Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

The Deacon's Bench

Home
Catholic
Religion News
On the road: a visit to St. Nicholas

On the road: a visit to St. Nicholas

Last updated on: June 4, 2017 at 2:01 pm by Deacon Greg Kandra

On the road: a visit to St. Nicholas 2017-06-04T14:01:46-04:00 Deacon Greg Kandra

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

This Sunday, my wife and I decided to do something altogether different during our vacation: we stopped by St. Nicholas Catholic Church in Orlando, the Byzantine home of my friend Deacon Daniel Dozier.

[img attachment=”197189″ align=”aligncenter” size=”full” /]

It doesn’t look even remotely Byzantine—and for good reason. It’s a former Protestant church. But the interior is distinctly Catholic.

[img attachment=”197190″ align=”aligncenter” size=”full” /]

It has an icon of St. Nicholas that is about 300 years old.

[img attachment=”197191″ align=”aligncenter” size=”full” /]

And, I was happy to see, St. Stephen among the windows—complete with stones resting at his feet.

[img attachment=”197192″ align=”aligncenter” size=”full” /]

The liturgy began at 10:30 and moved along briskly—lots of singing, lots of incense, lots of standing.

The cantor Chris Hopkins did a superb job chanting the epistle.

[img attachment=”197193″ align=”aligncenter” size=”full” /]

I was struck by the fact that even though it was Pentecost, the color of the vestments was green—according to the bulletin, a reminder that this is a feast of great hope.

[img attachment=”197194″ align=”aligncenter” size=”full” /]

Daniel did a superlative job chanting the Gospel, and delivered a fascinating homily on the comparisons between the “Upper Room” of the scriptures and the frequent references to God’s presence on a mountaintop. I told him after: “I’m so stealing that.”

[img attachment=”197195″ align=”aligncenter” size=”full” /]

After the service, we met the pastor, the Very Rev. Salvatore Pignato. With a name like that, he’d fit in very nicely in Brooklyn. Like Daniel, he began life as a Roman Catholic before heading East.

[img attachment=”197196″ align=”aligncenter” size=”full” /]

Daniel told us that the parish is very much a “teaching parish,” and attracts a fair number of tourists because of its proximity to the theme parks. So no one assumes that visitors understand what a Byzantine parish is, or what it entails. My wife and I appreciated that Father Sal took pains to explain the liturgy and welcome everyone.

After the liturgy, Daniel gave us a brief tour of the sanctuary…including the main altar…

[img attachment=”197197″ align=”aligncenter” size=”full” /]

…and the deacon’s altar, which serves as a kind of credence table.

[img attachment=”197198″ align=”aligncenter” size=”full” /]

No, the deacon doesn’t drink coffee during the liturgy. The insulated cup is there to keep water warm for the the preparation of the gifts.

It was a great visit and a great chance to experience a beautiful liturgy. Thanks, Deacon, for the invitation! Come visit us in Queens sometime to see how the other half lives!

[img attachment=”197199″ align=”aligncenter” size=”full” /]

Uncategorized

Previous Post

June 4, 2017

Pentecost continues in Brooklyn: 10 men ordained to the priesthood

Next Post

June 4, 2017 Shock: relic of St. John Bosco's brain stolen

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category "Mad Men" 9/11 advent All Things New Amazing video amazing videos amazon america Anglicans Anti-Catholicism art ascension thursday ash wednesday Atheists baltimore Bible Bishops Blogging bonnie engstrom Books bridgeport Brooklyn Chaplains children christian art christmas Church Churches CNEWA Converts criticism Deacons Death Penalty easter eastern christian Eastern Christians Ecumenism education Education Eucharist Europe euthanasia Evangelization Exorcism Family Feasts Gay rights Good Friday Great links Great Moments in Journalism Hanging with the saints heather renshaw Hispanic Catholics Hispanics History homelies Homilies Humor Hymn of the Week Immigration indianapolis Inspiration Interfaith news ireland Jesus Jews Journalism Judaism lent Liturgy logos Marriage Mary Media Medical news Mental health Middle East Monks Movies Music Muslims My world and welcome to it New Evangelization new york News Nuns Parenting Parish life peoria Persecution Politics politics Pope pope francis pope john paul Prayer Preaching Priests Pro-life Quote of the day radio rebecca frech ripp Ripped from the headlines rippred from the headlines Sacraments saints Scripture sex abuse Sex abuse crisis SEX ABUSE CRISIS TAGGED WITH: SEX ABUSE CRISIS The people in the pews the visitation project theatre This & that Thomas Merton Trappists TV Uncategorized uncategorized Vatican VATICAN vocation Vocations Voices & Views Women Worth a thousand words Writing Year of Faith year of mercy young people

Select a Month December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

Which Christian movement is called "Holiness" and focuses on personal sanctification?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Anglican Pentecostal Eastern Orthodox Wesleyan/Methodist

Books by This Author Books by Deacon Greg Kandra

See All Titles »