St. Athanasius Orthodox Church • Nicholasville/Lexington Kentucky

Feast of St. Athanasius Events

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Friday, May 1, at 6:30pm: Vigil for St. Athanasius

Saturday, May 2, at 9am: Divine Liturgy for St. Athanasius

Please note that BOTH of these services will be served in the church on Main St.  Due to inclement weather forecast for this week and weekend, we will not be serving our patronal cycle on the Land as we had originally planned.

Patronal saints of parishes are highly honored in the Orthodox Church.  We view St. Athanasius, a great African bishop and teacher in the early Church who reposed in the Lord in the year 373, as one of our primary intercessors before the throne of God and we humbly bear his blessed memory in Kentucky.  We strive to follow his example of godliness and loving boldness.  As part of our celebration of St. Athanasius, we will serve the All-Night Vigil on the eve of his feast day and, on the feast itself, we will serve the Divine Liturgy.

We are especially excited to be welcoming Fr. Stephen Freeman, our dean and dear friend, to be our guest celebrant for the Vigil this Friday evening.  At the invitation of Fr. Justin, Fr. Stephen will be serving and preaching for the Vigil service.  Immediately after the service (around 8:20pm), we will host Fr. Stephen in the parish hall for a light dessert and coffee.  All visitors and friends are invited to these services and fellowship events.

Following the Divine Liturgy on Saturday morning, we will be breaking the fast with light breakfast foods.  Christ is Risen!

Also…  Parents are invited to keep the feast by going on a “date” right after breakfast.  Our dear sister, Dr. Alexis Vien, is trying to raise funds for her medical mission trip to Belarus to assist at the St. Elizabeth orhpanage in Minsk.  She–assisted by two other women–has offered to have a two to three hour babysitting time on Saturday (roughly 10:30am until 1pm).  All she asks is that parents bring a small offering that she can use to defray her travel costs and use as an offering to the monastery and orphanage.  Let’s support this good work AND keep the feast by enjoying some time away from the children!