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.

Pardon our Dust (literally)!

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As we get ready to head into a new liturgical and school year, our parish has decided to do some serious improvements in our chapel and fellowship spaces at 926 S. Main St.  (We want to focus special attention on our current space in the light of the fact that we will soon be starting …

Worship: the Heartbeat of our Lives

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In the Gospels, it is written that all of the teachings of the Law and the Prophets can be hung on two broad commandments: loving God with all our heart, mind, and soul and loving our neighbor as ourselves.  Too often, in our day, Christians seek to fulfill “love” by merely being …

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 …

Christ is Risen! ??????? ????????!

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We welcome everybody to continue praying with us as we celebrate the joy of what we Orthodox call “bright Week,” the festal week that follows Pascha Sunday, the Feast of Feasts in the Orthodox Church–the Day of Christ’s Holy Resurrection.  On this week, we offer the following …

Holy Week & Pascha 2009: Pray with us!

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Note that Orthodox Pascha (Easter) falls one week after Easter in the Western churches. Schedule of Services (for more information see sidebar) Friday, April 17, 6:30pm: Matins for Holy Saturday (1 1/2 hr) Saturday, April 18, 9am: Liturgy for Holy Saturday (2 1/2 hr) special Holy Saturday meal …

An Evening Discussion: Our Holy Week Journey

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For Orthodox Christians, the highlight of our worshiping year remains Holy Week, which culminates in the Resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ on what we call Pascha (Passover).  During this sacred week, Orthodox Christians may spend as much as 30 hours in Church services and many other hours in …

Keeping the Fast with Joy: Come Pray with Us!

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The St. Athanasius community invites you to pray with us as we continue our Lenten journey to the Pascha of our Lord (Easter)!  Throughout Lent, our basic schedule remains: 6pm Wednesdays: Liturgy of Pre-Sanctified Gifts (with Lenten Meal) 7am Fridays: Lenten Matins 6:30pm Saturdays: Vigil (Vespers …

Entering Great Lent: Pray with Us!

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Great Lent–rather than being a time of joylessness or mere deprivation-remains chiefly a time to celebrate the awesome reality that the Lord calls us to Himself.  We are not called to remain as we are, but to “remember Sion” and return to the promised Land of sinlessness and joy.  …

Community Open Event: Exploring Great Lent

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While Great Lent remains a great mystery to most Americans (including American Christians), from the first centuries of the early Church, the forty day period preceding Pascha (Easter) was considered an integral part of Christian life.   As we prepare to enter into the season of of Lent, St. …

Project Lazarus: Feeding the Hungry

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Free Bread Every Sunday 1pm-2pm We are pleased to announce that beginning Sunday, January 18, St. Athanasius Orthodox mission is launching Project Lazarus Bread Ministry.  Partnering with Panera Bread Co.–which is generously providing the bread–we will be offering free bread to all who …