Who We Are

Welcome to Saint Nicholas Orthodox Church.

We are an active, welcoming community of Orthodox Christians located in the city of Monongahela, in the region of Western Pennsyvlania known as the Mon Valley, on the banks of the Monongahela River, 25 miles south of Pittsburgh.

We are a part of the Orthodox Christian Church, the original Christian Church, founded by Christ and His Apostles.

We are a parish of the American Carpatho-Russian Orthodox Diocese headquartered in Johnstown, Pennsylvania.

While our roots are people from Carpatho-Russia, we are a diverse Orthodox Church with people representing all nationalities: cradle born Orthodox and converts to the Faith.

We preach the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ through word and action:

through our public, liturgical worship and praise of God, especially through the celebration of the Holy Eucharist (the Divine Liturgy)

through Biblical teaching and preaching, especially relevant, Biblically focused sermons, and education for children and adults

through service to others within our own community and within the greater Pittsburgh area.

WE ARE….

- The Church of the Bible. We are a part of the ancient Christian Church the produced the New Testament which was completed in its final form and ratified at a Council of our Church in the 4^th century A.D. The Holy Gospels are enshrined in the center of our altar and are the focus of the first part of our Sunday worship known as “The Divine Liturgy”. We study God’s word in the Holy Bible at adult studies in the spring and fall of each year.

- The Church of History. Our Church begins with the foundation of Christ and the Apostles. We are not the result of a break nor a reform movement in another Christian Church. We were not founded by a man, a reformer, a prophet or visionary but directly by our Lord Jesus Christ. While the Orthodox Faith has been on the American continent since 1794, our parish was established in 1911.

- The Church of the Cross. Crosses are found everywhere in our church, from the top of the domes to the walls of our church. During worship we trace the Sign of the Cross on our bodies. These are all the means by which we preach Christ crucified (1 Corinthians 1:23). We firmly believe that we are saved by what Jesus has done for us upon the cross rather than by our attempts at goodness and righteousness.

- The Church of the Resurrection. Just as the early Christians gathered to worship on the “Lord’s Day”, that is, Sunday, the day of the Resurrection of Jesus, we also gather every Sunday morning. We often greet each other by saying Christ is Risen! Indeed He is Risen! and we mean it! Our Sunday worship is our celebration of the Lord’s passion, death, and resurrection.

- The Church of the Eucharist. We believe in the promise of Jesus:

I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever;

and the bread that I shall give is My flesh for the life of the world…..

He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me and I in him. (John 6)

The whole purpose of our lives is to be united with Jesus, here and in the world to come. This happens in a mystical yet real way each time we receive Him in Holy Communion. The early Christians believed that the Holy Eucharist was not a mere “symbol” of Jesus’ body and blood and not simply a way to “remember” Him but that He was actually present in the bread and wine. We believe this and celebrate His presence at each Divine Liturgy.

We welcome you to our parish web site and hope you enjoy your on-line visit. We cordially invite you to personally visit our parish when you are in the Monongahela, Pennsylvania area.