St.Nicholas the Wonderworker

About the Parish

St. Nicholas the Wonderworker is a parish of the Melkite Greek-Catholic Church — the Church of Antioch in communion with the Church of Rome. The parish is located in the town of Gates, just outside Rochester, NY, and has served the local community of Eastern-rite Catholics since 1927. Members today are men, women and children of Middle Eastern heritage together with many families from other backgrounds and traditions, and the parish is explicit that it 'reaches out to all.' Visitors are welcomed with the simple assurance that the only requirement to attend is seeking Jesus Christ.

A Parish of the Melkite Greek-Catholic Church

The Melkite Greek-Catholic Church is an Eastern Catholic Church in full communion with the Pope. Its name 'Melkite' comes from the Syriac/Arabic word 'melek' (king/emperor), referring to those Middle Eastern Christians who followed the faith of the Byzantine emperor in supporting the Council of Chalcedon. The Church is shepherded by the Patriarch of Antioch — the city of Antioch where, as the parish itself teaches, St. Peter visited before Rome and where the disciples were first called Christians (Acts 11). 'Greek Catholic' likewise refers not to ethnic Greeks but to the Byzantine cultural and liturgical tradition from which the Church springs; the average Greek Catholic is no more 'Greek' than the average Roman Catholic is 'Italian.' Members of the Melkite and Roman Catholic Churches share the same faith in Jesus Christ, and Roman Catholics who attend the Divine Liturgy at a Melkite parish fulfill their Sunday obligation.

Parish History

The parish was named for St. Nicholas in 1925 when immigrants from the Bekaa Valley in Lebanon, together with faithful from Syria and Palestine, wanted a place to worship in their accustomed Eastern Christian way. According to the parish's own website the community has been an Eastern Catholic presence in Rochester since 1927; according to the St. Nicholas Center the immigrants themselves helped build the original church. In the mid-1980s new families from the Middle East were welcomed into the growing community. A new site was purchased in the town of Gates in the 1980s, the original Rochester church was sold in 1995, and the new St. Nicholas the Wonderworker church in Gates was dedicated in the year 2000, where the parish continues to worship today.

Divine Liturgy and Worship

The parish celebrates the Byzantine Divine Liturgy — the Eastern equivalent of the Roman Mass — every Sunday at 10:00 AM, preceded by Orthos (Matins) at 9:00 AM. All services are in English, but the parish also repeats recurring responses and festal hymns in Greek and Arabic. Two choirs serve the liturgy: the Mount Lebanon Choir, which leads much of the congregational singing, and the Arabic Choir, which sings a portion of the Divine Liturgy. The liturgical life of St. Nicholas also includes the reception of Holy Communion in the Eastern manner — the faithful approach the priest, make a reverence (a bow from the waist with the sign of the cross), and with hands crossed upon the breast tilt the head back and open the mouth (without extending the tongue), then step aside for another reverence and return to their place.

• Sunday Orthos (Matins): 9:00 AM
• Sunday Divine Liturgy (Mass): 10:00 AM
• Language: English, with Greek and Arabic responses and hymns
• Choirs: Mount Lebanon Choir and Arabic Choir

Sacraments

As an Eastern Catholic parish, St. Nicholas follows the traditional Byzantine order of the sacraments: Holy Baptism and Chrismation (the Eastern equivalent of Confirmation) are typically received together, often as infants, and the newly baptized are full members of the Church. Children are brought to receive Holy Communion to 'nurture the seed of divine life' given them at Baptism, and Communion is given even to infants — a hallmark of the Eastern tradition. The parish teaches that only those who are baptized and chrismated into the Catholic or Orthodox Church, who are not impeded by unrepented and unconfessed sins, and who have fasted from the previous night, may approach the Holy Eucharist.

• Baptism and Chrismation (received together, often in infancy)
• Holy Eucharist (Communion) — including for infants and children
• Divine Liturgy celebrated every Sunday

Music and Choirs

Music is central to the Byzantine liturgical tradition at St. Nicholas. Two choirs regularly serve the Divine Liturgy: the Mount Lebanon Choir, which leads much of the singing and is one of the most visible liturgical presences at the parish, and the Arabic Choir, which sings for a portion of the Divine Liturgy in Arabic — reflecting the Antiochian heritage of the Melkite Church. Festal hymns are sometimes sung in Greek as well, particularly on great feasts, while the regular texts are in English so that anyone may follow and pray the Liturgy.

• Mount Lebanon Choir
• Arabic Choir (sings for a portion of the Divine Liturgy)
• Greek and Arabic responses and festal hymns alongside English

Pastor and Clergy

St. Nicholas the Wonderworker is currently shepherded by Rev. Fr. Michael Copenhagen, a married Melkite (Eastern Catholic) priest and father who also serves as a guest on the 'Ask A Priest Live' podcast. He holds a Bachelor's of Sacred Theology from the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas (the Angelicum) in Rome. He is assisted in the pastoral care of the parish by two permanent deacons: Rev. Fr. Deacon Edmond J. Elhilow, Jr. and Rev. Fr. Deacon Elias Y. Sarkis.

• Rev. Fr. Michael Copenhagen — Pastor (B.S.T., Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas, Rome)
• Rev. Fr. Deacon Edmond J. Elhilow, Jr.
• Rev. Fr. Deacon Elias Y. Sarkis

Visiting St. Nicholas the Wonderworker

The parish is located at 1492 Spencerport Road, Rochester, NY 14606-3520, on the edge of the town of Gates just west of the city of Rochester. Sunday services are easy to find: Orthodox-style Matins (Orthos) at 9:00 AM and the Divine Liturgy (the Eastern Mass) at 10:00 AM. The parish can be reached by phone at 1-585-426-4218 or by email at [email protected], and the parish is also active on Facebook at facebook.com/StNickRoc/. Whether one is a lifelong Catholic, an Eastern Christian, or simply someone curious about the Byzantine tradition, the parish's own welcome is succinct: 'the only requirement is that you are seeking Jesus Christ.'

• Address: 1492 Spencerport Road, Rochester, NY 14606-3520
• Phone: 1-585-426-4218
• Email: [email protected]
• Facebook: facebook.com/StNickRoc/
• Sunday Divine Liturgy: 10:00 AM (Orthos at 9:00 AM)