ALBUQUERQUE, NM — Sunday, June 14, 2026
On the Sunday of All Saints of North America, the faithful of All Saints of North America Orthodox Church in Albuquerque witnessed the fulfillment of a dream more than three decades in the making, as His Eminence Archbishop Alexander and His Grace Bishop Gerasim led the consecration of the parish’s newly completed temple.
The weekend’s celebrations began on Saturday, June 13, with a presentation by Dr. Olga Skinner who spoke about the life of St. Olga of Alaska, her grandmother, recently glorified among the saints, followed by the singing of her Akathist Hymn. Great Vespers with Litiya was then served, after which clergy, clergy wives, and invited guests gathered for a festive meal and fellowship.
Sunday morning opened with the formal greeting of Archbishop Alexander and the gathering of clergy from across the Church. Concelebrating were Bishop Gerasim, Archpriest Marcus C. Burch, Chancellor of the Diocese of the South, Archpriest Nikolay Miletkov, longtime rector of All Saints of North America, together with local and visiting clergy including Archpriest John Bethancourt, retired priest of Holy Trinity Church in Santa Fe, Abbot Silouan of Holy Archangel Michael Monastery in Cañones, New Mexico, and Protopresbyter Anthony Salzman of St. Philotha Church in Watkinsville, GA.
The rite of consecration itself revealed the profound sacramental vision of the Orthodox Church. As in ancient times, the altar was first constructed and prepared. Holy relics were carried in solemn procession and placed within the Holy Table, uniting the worship of the local parish with the witness of the martyrs and saints throughout the ages.
The altar and temple were then blessed through the sprinkling of holy water and anointed with holy chrism. The four walls of the church were sealed in the sign of the Cross, east, west, south, and north, manifesting that this building had been set apart forever for the worship of the Holy Trinity. In a profound sense, the temple itself underwent a kind of baptism and chrismation, becoming a living temple of God.
Following the consecration, the clergy and faithful celebrated the first Divine Liturgy in the newly consecrated space.
Particularly moving was the presence of Matushka Ingrid Sondergaard, wife of the parish’s founding pastor, Archpriest George Sondergaard, of blessed memory. Father George gathered a small group of faithful in the fall of 1993 to discuss the possibility of establishing an English-language Orthodox mission in Albuquerque. What began with a handful of believers meeting in borrowed space eventually became a flourishing parish.
The path was not always easy. The young mission worshiped first in an Episcopal parish, later finding temporary refuge in a Roman Catholic church. In 1996 the community purchased its first property and celebrated its first Divine Liturgy there on Palm Sunday. Over the following decades the parish continued to grow under Father George’s leadership, eventually acquiring property for a future church home and steadily working toward the construction of a permanent temple.
Father George, who reposed in the Lord on Bright Wednesday, May 8, 2013, served the community from its founding until his retirement in 2010. His vision, perseverance, and missionary zeal laid the foundation for what the faithful celebrated this weekend.
The dedication of the temple on the Feast of All Saints of North America was especially fitting. The parish bears the name of those saints who sanctified this continent through their witness to Christ, from the missionaries to Alaska and the enduring legacy of the Alaskan Church, to the martyrs, ascetics, pastors, and righteous men and women who have shone forth throughout North America.
As the faithful reflected on the feast, the words from the hymns of the day adapted for the parish’s patronal celebration seem particularly apt:
Sing praises, O Sangre de Cristo Mountains;
Clap your hands, O waters of the Rio Grande;
Exult, O mesas, deserts, and high plains of New Mexico,
For the Lord has visited you in His mercy.
From many peoples and many nations He has gathered His flock:
From the villages and pueblos,
From the cities and ranchlands,
From the East and from the West,
From ancient Orthodox families
And from those newly illumined by the Gospel.
Here the Faith once brought by missionaries and immigrants
Has taken root in new soil;
Here Christ calls men, women, and children
To become fellow citizens with the saints
And members of the household of God.
At the conclusion of the Divine Liturgy, the parish gathered for a festive brunch. In heartfelt remarks, Father Nikolay offered thanks first to God and then to the countless clergy, benefactors, volunteers, and faithful whose sacrifices made the construction of the temple possible. He offered particular gratitude to his wife, Matushka Rachael and his sons, whose steadfast support accompanied the long years of labor that culminated in this historic day.
For All Saints of North America Parish, the consecration marked not an ending but a beginning, a new chapter in the life of a community that traces its roots to a small gathering of faithful in 1993 and now stands as a living witness to Orthodox faith in Jesus Christ in the American Southwest.
May God grant many years to the clergy and faithful of All Saints of North America Orthodox Church, and eternal memory to Archpriest George Sondergaard, whose vision helped make this day possible.