Dormition & Beyond

With the hottest days of summer behind us (hopefully,) the Orthodox Church observes the glorious days of the Dormition Fast, August 1-14. This fasting season contains a number of important celebrations inlcuding the Great Feast of the Transfiguration, the local commemoration of St. Herman of Alaska, and concludes with the celebration of the Great Feast of the Falling Asleep (Dormition) of the Theotokos. Later in August, we also celebrate a number of lesser feasts and mark the Beheading of St. John the Forerunner & Baptist of the Lord. You can see where these days fall on the August calendar (shown below) or how they appear on our parish google calendar here (which you can import into your own calendars.) We invite Orthodox Christians without a church home and anyone interested in our Faith to visit this month, especially on Sunday or on any Wednesday night (when we offer Christian Education after 630pm Vespers.) You can learn more about making an in-person visit to St. Athanasius here. You can also take a peek inside our church by checking our our parish YouTube channel. Our associate priest, Fr. Giorgi Lomsadze, will be offering a comprehensive semester-long catechesis series starting in September, that is open to all.

While we keep a fairly rich liturgical and social calendar in the summer, some of our regular programs are temporarily set aside (like Sunday School.) We look forward to resuming all of these things fully in September after Labor Day weekend.

We also welcome those who are in (or close to) Madison County to consider a visit our St. Nina Mission (213 Pauline Drive #5, Berea, KY,) which helps extend the reach of the Orthodox Faith along the I-75 corridor & Wilderness Trail. We are drawing people from Somerset, London, Corbin, and beyond. We are now serving services twice a week–each Tuesday (630pm) and Saturday (6pm.)

Below is a collection of photos from the summer , showing the full range of our parish life. We hope these photos and the depth of our Faith inspire you to visit St. Athanasius Orthodox Church and/or our St. Nina Mission in Berea! If you have questions about our calendar or any aspect of our Faith or parish life, please reach out to our rector and senior pastor Fr. Justin at fr.justin@bluegrassorthodox.org.