Welcome!
The Society of St. John Chrysostom – Western Region is an ecumenical organization of laity and clergy of the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, Assyrian Church of the East, and the Eastern Catholic and Roman Catholic Churches.
We work to make known the history, worship, spirituality, discipline and theology of Eastern Christianity, and for the fullness of unity desired by our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
We invite you to look over our website to learn more about our mission, activities, and upcoming events.

Thank you
A warm thank you to our four speakers, and all who attended our 2025 Light of the East conference, "1,700 Years of Nicaea" on Sept. 6. Bishop Nicholas Samra, Mark Nauroth, Father Pakrad Berjekian, and Father Brad Guillory each brought new insights into the Council of Nicaea and the Nicene Creed. Attendees offered insightful questions that led to … More...

Speakers announced for our Nicaea Conference
The Society of St. John Chrysostom - Western Region is pleased to announce the program speakers for our Sept. 6 Light of the East Conference, "1,700 Years of Nicaea." This half-day (morning) conference will feature speakers looking at what Nicaea meant then and continues to mean now for our understanding of Christian unity. His excellency … More...
Searchable map of SoCal parishes
The Society of St. John Chrysostom - Western Region is now hosting a map of all parishes in the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Assyrian Church of the East and Catholic Churches in our service area of Southern California. The map is organized into layers - by activating or deactivating layers, you can view only the parishes of a certain … More...
Save the date for our 2025 Oriental Lumen Conference!
Please plan to join us on Saturday, Sept. 6 for our 2025 Conference, “1,700 Years of Nicea.” John Paul the Great Catholic University in Escondido has generously agreed to host this conference in their Student Life Center.
We will have speakers from the following canonical churches presenting on what the Council of Nicea meant (and continues to mean) regarding our understanding of being a Christian:
- Armenian Apostolic Church
- Assyrian Church of the East
- Greek Orthodox Church
- Melkite Catholic Church
- Roman Catholic Church
A continental breakfast will open the conference at 8 a.m., and it will conclude with a provided lunch.
The suggested donation is $20 (plus the associated ticket handling fees); student price is $10 + fees.
Register at EventBrite.

The Society of St John Chrysostom promotes greater appreciation of the spiritual, theological and liturgical traditions of Eastern Christendom, works and prays for the unity of the Churches of East and West, and encourages support for the Eastern Churches:
- the Byzantine and Oriental Catholic Churches in communion with the Apostolic See of Rome (especially in their contemporary calling to promote reconciliation and the recovery of union between Catholics and Orthodox)
- the Orthodox Church
- the Oriental Orthodox Churches and
- the Apostolic Church of the East.
In the United Kingdom and Europe the Society, founded in 1926, is a group of Catholics of the Latin and Eastern Churches, along with our friends in other traditions, promoting awareness and friendship in the Christian West for our fellow Christians of the East – through prayer and liturgy, conferences and lectures, pilgrimage and ecumenical encounters.
In 1998 the Society was also founded in the United States, where it runs the annual North American and international Orientale Lumen conferences.
And in 2000, a new chapter of the Society was established for Australasia, based at the Center for Early Christian Studies at the Catholic University of Australia.