Saint Nikolai Orthodox Church

06/25/2026

We welcome visitors to our humble parish! The following is a short lesson on what to do and expect when you enter an Orthodox Church. (We ask that you enter through the door facing State Street.}

“WHAT DO I DO WHEN I ENTER THE CHURCH TEMPLE?”
First of all, one should take care not to be late for the service. Rushing into the temple after the service has begun shows a lack of respect for the Lord. We would take care not to be late for an audience with an earthly King—or even for work or school. How much more should we not be late for our weekly meeting with our heavenly King! In fact, not only should we not be late, we should take care to be early! This will give us the required time to “center” ourselves, to find the inner peace and preparation we need to bring ourselves into the presence God.
As soon as we enter the church temple, we make the Sign of the Cross, acknowledging the holiness of the place set apart for the worship of Christ. As we enter this holy place, we are reminded that this is not the time to chat or to greet others; rather, we should immediately focus our hearts on the Lord. (We may greet our neighbors by a silent nod and a smile.)
Proceeding to the icon of Saint Nikolai: Located just inside of the door is the the icon of the church’s patron saint. As we enter the church we venerate (pay honor) to our heavenly patron. The way to venerate any icon is like this: we make the Sign of the Cross and venerate the icon by kissing it.
After venerating the icon of Saint Nikolai, we may proceed to the icon in the center of the church. This is often an icon of a recent feast or of a saint who is being commemorated. After greeting the heavenly Church in this manner, we may greet the earthly Church, our fellow-worshippers, by a silent nod.
Next, it is customary to light a candle. We go to the candle-stand, select as many candles as we wish (they are available for a small charge to cover the cost), pray silently to the Lord and then plant the candle before the icon there. The burning candle symbolizes our prayer, which continues to ascend to the throne of God and gives light to the darkened world.
Finally, we take our place in the nave (the main part of the church) and stand in prayerful readiness, waiting for the service to start. In this way, we will have gathered our attention and prepared our hearts to worship the King.
We normally stand throughout the service for worship and prayer. If fatigued (the legs of the convert are usually the last part of the body to become Orthodox!) one may sit. But certainly one should stand for the opening exclamation “Blessed is the Kingdom…”, for the Little Entrance, the Trisagion, the Gospel, the Cherubic Hymn (when we “lay aside all earthly cares”) and the Creed, the Anaphora (after the Deacon says “Let us stand aright!”) and whenever the priest censes or blesses us..

06/22/2026

06/22/2026

We are only a few weeks away from our annual golf outing! We hope you will consider joining us as a golfer, sponsoring us on some level and sharing our information. Proceeds will be used to help fund our new church! We have outgrown our current building and need to expand! If you have supported us in any way in the past, we sincerely thank you!

06/10/2026

The previous post "Come and See" did not copy all the way and omitted that it was written by Father Don Purdum and was originally shared and borrowed from Matushka Elyse Barkett!

06/09/2026

COME AND SEE! WE ARE HOSTING AN OPEN HOUSE ON SATURDAY, JUNE 13 FROM 2 TO 5 PM! (9837 STATE STREET, ALLIANCE/LOUISVILLE} COME AND SEE!!!!

Some criticize the Orthodox Church for being too ornate. They argue that Jesus laid His head on rocks and had no luxury.
Yet they often forget where He came from, where He returned, and what our future in Him will be.
Why are some Orthodox churches covered in gold and icons?
Is it about luxury?
Is it about decoration?
Or is it about something much deeper?
Orthodox churches are not designed as lecture halls. They are not primarily meeting spaces. They are built as manifestations of the Kingdom of Heaven on earth.
When we gather for the Divine Liturgy, we are not pretending. We are participating.
Isaiah saw it (Isaiah 6).
St. John saw it (Revelation 4-5).
Golden lampstands.
Incense rising.
White robes.
Elders before the throne.
Radiance and glory.
The Liturgy is our entrance into that heavenly worship.
The gold is not about wealth.
It proclaims uncreated light, the divine glory that does not tarnish.
Gold reflects light.
It hints at eternity.
It whispers:
"The Kingdom of God has weight, color, sound, and radiance."
And the icons?
They are theology in color.
When the Word became flesh (John 1:14), matter was not discarded. It was sanctified.
Because Christ became visible, He can be depicted.
The Seventh Ecumenical Council in 787 defended this truth: the honor given to the icon passes to the prototype.
We do not worship wood and paint.
We venerate Christ and His saints, the "great cloud of witnesses" (Hebrews 12:1), who worship with us.
Icons proclaim the Incarnation.
They declare that the Invisible became visible.
Orthodoxy refuses to separate the material from the spiritual.
Water conveys baptismal grace.
Bread and wine become the Eucharist.
Oil anoints.
Incense rises like prayer (Psalm 141:2).
This is a sacramental worldview.
It is the mystery of salvation worked out through creation.
Beauty, then, is not sentimental.
It is revelatory.
God did not create a gray universe.
He created light.
Color.
Harmony.
To strip worship of beauty would quietly suggest that matter is spiritually irrelevant.
But the Church proclaims something else:
Creation is good.
It can be transfigured.
It can participate in theosis.
It can be transformed by divine grace.
The goal is not opulence.
The goal is transformation.
When you step into an Orthodox church, you are meant to feel that you have stepped into another reality.
Because, in Christ, you have.
Come and see.

05/28/2026

May your 78th year be blessed Vladyka!

05/27/2026

WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCED BETWEEN ORTHODOXY AND OTHER RELIGIONS?

"One writer has compared Orthodoxy to the faith of Rome and Protestantism in this basic fashion: Orthodoxy has maintained the New Testament tradition, whereas Rome has often added to it and Protestantism subtracted from it."

"For example, Rome added to the ancient Creed of the Church, while numerous Protestant churches rarely study or recite it. Rome has layers of ecclesiastical authority; much of Protestantism is anti-hierarchical or even "Independent" in polit. Rome introduce indulgences and purgatory; in reaction, Protestantism shies away from good works and discipline."

"In these and other matters, the Orthodox Church has steadfastly maintained the Apostolic Faith. She has avoided the excesses both of papal rule and of congregational independence. She understands the clergy as servants of Christ and His people and not as a special privileged class. She preserved the Apostles' doctrine of the return of Christ at the end of the ge, of the last judgment and eternal life, and continues to encourage her people to grow in Christ through union with Him. In a work, Orthodox Christianity has maintained the Faith "once for all delievered tot he saints.""

(Taken from "The Orthodox Church" published by Ancient Faith Publishing}

05/22/2026

WHAT IS THE ORTHODOX CHURCH?

(from Ancient Faith Publishing}

The Orthodox Church is the original Christian Church, the Church founded by the Lord Jesus Christ and described in the pages of the New Testament. Her history can be traced in unbroken continuity all the way back to Christ and His Twelve Apostles.

Incredible as it seems, for over twenty centuries she has continued her undiminished and unaltered faith and practice. Today her apostolic doctrine, worship, and structure remain intact. The Orthodox Church maintains that the Church is the living Body of Jesus Christ.

Many of us are surprised to learn that or the first 1000 years of Christian history there was just on Church. It was in the eleventh century that a disastrous split occurred between Orthodox East and Latin West. Although it had been brewing for years, the so-called "Great Schism" of 1054 represented a formal - and shocking - separation between Rome and Orthodoxy. At the core of controversy were two vitally important areas of disagreement: the role of papacy, and the manner in which doctrine is to be interpreted.

05/18/2026

Yesterday, at the end of the Divine Liturgy, Father Stephen did a special prayer service called a Panakhida or Parastos for one of our departed. Below is an explanation written by Father Stephen about we this service is done.

Why do Orthodox pray for the departed?
Out of love for them! Prayer for the dead is well documented within early Christianity, both among prominent Church Fathers and the Christian community in general. Among Church writers Tertullian († 230) is the first to mention prayers for the dead: "The widow who does not pray for her dead husband has as good as divorced him". Orthodox believe that we are obliged to pray to God for the departed, since they cannot do this for themselves. We leave the results – or even whether there is efficacy in prayer for the departed, since we cannot know for certain – up to God and His mercy. Prayer transcends both time and space. As the work of the Holy Spirit within us, prayer unites us in a transcendent, eternal communion with the Holy Trinity and with all the faithful who have preceded us through death and into life beyond. We can and we must pray for them, for their salvation and for our own. We pray for them and request their intercession for the same reason the Church has always offered that prayer: because even now we are united with them in the eternal bond we know as “the communion of saints.”

05/06/2026

Frederica Mathewes-Green produced a pamphlet entitled "12 Things I Wish I Had Known". It is an introduction to the Orthodox Church that may be helpful as you watch us on You Tube or if you visit us for the first time. Here is a summary of that pamphlet.

There are a number of things that are different from the services of other churches.

1. You may feel overwhelmed as soon as you walk in the doors of an Orthodox church. You will find that you are surrounded by color in the priests' vestments and the icons. You will immediately sense the incense being used. Rich, deeply moving music will fill your ears and hopefully your heart. People may be lighting candles, venerating icons, crossing themselves, bowing, standing in prayer.

It is important to remember that everything you see, hear, smell and touch or do in an Orthodox Church serves to lead us closer to God. God created us with physical bodies and senses for that purpose.

2. Traditionally, the Orthodox faithful stand throughout almost the entire service. Many Orthodox churches have no pews or like ours, have a few chairs around the edges of the room for the elderly and/or infirmed. If at any time you find the amount of standing too challenging, please feel free to be seated. With practice it will get easier.

3. Believe me, we make the sign of the cross frequently. We cross ourselves whenever the Trinity is called upon, when we venerate the cross or an icon and as Father Stephen has taught us, cross yourself whenever you feel the need or desire to do so. Some people may cross themselves three times in a row; some may bow and touch the floor with their right hand; some my cross themselves kiss an icon and bow. All are appropriate.

We cross ourselves using our right hand and we touch the forehead, chest, right shoulder and left shoulder ending over our heart. When we do this we hold our thumb and first two fingertips pressed together, and the last two fingers are pressed into the palm. The three fingers that are held together represent the trinity. The two finger pressed int the palm represent the two natures of Christ.

4. We usually do not knee on Sundays although we do sometimes prostrate. This is done by kneeling and placing our hands on the floor and touching our forehead between our hands.

Not everyone is able to prostrate. Some only kneel, some stand with their head bowed or even sit crouched over. No one should judge you for your choice or ability to prostrate. In Orthodoxy we accept individualized expressions of our faith.

5. As the author states: "Pucker Up"! We kiss things. When we first enter the church we kiss (venerate) the icons. The altar servers kiss the priest's hand when they give him the censer. We all line up to kiss (venerate) the cross at the end of the Liturgy.
We may greet each other with a kiss before receiving Holy Communion.

The usual greeting in the Church is "Christ is in our midst". We respond by saying "He is and always shall be."

6. Blessed bread and consecrated bread.
Only Orthodox may take communion, but anyone may partake of blessed bread. Communion bread is imprinted with a seal. As the priest prepares for Divine Liturgy, he cuts out a section of this seal and sets it aside. This is called the "Lamb". The remaining bread is blessed, cut up and placed in a bowl or basket.

The "Lamb" is consecrated to be the Body of Christ and the wine in the Chalice is the Blood of Christ. The priest places the "Lamb" in the chalice. During communion, we line up to receive a portion of the wine-soaked bread from a spoon from the priest. The priest prays over each one of us and calls us by our baptismal or chrismated name.

After receiving communion, we take a piece of the blessed bread. People may take additional pieces for guests and non-Orthodox friends who are present. This is a sign of fellowship. Non-Orthodox are welcome to step forward during communion to receive a blessing, but they do not receive communion.

7. Confession
Orthodox faithful are expected to make regular and private confession to Christ in the presence of their priest. The priest is our spiritual father and is called Father (first name). If he is married, his wife also holds a special role and title which varies depending on ethnic background.

During the Liturgy we say the Nicene Creed which affirms that the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father. This adheres to the Creed as it was originally written.

8. Music
A major portion of the Liturgy involves congregational singing. The music in our church is a capella (without instruments). Our choir leads the singing but all of the faithful may sing if they choose.

To someone new to Orthodoxy, the amount of singing may feel overwhelming at first. Frederica Mathewes-Green states that "it feels like getting on the first step of an escalator and being carried along in a rush until you step off ninety minutes later. It has been fairly said that the Liturgy is one continuous song.

Relatively little changes from one Sunday to the next. The songs and prayers are the same with the exception of songs dedicated to Feast Days or Individual Saints (Troparia and Kontakia), and the Epistle and Gospel readings.

9. No Shortcuts in Orthodox worship!!
Originally, the Liturgy lasted for over five hours. Saint Basil edited it down to two and a half hours. Around AD 400, St. John Chrysostom edited to about one and a half hours.

We begin our Divine Liturgy with the reading of the Hours at 9:10 am. Divine Liturgy begins promptly at 9:30 am.

10. Mary, the Theotokos
The word Theotokos means "Mother of God." When you hear the words "Most Holy Theotokos, save us," we are asking her to "protect, defend, and take care of us here on earth." We ask for the prayers of all the saints and the Theotokos. We are reminded that all of the saints are joining us in worship.

11. Three Doors
Every Orthodox church has an "Iconostasis" (icon-stand) separating the altar from the rest of the church. The center doors in front of the altar itself, (usually two doors) is called the Royal Doors. This is where the King of Glory (Christ) comes to the faithful during the eucharist.

There are two additional doors to the left and right of the Royal Doors. These are referred to as the "Deacon's Doors". These are used by Deacons and altar servers. No one is allowed to use these doors without an appropriate reason. Altar servers and priests can only be males. Females may participate in every other part of the church life with the exception of serving in the altar or the priesthood.

12. Ethnicity
You may notice that many Orthodox churches are designated by ethnicity. At Saint Nikolai Orthodox Church, we use the English language and welcome people of all ethnic backgrounds. Orthodox everywhere hold to the basic Christian doctrines taught by the Apostles and handed down by their successors. We also hold to the moral standards of the Apostles.

The more you experience Orthodoxy, the more it will begin to feel like a home and it will draw you into the Kingdom of God.

COME AND VISIT US. . . COME AND SEE!