We will send all those who donate from today through May 7 a small gift that commemorates these beloved saints. Better yet, a former Woman of the Week has generously offered to match all donations up to $1000, so your gift will have extra impact!

Axia’s patron saints were a community of disciples who came together to serve Christ. They remind us that faith, perseverance, and courage—particularly when the future seems dark and uncertain–can overcome seemingly insurmountable obstacles. While Axia’s ventures are nowhere near so risky as theirs, the Myrrhbearing women remind us to show up to be ready for the good news. The Holy Spirit will guide and provide.  

When Axia started four years ago, our future was unclear. But we knew that if we brought women together across Orthodoxy’s incredible diversity, good things would happen. Our programs now include: 

• Woman of the Week series

• Craft ‘n’ Sip fellowship 

• Webinars featuring recognized experts

• Panel discussions with speakers from across the Eastern-Oriental Orthodox divide

• Lenten prayer services 

• Ask An Expert Q&A sessions 

• Women on Women Saints series

• Blog posts by a wide variety of writers

And we have plans to expand into in-person gatherings in four communities across the US–but we need your help. Will you donate now to help us engage increasing numbers of Orthodox women in prayer, service, and community?

Yours in Christ, 

Patricia Fann Bouteneff
Amber Schley Iragui
Jennifer Nahas
Miho Ochiai Ealy
Tenbit Mitiku 

"Appearance of Christ" by Ukrainian artist Ivanka Demchuk, used with permission.

Lenten prayer services are back! Please join us at 1:00pm eastern / noon central / 11:00am mountain / 10:00am pacific for a short lenten prayer service with fellow Orthodox women!

Zoom link here

PASSCODE: 101402

Lenten prayer services are back! Please join us at 1:00pm eastern / noon central / 11:00am mountain / 10:00am pacific for a short lenten prayer service with fellow Orthodox women!

Zoom link here

PASSCODE: 101402

We are delighted to offer a webinar by Phoebe Farag Mikhail, author of Putting Joy Into Practice, with special focus on fasting and hospitality. 

Tasoni Phoebe has written a roadmap for living and enjoying the kind of joy that can only be found in God. Based firmly in the teachings of the Mothers and Fathers of the Church, it is warm and compassionate, easy to read and understand, while avoiding any hint of cliche. She outlines seven spiritual practices that can be tailored to your age, profession, family situation, and geographical location, and have the potential to transform your spiritual life. If you want to read it before the webinar, it is available from Paraclete Press, SVS Press, Ancient Faith Publishing, Audible.com, and Amazon.com.

Register here ($12)

(Orthodox women only, 

Lenten prayer services are back! Please join us at 1:00pm eastern / noon central / 11:00am mountain / 10:00am pacific for a short lenten prayer service with fellow Orthodox women!

Zoom link here

PASSCODE: 101402

Join us! Craft 'n' Sips are a great way to relax at home, enjoy friendship with other Orthodox women, and do a little crafting at the same time. Set aside a little time to relax on your Sunday afternoon or evening, make yourself a mug of a comforting beverage, pull out a craft project (or coloring book, your favorite art supplies, weekly planner, or fingernail polish) and join us!

Sunday March 12th

7pm Eastern | 6pm Central

5pm Mountain | 4pm Pacific

Developing a self-care practice is vital for maintaining our spiritual, physical, and emotional well-being. Let Axia’s Craft ‘n’ Sip help build your self-care routine.

Register here! Orthodox women only.

Developing a self-care practice is vital for maintaining our spiritual, physical, and emotional well-being, yet women struggle to prioritize self-care. Let Axia’s Craft ‘n’ Sip help build your self-care routine. Join Kristina Baktis, LCAT, ATR-BC, ATCS, board-certified art therapist, for this creative and restorative program. Kristina will create a fun and supportive atmosphere for you to engage in creative techniques that emphasize relaxation and rejuvenation.

Register here!

(Orthodox women only, please.)

Developing a self-care practice is vital for maintaining our spiritual, physical, and emotional well-being, yet women struggle to prioritize self-care. Let Axia’s Craft ‘n’ Sip help build your self-care routine.

News flash! We have decided to schedule this and all future Craft 'n' Sips on the second Sunday evening of most months, which will help everyone plan ahead.  

Register here!

(Orthodox women only, please.)

Developing a self-care practice is vital for maintaining our spiritual, physical, and emotional well-being, yet women struggle to prioritize self-care. Let Axia’s Craft ‘n’ Sip help build your self-care routine. Join Kristina Baktis, LCAT, ATR-BC, ATCS, board-certified art therapist, for this creative and restorative program. Kristina will create a fun and supportive atmosphere for you to engage in creative techniques that emphasize relaxation and rejuvenation.

Whether you celebrate December 25th or January 7th, we want to help you get ready for Christmas. Bring some hot cocoa, Christmas cards, and Christmas crafts. You can spend the time wrapping up some gifts or log in from your kitchen while baking holiday treats.

Register here! (NOTE: You'll register once on Aplos, which will send you a link to register on Zoom for the event.)

(Orthodox women only, please.)

Have you ever met anyone who thinks they do confession well? We haven’t! So we invited the woman who literally wrote a book on the subject to field your questions. Dr. Nadieszda Kizenko, professor of history and religious studies, will be with us on an Axia zoom on December 4 at 7pm Eastern.

$7 (Let us know if cost is an obstacle.)

Register now!

(Orthodox women only, please.)

Developing a self-care practice is vital for maintaining our spiritual, physical, and emotional well-being, yet women struggle to prioritize self-care. Let Axia’s Craft ‘n’ Sip help build your self-care routine.

Register here!

EVENT POSTPONED

Join us as we discuss how to build an empowering female community through compassionate and honest conversations.

$12 (Orthodox women only)

If cost is an obstacle, please let us know.

Developing a self-care practice is vital for maintaining our spiritual, physical, and emotional well-being, yet women struggle to prioritize self-care. Let Axia’s Craft ‘n’ Sip help build your self-care routine. Join Kristina Baktis, LCAT, ATR-BC, ATCS, board-certified art therapist, for this creative and restorative program. Kristina will create a fun and supportive atmosphere for you to engage in creative techniques that emphasize relaxation and rejuvenation. 

This month we’re focusing on fellowship and relaxation. Bring your pumpkin-spiced beverage and a craft project, coloring book, your favorite art supplies, or journal.

Register now!

(For Orthodox women only.)

If you're like most of us, you've been going to liturgy for years, but have no idea why we do what we do, why the priest does what he does, why the choir is changing certain hymns, why some kids can serve in some parts of the church and not others, and why things look different in your jurisdiction than in others. Now's your chance to ask your questions! Dr. Teva Regule, a scholar of liturgy, will be fielding questions on Sunday, September 25. (Orthodox women only.)

Register now!

Just in time for the new academic year!

Four top scholars from Brown University, State University of New York at Albany, Purdue University, and Princeton Theological Seminary, will gather to talk with a rising scholar from Fordham University about Orthodox intellectual life in the academy and how they practice it.

This is a rare chance to see women scholars of this caliber in conversation with one another--don't miss it!

Tickets $14

Dr. Teva Regule, a liturgist and a scholar, will give this webinar—exploring ways to integrate girls (and boys) in our liturgical celebration. Her presentation will be based on her conviction that everyone should be actively participating in our liturgical celebration and learning by DOING. And, that we should open up more ways for women/girls as well as men/boys to serve.
(Caveat: Axia asks a donation to attend the webinar as we want people to be serious about doing so.)

Please help to spread the word to those who you think would be interested.

Everyone welcome. $12

Join four Orthodox chaplains, moderator Clio Pavlantos and panelists Tania Bouteneff, Atsede Elegba, and Angela Rios--all chaplains with end-of-life experience--for a rich and deep discussion that will help us learn to be there for friends, family, and community members when they need us most. (For Orthodox women only.)