Parish Philosophy Statement   

    We are the parish family of Saint Nicholas Byzantine Catholic Parish. Our lord, God and savior, Jesus Christ, is central to our community.
    We come together to worship him and, in Jesus’ name, we share our lives with one another.
    We come to learn about and share our faith with those who will accept our Lord’s call to discipleship.
    Our objective is to give witness to and share the Gospel message about Jesus Christ and his resurrection from the dead for our salvations.

Parish Mission Statement

    St. Nicholas Parish embraces all of those in Lorain County who want to practice the Christian faith as Byzantine Catholics within that Church’s theology, spirituality, liturgy and communal dimension.
    The parish establishes these priorities in its life:
        1.) Worship
        2.) Education
        3.) Outreach
        4.) Social
    In carrying out its mission, the parish must exercise responsible stewardship of its temporal goods. This includes the free-will offerings of the members and the various fund-raising activities.
    In all things, the parish is legally accountable to the eparchial bishop. In a less formal way it is accountable to the community at large.

Parish History

          Saint Nicholas Byzantine Catholic Parish was established on Sept. 14, 1914, at the former location on Toledo Avenue in Lorain, Ohio. On that date, the first Byzantine Catholic bishop, Bishop Soter Ortinsky, dedicated the one-story structure of Saint Nicholas church. The pastor at the time was Father Basil Beretz.

          The people who were members of Saint Nicholas Parish in September, 1914, were the same ones who had initiated plans for a parish of the Ruthenian Byzantine Rite Catholics in 1905. Founders of this parish emigrated from the Austro-Hungarian Empire (today, the eastern-most section of Slovakia), to Lorain, in the last part of the 19th century and early part of the 20th century. For a few years they attended Saint Michael Hungarian Byzantine Catholic church on Wood Avenue (presently on Reeves Avenue), and for a brief time services were held in Kohlmeyer’s Hall on Pearl Avenue in Lorain.

          During the pastorate of Father Andrew Pataki (former bishop of Parma, Ohio, and presently the bishop of Passaic, N.J.), a giant step was taken toward assuring the future of Saint Nicholas Parish. On Dec., 7, 1958, ground was broken for the construction of a parochial school. The cornerstone dedication took place on Sept. 20, 1959. Because of a fire originating in the altar boys’ sacristy in the church in March of 1960, the church was renovated by the Nobris Decorating Company of North Canton, Ohio. A festive dual observance took place on Sunday, June 1, 1960. Archbishop Nicholas T. Elko, blessed the newly-renovated church and the new Saint Nicholas school.

          During the pastorate of Father Michael Felock, plans for a new complex became a reality.  A ground-breaking ceremony was held on Jan. 25, 1981 on the present property at West 40th Street. The dedication and solemn blessing of the new Saint Nicholas complex was held on Sunday, Oct. 10, 1982. The interior of the church and sanctuary were renovated under the pastorate of Father David Hannes in 1994. Since then, a few seraphim and cherubim have been added to the ceiling surrounding the existing icons. A new mobile classroom has been set up so that the two mobile trucks could be removed from the property. A computer lab with a network connection to each classroom, has been created for the students and faculty of Saint Nicholas Academy.

During the pastorate of Father James Batcha, 1995-2003, there was an upgrade of the computers in the school. This was part of the parish outreach program and evangelization. He also established a Web site for both the Academy and Saint Nicholas Parish.  The site includes links to the Parma Eparchy’s Web site, the Byzantine home page and Saint Nicholas Academy home page with an alumni section where former students from Saint Nicholas Academy may register.

He also established a Father Michael Felock Memorial Fund in memory of the pastorate of Father Michael Felock, who served Saint Nicholas Parish from 1963-1987.  He passed away on May 12,  1997.  This fund was established on Oct. 4th, 1997 in order to raise funds for building maintenance and future construction.

On Oct. 15, 2003, Father Batcha began a new pastorate at St. John Chrysostom Parish, Columbus, Ohio, and Father Nicholas Rachford became the new pastor of St. Nicholas Parish.

In December, the first organizational meeting for a parish youth/young adults group took place. At a meeting in January, the members elected officers. There was an officers workshop in February and the first event was planned.

The month of May saw the formation of a Building and Maintenance Council. Its purpose is to review the needs of the physical properties of the parish, make recommendations for repairs and improvements and assist in carrying them out.

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