On the weekend of October 14-16, 2016, the parishioners and friends of Saint Nicholas Church, Bethlehem, PA, gathered to give thanks to our Lord for all the blessings He has bestowed upon them as they celebrated the 100th anniversary of the founding of their parish.
The centennial celebration began on Friday, October 14, with the celebration of the Akathistos Hymn in honor of Saint Nicholas. On Saturday, October 15, the Divine Liturgy commemorating the departed members of the parish was celebrated. Great Vespers was celebrated in the evening. On Sunday, October 16, His Beatitude, Metropolitan Tikhon; His Grace, Bishop David of Sitka and Alaska; and Archpriest James Weremedic, Rector, concelebrated the Hierarchical Divine Liturgy. Also present was His Beatitude, Metropolitan Herman, Former Archbishop of Washington and New York, Metropolitan of All America and Canada. Serving at the Divine Liturgy were Archpriests Thomas Edwards, George Hasenecz, James Mason, Dimitri Oselinsky, and John Onofrey; Priests Timothy Hasenecz and Jason Vansuch; Archdeacon Joseph Matusiak; Protodeacons Jacob Frimenko and Mikhail Sawarynski; Deacon Geoffrey LoBalbo; Subdeacons Roman Ostash and James Weremedic; Readers William Podlusky, Andrew Fartuch, and Matthew Lezinsky; and altar servers Yuri Guanowsky and Moses and Alexander Hodson. The choir was directed by Reader Nicholas Lezinsky.
Parish Council president Alexandra Keysock welcomed Metropolitan Tikhon with the traditional bread and salt, while Yuri Guanowsky and Elizabeth Hockman offered greetings and presented flowers on behalf of the Church School children.
Father James accepted a Synodal Gramota on behalf of the members of the parish in recognition of their dedicated service over the past century. Several parishioners also were awarded gramoti for their devotion to Saint Nicholas Parish.
Following each liturgical service guests enjoyed time to renew friendships and feast on a bountiful meal. After the Sunday Divine Liturgy, a gala banquet was held at the Best Western Lehigh Valley, bringing the spiritually inspiring and glorious weekend to a close.
Additional photos are available on the web site of the Diocese of Eastern Pennsylvania.
