Today, June 7, 2020 we were blessed to have our church open for Divine Liturgy in person since Covid-19.  Father Vasyl Dovgan celebrated our return with Divine Liturgy and the distribution of pussy willows.  How fitting it is that our first day back as a church family was Pentecost.  Glory to Jesus Christ!

June 2, 2019

On Sunday June 2, 2019 our parish was blessed to have His Eminence Archbishop Daniel lead the Divine Liturgy. The special day of prayers started with Fr. Vasyl Dovgan receiving his first ecclesiastical award – AXIOS!!! Our parish has been blessed to have Fr. Vasyl as our priest for 5 years! Bishop Daniel gave Father Vasyl a blessing and presented him with the sword. We look forward to many more years and blessings with Fr. Vasyl.
The Divine Liturgy continued with Zoryana and Roman Petroff receiving the Holy Mystery of Confession. What a wonderful blessing for them and our parish to have Archbishop Daniel celebrate this special moment with them. Father Vasyl and His Eminence Archbishop Daniel presented them with gifts from the church which included icons, prayer books and a Bible. May God bless them and protect them as they continue their spiritual growing.

His Eminence Archbishop Daniel presented the most worthy parishioners of our parish the Centennial Medal of the UOC of the USA. The award to 3 parishioners who have given much of their time to volunteering in the church, in our parish in various ways for many years. The awards were presented to Helen and Theodore Pershyn, Sonya Czerpak and Natalia Rubych. Thank you for all you have done and continue to do for our parish. Your dedication is really appreciated and it means a lot for younger generation.

Archbishop Daniel and Father Vasyl presented the children of the parochial school Certificates of Completion of their catechetical program. The children attended religion classes on Saturday mornings during the school year. Father Vasyl and Ilona Dovgan look forward to the children and all children in the parish to come and continue their spiritual growth.

We were blessed to have His Eminence Archbishop Daniel and the seminarians: deacon Svyatoslav, Pavlo, Yaroslav and Ivan join us for coffee hour and visit with all who were there.

It was wonderful to see so many parishioners and visitors in our church on Sunday, May God Bless you all!

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У неділю 2 червня 2019 року наша парафія св. Миколая благословилася візитом Високопреосвященнішого Архиєпископа Даниїла, який очолив Божественну Літургію. Особливий молитовний день розпочався з першої священичої нагороди отця Василя – АКСІОС!!! Наша парафія благословенна служінням о. Василя вже протягом 5-ти років! Владика Даниїл поблагословив отця та нагородив його палицею. Сподіваємося на спільне служіння з отцем Василем ще багато років.
Богослужіння продовжилося Таїнством першої Святої Сповіді наших маленьких парафіян Зоряни та Романа Петроф. Це велика честь для них та нашої парафії розділяти цей особливий день з єпископом нашої Церкви. Спільно з отцем Василем Владика вручив їм подарунки від парафії: маленькі ікони, молитовники та Біблії. Хай Всевишній Господь благословляє та оберігає їх на шляху свого духовго зростання.

Також Високопреосвященніший владика презентував особливі нагороди-медалі з нагоди сторіччя УПЦ США та вручив їх трьом нашим відданим парафіянам за заслуги та тривалий труд на благо Христової Церкви та нашої парафії зокрема. Ними стали: сім’я Гелен та Теодор Першин, Соня Черпак та Наталія Рубич. Висловлюємо їм щиру подяку за все що робили і продовжують робити для Церкви та наступних поколінь православних християн.

На завершення Владика Даниїл та отець Василь вручили сертифікати про завершення катехитичної програми, що проводиться при нашій парафії щосуботи протягом шкільного року. Отець Василь та добродійка Ілона сподіваються знову побачитися з дітками в наступному навчальному році та заохочують всіх інших приєднатися до програми духовного зростання.
Ми були безмежно раді візиту Високопреосвященнішого Архиєпископа Даниїла та семінаристів : диякона Святослава, Павла, Ярослава та Івана. Неймовірно приємно було бачити багато гостей. Все це подарувало нам урочисте духовне піднесення та збагачення! Нехай благодать Божа завжди перебуває між нами!

Joyful Pascha-Easter Celebration.

Christ is Risen – Indeed He is Risen!

With God’s blessings we are going through the Paschal celebration. We all were waiting for Christ’s Resurrection for so long, now it’s here and the time is flying so fast. We all had spiritually up lifting services, blessing of the Paschal baskets and after we had a nice, delicious breakfast all together. Thank God for all of His Blessings we all were able to come to the church for everything, but we do have some parishioners who couldn’t make. By the generosity of our parishioners we got a paschal basket for everyone. After the blessing and a meal with everyone in the church I tried to visit every parishioner in Nursing Homes, Rehab Centers or who couldn’t leave their homes. I greeted them with the words Christ is Risen and from everyone in the parish I delivered the traditional paschal basket. I saw the tears of joy in people’s eyes. From the bottom of my heart I would love to say thank you dear parishioners for everything, you are doing a great job. I look forward to sharing with you at our post Easter lunch on May 15^th to let you all feel exactly what I felt delivering Easter baskets. May God Bless you all with good health a lot of happiness.

PLEASE everyone join us, our parish family for our post Easter lunch on May 15 after Divine Liturgy. Let us all together follow Christ teachings and proclaim the good news “Christ is Risen”.

Acceptance into the Holy Orthodox Faith

April 16, 2016 before the Divine Liturgy, St. Nicholas Ukrainian Orthodox Parish in Troy, NY, accepted our sister in Christ, Patricia Walton, to the Holy Orthodox Faith. For months, Patricia, along with Fr. Vasyl, has been preparing for this important and special day in her life; she thoroughly studied the theology and the teachings of the Orthodox Faith. With her whole heart, Patricia united with Christ through the Orthodox Holy Sacraments, Teachings and Church Laws.
Our Parish celebrated with Patricia and welcomed her by giving her an Orthodox icon to always remember her faith, beautiful flowers and we all shared a celebratory, delicious cake. Mr. John Holowko presented a neck cross to her which she will have with her always. May God always Bless Patricia; our St. Nicholas Parish is thrilled to have her as one of our Parishioners and as one of our Orthodox faithful.

Easter Gifts!

 Dedication of National Ukrainian Holodomor Monument Washington, DC.

A very special and emotional weekend in Washington, DC for the unveiling and Blessing of The Ukrainian Holodomor (death by Hunger) Genocide Memorial in memory of the ~10 million Ukrainians that perished in 1932-1933 from starvation by Stalin and his Russian regime.

Two full buses from The New York Capital Region traveled to Washington, DC this past weekend to join the rest of the several thousands of Ukrainians from all over North America to witness an important part of Ukrainian History that was long hidden from the world. The beautiful bronze Holodomor Monument, designed by Larysa Kurylas, depicts a field of wheat that both projects and recedes across the Monument’s 30-foot-long bronze wall, representing the transition from harvest bounty to famine deficit.

The dedication ceremony took place at Columbus Circle where several thousands of Ukrainians dressed beautifully in Ukrainian embroidery and costumes gathered outside in the light rain proudly waving Ukrainian flags while listening to speeches from several Government officials, Holodomor survivors, Ukraine’s First Lady – Maryna Poroshenko and a video message from Ukraine’s President, Petro Poroshenko. An emotional Memorial Service and an official Blessing of the Monument led by the Patriarchs of the Ukrainian Orthodox and Catholic Churches of the USA and of Ukraine followed the dedication ceremony. As the sun started to set, the thousands of Ukrainians present marched from Columbus Circle to The White House, a sea of blue and yellow flags peacefully walked through the streets that were closed off to traffic for this momentous event. Marchers sang the Ukrainian National Anthem, religious hymns, as well as Ukrainian patriotic songs once arrived at The White House.

In addition to the official dedication and Blessing, the weekend was filled with several other commemorative events including a concert titled “an Artistic Tribute” which featured several incredibly talented Ukrainian musicians and dancers that left the audience without a dry eye in the auditorium. The most emotional part of the entire weekend for me was at the concert when the wounded Ukrainian soldiers with missing limbs stood while The Ukrainian Bandura Chorus angelically sang, “Боже Великий Єдиний”. ‪#‎сльози‬

I feel so Blessed to have been part of such a historic event in Ukrainian History. My grandparents were Holodomor survivors and I vividly remember their horrific stories of witnessing people dying in front of them. I remember seeing the tears and the pain in their eyes when they retold their stories to my brother and me. This past weekend’s events were very emotional for many, but we are also very proud of the dedication of this monument as its recognition means so much to Ukraine and its history. It was wonderful to see family, old friends, make new friends and especially to teach our children about this important part of Ukrainian history that shall never be forgotten.

Thank you to the U.S Committee for Ukrainian Holodomor for organizing such an amazing event, and a very special thank you to our Capital District Ukrainian Holodomor Committee for all your efforts in organizing this flawless and fantastic trip for our local Ukrainian Community. A special thank you to Dr.Andrij Baran, Pani Elizabeth Czartorysky Baran , Pan Karpishka and PaniStephanie Gyba Karpishka for all your incredible work, much appreciated.

‪#‎ВічнаяПам‬‘ять ‪#‎СлаваУкраїні‬ ‪#‎Proud to be Ukrainian‬.

Written by: Tanya Lisnyczyj-Petroff

A special Thank You from Mark’s Angels Foundation…

In August, Mark’s Angels hosted a fundraiser event at the Alex and Ani store in Saratoga, NY and we are happy to announce that we earned a total of $1,772!  This was the third year that we hosted this event and the most money we have ever raised.   

Thank you to everyone who purchased raffle tickets, came out and shopped and/or made a donation.  For those who came out to Saratoga, we hope you had as much fun as we did shopping. Your generosity is appreciated beyond words. Next month, we will be purchasing, wrapping and delivering Christmas gifts to the children at Albany Medical Center just in time to bring some Christmas cheer to the children who will be spending the Holidays in the hospital.

Thank you all for your generous support.

Father Vasyl, Pani Dobrodijka Ilona, Lida Kulbida, Michele Ryan & Tanya Petroff

Prayer

My Church is composed of people like me.

I help make it what it is.
It will be friendly if I am.
Its pews will be filled, if I help fill them.
It will go great work, if I work.
It will make generous gifts to many causes,
if I am a generous giver.
It will bring other people
into its worship and fellowship,
if I invite and bring them.
It will be a church of loyalty and love,
of fearlessness and faith,
and a church with a noble spirit,
if I, who make it what it is,
am filled with these same things.
Therefore, with the help of God,
I shall dedicated myself
to the task of being all the things
that I want my church to be.

AMEN.

Thank You for visiting our new website. Please join us in the celebration of Divine Liturgy each Sunday morning at 9:00am. During the first Sunday of each month, most of the Liturgy is held in English. Please contact Father Vasyl or a parish council member regarding any interest in Bible study for children or adults.

Parish Feast-day Celebration. 

December 20, 2015 – St. Nicholas Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Troy, NY.) was blessed to celebrate their Parish Feast day with over 100 people in attendance, including severalpriests from neighboring parishes. St. Nicholas’ doors are always open to everyone to come and share this joyful event with them. Fr. Mykola and Dobrodiyka NataliaAndrushkiv from St. Luke’s Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Syracuse, NY), Fr. Ivan Semko from St. Mary’s Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Herkimer, NY), and Fr. Mikhail Myschuk from St. Nicholas Ukrainian Catholic Church (Watervliet, NY) were all in attendance. At the end of the Divine Liturgy, Fr. Vasyl Dovgan welcomed all the priests and guests, and specifically greeted Fr. Mykola Andrushkiv along with everyone who bears the name Mykola on their name day. After Liturgy, the clergy, parishioners and guests went to the parish hall for a celebratory lunch. The event started with a prayer and blessing of the food, everyone greatly enjoyed the lunch along with the company of friends. The church choir’s singing, under the direction of Mr. Michael Tcapar, moved everyone in a spiritual way. They sang and caroled, and at the end of the performance they asked everyone to join them in singing, “Oy Khto, Khto Mykolaya Lyubyt”. St. Nicholas day would not be complete without the children; Mrs. Irina Petrik and Mr. Roman Karpishka Jr. accompanied the children while they sang a few songs about St. Nicholas. The children were excitedly and anxiously awaiting St. Nicholas’ arrival which could be seen in the precious expressions on their faces when he entered the room. St. Nicholas wasvery generous in handing out gifts to the children. Every year, this is a very special holiday for St. Nicholas’ parish, as the belief is that St. Nicholas will hear one’s prayers and bless them with good health and a lot of happiness!
20 грудня 2015 року парафія св. Миколая (Трой, НЙ) мала благословення святкувати своє храмове свято. Розділити цю радісну подію завітали о. Микола та добродійка Наталя з церкви св. Луки (м. Сиракуз, НЙ) та о. Іван з церкви св. Марії (м. Геркімер, НЙ), а також о. Михайло з парафіянами церкви св. Миколая (м. Вотервліт). По закіченні урочистої Божественної літургії, гості вирушили до парафіяльної зали, де на них вже чекали красива ялинка та смачна їжа. Після того, як духовенство блогословило їжу, розпочалося і саме святкування. Справжнім духовним піднесенням був спів хору св. Миколая, під керівництвом п. Михайла Цапара. У їхньому виконанні звучали як стародавні, так і більш новітні колядки, а також авторська пісня п. Михайла про св. Миколая та, звичайно, “Ой хто, хто Миколая любить?”. Як же свято Миколая без дітей! Найменші парафіяни радо розказували віршики та співали пісеньки, щоб прикликати Чудотворця на наше свято. Прохання були почуті! Миколай завітав, роздав подарунки і звеселив дітвору! Кожного року це свято є особливим для парафії, адже ми віримо, що святий Миколай Чудотворець завжди перебуває з нами і вислуховує наші молитви!

100-літній ювілей храму св. Миколая в м. Трой, Нью-Йорк.

13 вересня 2015 року парафія св. Миколая в м. Трой, Нью-Йорк святкувала 100-річчя храму. Цей довгоочікуваний урочистий день, до якого парафіяни всі разом ретельно готувалися, розпочався невимовно піднесено та молитовно! На порозі храму всі діти – від найменших до найбільших – з квітами в руках та іскринками в очах зустрічали свого владику, Високопреосвященнішого митрополита Антонія. Лідія Кульбіда, голова парафіяльної управи, за давнім українським звичаєм зустріла владику з короваєм та сіллю, та зі словами безмежної радості та подяки, при цьому наголосивши, що всі ці діти є майбутнім нашої святої Церкви, і не спроста сьогодні, святкуючи 100-літню історію, саме діти стоять першими, перегортаючи наступну 100-літню сторінку. Слідом, настоятель, отець Василь Довган, вже за церковним звичаєм зустрів митрополита зі свяченою водою та хрестом і попросив благословення та щирих молитов не тільки за всіх присутніх, але й за наших предків, які приклали всі свої зусилля, щоб сьогодні ми мали де молитися. У свою чергу митрополит Антоній подякував за теплі вітання і запевнив усіх в своїх щирих щоденних молитвах.

Духовенство з процесією попрямували до середини церкви, де відбулося облачення Високопреосвященнішого владики, після чого відбувся постриг в іподиякони, парафіянина церкви, слуги Божого Володимира Пічкурова, який неодноразово довів свою беззаперечну відданість служінню в вівтарі та самоприсвяту парафіяльній родині.

Архиєрейська Божественна літургія тривала в неймовірно урочистій духовній атмосфері, під супровід гармонійного співу хору св. Миколая (кер. Михайло Цапар).

У своїй проповіді митрополит Антоній навчав нас берегти і шанувати те, що дає нам Всевишній і те, що залишили нам наші предки, при чому наголосив, що основною цінністю є не матеріальні речі, а духовні. За прикладом наших прабатьків, які не могли влаштувати своє власне життя, мігрувавши до США, поки не створять громаду і не побудують святині, ми повинні так же дбати перш за все за духовність та за ближнього свого.

По завершенні Літургії о. Василь подякував владиці та всім, що розділили цю молитву з нами, а особливо священикам та дияконам, які заради цієї події покинули свої пастви. Серед них – декан о. Ігор Креховецький, о. Юрій Касьянов, о. Іван Семко, о. Богдан Калинюк, ієродиякон Василь, диякон Павло Черкас, диякон Филип Гарендза. Згодом вся парафія, як одна родина во Христі, згуртувалася, щоб закарбувати цей особливий день на світлині.

Друга половина святкування звісно ж – святковий обід! Гостина відбулася в готелі Marriott в м. Олбані, НЙ. Програма святкування виявилася не менш духовно піднесеною, оскільки розпочали з молитви та благословення владики митрополита. п. Лідія Кульбіда розпочала цей чудовий вечір зі слова подяки, подяки всім, хто в той чи інший спосіб привятив себе, свій час чи фінанси на благо спільної громади, для храму безпосередньо, для розвитку чи то духовного, чи соціального. Це був чудовий початок, бо так, як ми щодня дякуємо Богові за всі дані нам блага, так ми повинні не боятися дякувати ближньому своєму! Своє духовне слово сказав настоятель храму, який спільно з цією Христовою родиною пройшов шлях свого першого року як настоятеля. О. Василь також згадав всіх тих, яких за волею Божою не було в цей день з нами разом з тими, що загинули в боротьбі за волю та незалежність України та тими, що невинно загинули під час теракту 11 вересня. Слово привітання мав також один із попередніх настоятелів храму о. Богдан Калинюк.

Парафія розкриває свої таланти… Діти церкви св. Миколая потішили всіх своїм щирим співом пісні “Боже Великий, Єдиний”, після чого патріотично надихнула своїм виконанням пісні “Україно” Ірина Петрик. Підняли дух своїми неповторними танцями “Привіт” та “Гопак” танцювальний ансамбль “Зорепад” і звісно ж хор св. Миколая під керівництвом Михайла Цапара заспівали мелодійних духовних пісень, які не могли не торкнутися душі та серця. На завершення до уваги всіх присутніх п. Лідія підготувала невелике відо та фото презентацію про парафію, якою вона була і якою є на сьогодні. Кожен, хто дивився, мав свої спогади та відчуття, когось навіяла ностальгія, а хтось зрозумів, наскільки він є важливою частинкою одного цілого. Після завершальної молитви митрополит Антоній ще раз подякував усім за щирі молитви та гостину, а також привітав з поважним ювілеєм і побажав ще сто років такої ж плідної праці у Христовому Винограднику.

100th Anniversary of St. Nicholas Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Troy, NY.

On September13, 2015, St. Nicholas Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Troy, NY celebrated the 100th Anniversary of its church building. This long awaited momentous milestone, for which parishioners all worked together tirelessly, began with voices raised in prayer. At the entrance of the church, all the children from the youngest to the oldest — gathered with flowers in hand and smiles on their faces to greet His Eminence Metropolitan Antony. Lida Kulbida, the parish council president, welcomed him in the age-old Ukrainian tradition, with bread and salt, thanking him on behalf of all parishioners, especially the children who are the future, standing first as the parish turned the pages to the next 100-year chapter of its history. Next the pastor of St. Nicholas, Fr. Vasyl Dovgan, greeted Metropolitan Antony according to church custom with holy water and the cross, asking for blessings and prayers not only for all gathered on this day, but for the previous generations who had worked so hard in order for us to have this beautiful home church in which to come together to pray. Metropolitan Antony thanked everyone for their warm greetings and assured all that they were indeed in his thoughts and daily prayers.

The clergy of the procession headed to the middle of the church, where His Eminence Metropolitan Antony got vested, after which there was an ordination of a Subdeacon, parishioner of the church, the servant of God Vladimir Pichkuriv, who has been a dedicated parishioner helping as needed at the altar each and every Sunday. The Divine Liturgy was celebrated with a heavenly St. Nicholas church choir under the direction of Pan Mychaylo Tcapar, whose many years of service to the parish were recognized with a (hramota translation?). In his sermon, Metropolitan Antony taught us to honor and preserve the faith given us from God on high and kept for us steadfastly by our ancestors, and underscored what is most important are not material goods, but the strength of our spirits in our faith. Using the example of our forefathers, who came to this country and put the needs of their community first by coming together to build this church, we also need to care first for our spiritual growth and the needs of others. After the Divine Liturgy, Fr. Vasyl thanked His Eminence and everyone who had prayed with us this special day, especially the priests Fr. Ihor Krekhovetsky, Fr. Ivan Semko, Fr. Yuriy Kasyanov and Fr. Bohdan Kalynyuk and deacons hiero Dn. Vasyl and Dn. Poul Cherkas and Dn. Philip Harendza who took time from their own parishes to gather in another’s joyous anniversary celebration.

The second half of the celebratory day – the anniversary reception! The gathering at the Albany Marriott Hotel, began with a prayer by Metropolitan Antony, setting the heartfelt tone for the day. Lida Kulbida continued the afternoon with deep expressions of gratitude, thanking everyone who had donated their time, talents and financial support to the church not only on this joyous day, but all throughout the year. It was a wonderful start to the day because as we thank God every day for all our blessings, that is how we should remember to thank those closest to us! The spiritual word from St. Nicholas was brought to us by Fr. Vasyl, who together with his brothers and sisters in Christ, just finished his first year as pastor. Fr. Vasyl also remembered all who could not be with us this day as well as those who have died in the past year’s war in Ukraine and also those lost on the recently commemorated 14th Anniversary of the September 11th attacks. Previous pastor Very Rev. Bohdan Kalyniuk recalled the lasting friendships and wonderful memories he made during his 15-year tenure in Troy, that will be carried with him throughout his lifetime. It was at this point the parish opened up its storehouse of talents, beginning with the children of the parish of St. Nicholas and a heartwarming performance of “Bozhe Velykyj, Yedynyj “ and the patriotically inspired song of Ukraino by Irina Petrik. Spirits were lifted even higher by the energetic Zorepad Ukrainian Dance Ensemble’s “Pryvit” or welcome dance, and “Hopak.” Finally, not a heart was left untouched by soulful renditions of the St. Nicholas church choir under the masterful direction of Pan Mychaylo Tcapar. The finale of the afternoon, a video of the present day work in the church and a slide show look at its past, awakened in everyone memories of the work of the previous generations and the importance of everyone working together today because each individual part becomes part of a beautiful mosaic. After the closing prayer, Metropolitan Antony once again thanked everyone for their heartfelt prayers and warm reception, and wished them another 100 years together working in the vineyard of the Lord.

Dobrodijka Ilona Dovgan and Lidya Kulbida.