Saturday, September 12, 2026

𝗙𝗥𝗢𝗠 𝗔 𝗙𝗘𝗪 𝗙𝗔𝗠𝗜𝗟𝗜𝗘𝗦 𝗧𝗢 𝗔 𝗠𝗨𝗟𝗧𝗜𝗡𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡𝗔𝗟 𝗣𝗔𝗥𝗜𝗦𝗛. 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗔 𝗗𝗨𝗖𝗞 𝗧𝗢𝗨𝗥 𝗦𝗧𝗢𝗥𝗬

1. In 𝟭𝟵𝟬𝟭, St. Nicholas began as a small immigrant community. At least 𝟮𝟭 adult parishioners are documented as taking part in the first Parish Assembly. The first parishioners were primarily immigrants from Galicia, together with people from other parts of the Russian and Austro-Hungarian Empires.

Almost 100 years later, by the late 𝟭𝟵𝟵𝟬𝘀, the parish included people of Russian, Ukrainian, Polish, Irish, Italian, German, Spanish, and other backgrounds.

By the time St. Nicholas celebrated its 𝟭𝟬𝟬𝘁𝗵 anniversary in 𝟮𝟬𝟬𝟭, only about 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗾𝘂𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗲𝗿 of its approximately 𝟭𝟱𝟬 adult parishioners were of Russian ancestry.

And by the 𝟭𝟮𝟱𝘁𝗵 anniversary in 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲, our parish map shows an even broader picture — people connected with St. Nicholas now have roots in about 𝟯𝟱 countries and territories, as well as many different U.S. states.

2. Interestingly, around 𝟮𝟬𝟬𝟬, St. Nicholas had become such a recognizable Salem landmark that its blue domes were pointed out to tourists and could be seen from the Veterans Memorial Bridge.

Father Vasily Gilbert recalled that St. Nicholas was the 𝗼𝗻𝗹𝘆 𝗰𝗵𝘂𝗿𝗰𝗵 𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗲𝗱 𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗹𝗼𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗗𝘂𝗰𝗸 𝗧𝗼𝘂𝗿.

And sometimes the story did not end with the tour: visitors would return, ring the church doorbell, and ask to see the interior.

𝗛𝗢𝗪 𝗦𝗧. 𝗡𝗜𝗖𝗛𝗢𝗟𝗔𝗦 𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗡𝗚𝗘𝗗 𝗧𝗛𝗥𝗢𝗨𝗚𝗛 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗗𝗘𝗖𝗔𝗗𝗘𝗦

We have already written about how our church was built. But how did its appearance change over the decades?

𝟭𝟵𝟲𝟬 — A major renovation began. A 𝗚𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗹 𝗥𝗲𝗽𝗮𝗶𝗿 𝗙𝘂𝗻𝗱 was created, the church and rectory were covered with 𝗮𝗹𝘂𝗺𝗶𝗻𝘂𝗺 𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴, the church interior was redecorated, the hall and kitchen were remodeled, and new furniture was purchased.

𝟭𝟵𝟲𝟬𝘀 — The installation of the church’s 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗲𝗱-𝗴𝗹𝗮𝘀𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝗻𝗱𝗼𝘄𝘀 was completed during the years of Father Vitaly Voshchullo and Starosta Paul Porachniak. The narthex was also redecorated and refurnished.

𝟭𝟵𝟲𝟱–𝟭𝟵𝟴𝟮 — The parish gradually expanded its property. Two neighboring houses were purchased in 1965 and demolished in 1971 to create a temporary parking lot. By 1982, after the property at 𝟲𝟮 𝗙𝗼𝗿𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗦𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗲𝘁 was transferred to the church, the parish grounds had become one continuous area.

𝟭𝟵𝟴𝟭 — The church ceiling was restored, the beams refinished, and the interior repainted. The icon of 𝗖𝗵𝗿𝗶𝘀𝘁 𝗣𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗼𝗰𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗼𝗿 was installed above the nave, donated in memory of Starosta John Elchoor by the Niconchuk families.

𝗔𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱 𝟮𝟬𝟬𝟬 — A major historic restoration brought the church much closer to the exterior appearance we recognize today. The 𝗮𝗹𝘂𝗺𝗶𝗻𝘂𝗺 𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 installed in 1960 was removed, damaged wood and decorative molding were repaired, the exterior was repainted, and the church’s 𝗯𝗹𝘂𝗲 𝗱𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘀 were restored.