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.

Holy Cross Monastery Pilgrimage

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Our diocese has blessed us to join with the fathers of the Hermitage of the Holy Cross in Wayne, WV for this year’s pilgrimage weekend, celebrating their 25th anniversary as a monastic community. The pilgrimage weekend falls on October 1st and 2nd, and will be blessed by the presence of the …

Summer Scripture Series

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Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.  John 5:39 It is appropriate that with the Feast of Pentecost, in which the saving work of Christ is fulfilled with the coming of the Spirit, we turn our attention to the Holy Scriptures.  This …

Lexington Orthodox Vacation Church School

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From Monday, June 6, to Friday, June 10, St. Athanasius Orthodox Church will participate in the annual Lexington-area Pan-Orthodox Vacation Church School, hosted by Panagia Pantovasilissa Greek Orthodox Church in Lexington.  Daily Schedule is 10am to 1:30pm.  We ask families to make sure your …

The Three-Day Pascha: Feast of Feasts

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In the Orthodox Church, our life in Christ centers around a Great Mystery–the Death and Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ.  Of course, we experience this Mystery in many ways: in the words of the Gospels, in the Sacrament of Holy Communion, and in our own lives as we prayerfully reflect on …

Great Lent 2011

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A pastoral note from your priest: Brothers and Sisters in Christ, For some people, the word “Lent” occasionally conjures up images of deprivation, guilt, and sadness. But if I may boldly borrow from St. Paul: “Brethren, this ought not to be so!” Too often in our times, Lent …

Ancient Kursk Icon Visits St. Athanasius

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Using their lunch hour for prayer this past Tuesday (December 21), about 150 people welcomed the 700-year-old Kursk Root Icon of the Mother of God to St. Athanasius Orthodox Church in South Nicholasville.  A delegation of the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad, led by the icon’s guardian, …

Ancient Kursk Icon at St. Athanasius

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With the blessing of the bishops of both the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia and the Orthodox Church in America, the 700-year-old Wonderworking Kursk-Root Icon of the Mother of God will visit St. Athanasius Orthodox Church in Nicholasville at noon on December 21, 2010. The celebration of a …

2010 Fall Lecture Series – The Orthodox Experience in America

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St. Athanasius is now in the midst of our annual Fall Lecture Series.  Our talks this year are centered around the theme of Orthodox Christianity in America.  Each presenter, including all of our local Lexington priests, will discuss the history of his particular church body, the key moments of …

Mid-September Events

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Special Talk on Music in Judaism and the Early Church This coming Wednesday evening, our parish is hosting a scholar from Russia, Dr. Yelena Kolyada, author of the award-winning 2009 book A Compendium of Musical Instruments and Instrumental Terminology in the Bible. Dr. Kolyada is considered an …

September 1st: the Crown of the Year

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It’s our Ecclesiastical New Year, but you will not see any fireworks.  It quietly comes once a year in September so that members of the Orthodox Faith can again experience, participate, and remember the 12 Great Feasts of our Church.  This succession of feasts allows us to live the life of …