ABOUT ST. NICHOLAS ORTHODOX CHURCH
Welcome to Saint Nicholas Orthodox Church. We are a parish of the Orthodox Christian Faith which was established on the day of Holy Pentecost in the Year 33 AD. Our parish community is a member of the American Carpatho-Russian Orthodox Diocese of the U.S.A. whose presiding bishop is His Grace, Bishop Gregory of Nyssa. The American Carpatho-Russian Orthodox Diocese is an autonomous diocese under the spiritual protection of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople of which His All-Holiness, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I is the Primate.
St. Nicholas was founded in 2009 with the blessing of His Eminence, Metropolitan Nicholas, of blessed memory. It was a true leap of faith. As far as anyone knew, there was only one Orthodox person living in Cherokee County, NC, and the surrounding counties of Clay and Macon in North Carolina, Towns, Union and Fannin in Georgia, and Polk in Tennessee. Despite that, the first Divine Liturgy was served on August 9, 2009, the Feast Day of St. Herman of Alaska. Seven local Orthodox Christians appeared, and became the first members of the church. Today, eight years later, we have grown substantially, and recently purchased a building of our own to house the Church. Our membership is widely varied, and is about one half cradle, and one half converts.
Our parish community holds firmly to the traditions and beliefs of our Holy Orthodox Christian Faith as passed down to us by the Orthodox Church. We are a small, but growing , active family-oriented parish of about 40 members, plus a number of children. Building on the strong foundation of faith instilled in us, we are committed to sharing the Holy Orthodox Christian Faith we love so dearly, with all who seek it. We welcome you to our parish web site and hope you enjoy your on-line visit. We cordially invite you to personally visit our parish when you are in the Murphy, North Carolina area.
