OUR HISTORY

From 2003 – 2008, some of the Parishioners who attended Saints Peter and Paul Ukrainian Orthodox Church in Wilmington, Delaware but lived in the capitol city of Dover, asked if it would be possible to open a Mission Parish as it was difficult for the families to attend every Sunday because of the distance. In January, 2008, a letter of request was sent to His Eminence, Archbishop Antony, ruling Hierarch of the Eastern Eparchy of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the USA and President of the Consistory requesting his blessing for a meeting to be called to see if it would be feasible to start a Parish.

With the blessing and prayers of His Eminence, on Saturday, January 26^th, 2008, a meeting was called at the home of Edward and Cheryl Zabowski to talk about the possibility of forming an Orthodox Mission Parish in Dover, Delaware. The meeting followed Great Vespers and it was chaired by Very Rev. Stephen Hutnick with twelve people in attendance: Edward Zabrowski, Cheryl Zabrowski, Sylvia Holt, Frank Biddle, Sonja Biddle, Robert Perrine, Veronica Perrine, Norman Kristic, Vince Spelock, Dana Spelock, Ralph Vurgich, and Esther Belliveau.

Father Stephen spoke about the commitment spiritually, financially and physically that was needed in order to make the Mission Parish a reality. Attendance at services is a requirement and a place of worship would need to be found. After prayer and contemplation, a motion was made to place the Mission Parish under the Patronage of Saint Nicholas of Myra. It was accepted unanimously.

A Property Committee consisting of Father Stephen, Robert Perrine, Edward Zabrowski, Norman Kristic and Sylvia Holt was formed to search for a place to rent for the Divine Services. Father Stephen stated that he would celebrate Divine Liturgy on one Sunday of the month and a Vesperal Liturgy would be celebrated on one Saturday of the month. As Sylvia was an officer of the Dover Century Club which is located at 40 the Green in Dover, she recommended that their hall might be adequate to hold services.  An appointment was made to view the property and it met with a resounding approval and has been our home since February, 2008.

The plans to form the Mission Parish were forwarded to His Eminence, Archbishop Antony and a petition was included that the new Mission Parish would be placed under his omophorion. A joyful letter of acceptance by His Eminence was received and an antimension with the relics of Saint Charalampus was entrusted to Father Stephen for the new community. The first Divine Liturgy was celebrated on Sunday. February 25, 2008.  There were 30 people in attendance.

During the summer, a “Family Day” was celebrated at one of the parks in the Dover area. It was a great day of prayer and fun for everyone in attendance.

His Eminence, Archbishop Antony made his first Archpastoral visit on Sunday, December 22, 2008 to celebrate the Mission’s first patronal feastday. Although the day started with snow, there were 60 people in attendance, including some of the Parishioners from our sister parishes of Sts. Peter and Paul in Wilmington, DE and Holy Trinity in Whaleyville, MD.  His Eminence spoke about what it meant to be an Orthodox Christian during his sermon and that we needed to stand up for our faith and be examples to the community and the world. After the Ambon prayer, His Eminence celebrated lytia. Blessing the loaves presented by the Parishioners for their health and salvation. He also celebrated Panakhyda (Memorial Service) for the deceased of the Parish members and blessed the zhyto (koliva) which was also distributed after the Liturgy.

A Lenten Banquet to honor Archbishop Antony’s first visit to the Parish was celebrated at the Betsy Ross Restaurant in Dover. His Eminence visited each and every one of the tables and met with all the people in attendance. 

Services continue to be celebrated one Sunday and one Saturday every month at the Dover Century Club. Beginning in 2009, the Liturgy of Presanctiifed Gifts is celebrated every Thursday in the Great Fast and Vespers for Good Friday are celebrated at 3:00 in the afternoon with a procession with the Holy Shroud around the green. Please check our Bulletin or scheduling page of the website for the times and dates of all of our services.

It is our hope and prayer that this Mission Parish under the patronage of Saint Nicholas of Myra will one day soon be considered a full fledged Parish. For more information, please do not hesitate to contact Father Stephen at (302) 798-4455 or at his e-mail address: otche@aol.com.