It began as the private collection of Gordon B. Lankton (1931–2021), a plastics engineer and former chairman and CEO of Nypro, Inc., a precision injection molding company now owned by Jabil Circuit.

As outlined in his book The Long Way Home, Lankton took a motorcycle trip around the world in 1956 and 1957, visiting, in chronological order, Germany, Austria, Italy, Yugoslavia, Greece, Turkey, Syria, Iraq, Iran, Pakistan, India, Ceylon, Nepal, Burma, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Philippines, Hong Kong, and Japan.

In 2010, Lankton purchased the building immediately next door to the Museum and undertook a construction project to seamlessly join the two structures.

The second building, previously 195 Union Street, also served at one time as both the Clinton District Court and the Police Station.

The Museum is particularly proud to display extremely rare Royal Doors that once led to the High Altar of an Orthodox Church in Russia and can be traced back to the 17th century.

Because of an embargo of art loans from Russia to the U.S., ongoing since 2011, the Museum has relied on exhibitions originating in the United States.

[7] Submissions to the journal are reviewed by members of the editorial board, which consists of twelve leading scholars in the field from the U.S., Europe, and Russia.

The new name respects the Museum's history, acknowledges the expansion of the collection to embrace the whole world of Orthodox Christian Art, and points out the path towards the future.