St. Athanasius Orthodox Church • Nicholasville/Lexington Kentucky

October in the Parish

Abp. Alexander to visit Oct. 25-27

October is a liturgically calm season in the Orthodox Church. For newcomers, this month is a great time to plug into church life:

Our Fall Catechesis (Christian Teaching 101) is in full swing each Wednesday at 720pm (immediately following our regular Wednesday Vespers at 630pm.) Newcomers and inquirers are welcome at these classes — alongside our official catechumens. The weekly series will conclude in mid-December.

Sunday School has resumed!  Children’s Sunday School (ages Pre-K through High School) takes place after the Liturgy (20-30 minutes) and our virtual Adult Sunday School is live each Thursday. You can join the online conversation each Thursday here.

Our Archbishop Alexander is planning his final visit to St. Athanasius before his retirement this October 25-27. Please mark your calendars for this festive weekend (when we also celebrate the newly-canonized St. Olga of Alaska!) You can see the full schedule on the calendar below and at the main schedule page here. Learn more about Archbishop Alexander here.

We welcome those who are in (or close to) Madison County to consider a visit our daughter community, 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. St. Nina Chapel is drawing people from Somerset, London, Corbin, and beyond. We are now serving services twice a week on Tuesdays (630pm) and Saturdays (6pm.) We also are trying to serve two Sunday Liturgies per month in Berea. Our lead priest at St. Nina this year will be Fr. David Thatcher, who can be reached at fr.david@bluegrassorthodox.org.

Below is a collection of photos from October 2025, showing the full range of our parish life including both physical improvements at our church and a big annual multi-parish Fall St. Herman Campout (Sept. 26-28) that was held in Corbin, KY. We hope these photos inspire you to visit our church or mission (or one of the local Orthodox parishes.) If you have questions about our calendar or any aspect of our Faith or parish life, please reach out to our associate pastor Fr. Giorgi Lomsadze at fr.giorgi@bluegrassorthodox.org.

St. Athanasius Orthodox Church closes on new location in Nicholasville

Building

Here is a link from the Jessamine Journal about our parish’s closing on the Orchard property. These are exciting days! This closing and the building program we are currently gearing up for are the product of several years of work.  In 2006, our parish completed the purchase of 17 acres in …

August 29 – Feast of St. John the Baptist

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The Beheading of St John the Baptist, a Feast day established by the Church, is also a strict fast day because of the grief of Christians at the violent death of the saint. In some Orthodox cultures pious people will not eat food from a flat plate, use a knife, or eat food that is …

The Dormition of The Most Holy Theotokos and Ever-Virgin Mary

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The Dormition Fast that began on Wednesday, August 1 will end on Thursday, August 16, the day after the Feast of The Dormition of the Theotokos. Vigil for the Feast will be served on Tuesday, August 14, at 6:30pm and Liturgy for the Feast will be served at 7am on Wednesday, August 15.

On the Prayers of the Holy Angels

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  When praying, we must remember that we are members of one another, and therefore that we must pray for all, as the prayer ‘Our Father….’ teaches us.  The Apostles and all the saints are examples of this.  If we remember this and pray for others then the holy angels will also pray for us …

From Nothing to Everything in a Moment

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 On July 12 the Church remembers the woman, called Veronica (or Beatrice) whose story is told in Matthew 9: 20-22. She has been suffering from a flow of blood for twelve years. It would be hard to imagine a person whose life held less promise. This woman’s condition, which she had endured for …

July 4 Feasts

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Saint Andrew, Archbishop of Crete, was born in the city of Damascus into a pious Christian family. Up until seven years of age the boy was mute and did not speak.  However, after communing with the Holy Mysteries of Christ he found the gift of speech and began to speak.  At age 14 he went …

Feast of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul

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Friday, June 29 is the Feast of Saints Peter and Paul This feast traditionally marks the end of the Apostles Fast but since the feast fell on a Friday this year, the fast will conclude on Saturday, June 30.  

Apostles’ Fast

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The Apostles’ Fast begins on Monday, June 11 with the Feast of Ss. Barnabus and Bartholomew and will end on Saturday, June 30 the day after the Feast of Ss. Peter and Paul (because the feast falls on a Friday).  This fast is the least intense fast of our liturgical year.  All weekends, along …

Pentecost -Feast of The Holy Trinity

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   Sunday, June 3, 2012 We celebrate the feast of Pentecost And the coming of the Spirit, the appointed day of the promise,the fulfillment of hope. How majestic and great is the mystery! Therefore we cry aloud to you: “Glory to thee, O Lord and Creator of all.”  –Hymns for Pentecost In the New …