About Us
St. John in the Wilderness is a small Orthodox sanctuary devoted to nature, beauty, and human resilience in the face of climate change.
Our Parish
Rooted in the practices, worship, and teachings of Jesus Christ and the Early Church and located in the majestic Purcell Wilderness Conservancy in beautiful British Columbia, Canada, St John in the Wilderness is an English language Orthodox mission of the Orthodox Church in America. We are a small but growing community who come together to practice, chant, and experience the Orthodox Christian Liturgy in an off-grid chapel in Birchdale. Many of us are new to Orthodox Christianity or converts to the faith, which makes this a great place to encounter the ancient tradition of Eastern Orthodoxy for the first time!
Fr Nilos Nellis and M. Sheila Murray-Nellis came to be the caretakers of this breath-taking, pristine land in 2006. Those of us who come here to learn and grow and worship feel so blessed to be able come together here in communion with each other and the elements in the natural beauty of the Purcell Wilderness Conservancy.
With the help of God, we are on our way towards building an exquisite stone chapel designed by Byzantine architectural scholar Andrew Gould! In 2013 the spot for the stone chapel was excavated and in 2015 Fr. Nilos, with the blessing of OCA Archbishop Irenee, held the first Divine Liturgy here in a small chapel that had formerly been used as a weaver’s cabin just up above the house. As of 2024, the concrete foundation for the stone chapel is in place, we have stones lying in wait, we have hired a local stone mason and have even begun vertical work on one of the walls! Until the stone chapel is built we have a small but lovely temporary chapel space on the top floor above the common area of the main house. We have ten acres of gorgeous land, cabins, and all the tools necessary to continue the building up of our stone chapel and other infrastructure needed for the St John in the Wilderness mission.
We have committed parishioners, new catechumens, and many curious visitors. We are excited to keep growing, in Christ!
Join us
Our regular services in Birchdale are:
Divine Liturgy on Sundays (boat pickup at 9 AM) and Great Vespers on Saturdays (boat pickup at 5:30 PM)
First time visitors are encouraged to contact Father Nilos in advance for more information and to arrange for boat pickup. This can be particularly helpful for those who have never experienced an Orthodox Liturgy.
In keeping with the ancient Orthodox Christian tradition, communion is limited to baptized, confessing Orthodox Christians, but all other aspects of our prayer and worship are open to all.
If you’d like to connect, we would love to hear from you. Please contact us with any questions!
our beginnings
St John in the Wilderness Orthodox Sanctuary had its beginnings – at least in terms of the land itself being involved- when Sheila and Robert Nellis (now Fr Nil and M. Sheila) felt guided and strangely compelled to make an offer on an intriguing property inside the Purcell Wilderness Conservancy after they unexpectedly walked into a real estate office in Nelson BC in 2006 while travelling through the area with their youngest son Patrick. When Fr Nil was asked the usual question “What are you looking for?” the following words spontaneously and mysteriously came through, as if “someone else carried them out of my mouth for me”:
“Do you have anything with steep slopes and boat access only?”
After a few moments of astonished silence, the real estate agent brought forward a listing that only one person had looked at and that no one had ever made an offer on: a ten acre piece of land north of Kaslo that was boat access only. Looking back through time, it seems the listing must have been lying in wait, destined to become home to what would become St John in the Wilderness Orthodox Sanctuary.
If you are curious about how the steep slopes question relates to a father-son experience on Mt Athos you’ll need to ask Fr Nil .
If you’d like to continue reading this story and learn more about us, visit the OUR STORIES webpage!
Our Location
Experience Eastern Orthodoxy in the Kootenays
St John in the Wilderness is in a remote area not easily accessible to the public; however the Anglican Church has given us the blessing to offer outreach liturgical services at the historic St Saviour’s Church in downtown Nelson, BC on the first Friday/Saturday of each month. We will have Vespers on Fridays at 6 PM and Divine Liturgy on Saturdays at 11:30 AM. See our Calendar for more details.
