St. Mary is a parish of the Self-Ruled Antiochian Orthodox Archdiocese of North America in the Diocese of Oakland PA and the East.
Welcome to St. Mary Antiochian Orthodox Church in the Wyoming Valley among the beautiful Pocono Mountains of eastern Pennsylvania. St. Mary is one of the oldest Antiochian Orthodox parishes in America, founded by Saint Raphael Hawaweeny, Bishop of Brooklyn, in 1904. It is sixth in his list of parishes. The parish is now 101 years old. Its first pastor, Father Michael Saba, began his work in March 1904, the same month St. Raphael was consecrated bishop of Brooklyn.
It is our hope that through visiting our web page you will come to share in the life of Saint Mary’s, and some day will come to visit us and worship with us in our Church Temple dedicated to the Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos.
100th Anniversary Year
The year 2004 was a special year for the parish with its 100th Anniversary celebration. Throughout the year there were many special Liturgical Services and other celebrations. The two major Celebrations were the Parish Life Conference which was hosted in early July, and the 100th Anniversary Weekend which was in October. For both of these events there were hundreds of people who celebrated the joy of the 100 years of St. Mary in Wilkes-Barre.
Information about the Parish Family
At the present time St. Mary Antiochian Orthodox Church has some 300 parishioners, and the parish is noted for the active involvement of its people.
The parish has an active Parish Council, Church Sunday School, Women's Group--the Ladies of St. Mary's (who are seen here at the right), Teen SOYO, Senior Citizens Group--Father Nahas Senior Citizens, and the Fellowship Group. All of these organizations work for the growth and welfare of the parish. By their commitment the parish of St. Mary continues to grow and prosper in its Orthodox faith.
Order of St. Ignatius
There are 18 members of the Order of St. Ignatius who come from St. Mary Orthodox Church. These members are involved in all activities of the parish. They see the Order as an opportunity to serve the needs of the Antiochicn Archdiocese. During the recent visit of Bishop Thomas, after the induction of two new members, the members stood with the bishop for a photograph, as seen here at the left.
Spaghetti Dinner
The parish holds a weekly Spaghetti Dinner each Thrusday from 4:00-6:30 pm which brings together people from all around the area. The dinner serves some 225 people each week for 40 weeks of the year from September to June.
It is a point of service for the parish of the 30 or so people who work for the dinner, and for those who come a weekly opportunity to get together with family and friends to enjoy a good meal. Some of the people who come to the dinner travel an hour to come for the food and fellowship.
A Welcoming Community
Of the parishioners about two-thirds are Arab-Americans from Syrian and Lebanese families. The other third of the parishioners are from a great mix of ethnic backgrounds. The parish is noted for its hospitality to all who come to it. The language used for worship is English, with some parts of the Liturgy occasionally sung in Arabic.
Parish Clergy
Among the clergy there is the pastor, the Archpriest David Hester, the parish deacon, Deacon John Karam, and four subdeacons, Subdeacons William Obeid, Norman Namey, John Moses, and Edwin Bell. The pastor emeritus who retired in 1986, who is also active in the parish, is the Archpriest Herbert Nahas.
The parish serves as host to the Antiochian Seminarians who attend St. Tikhon's Seminary in South Canaan, Pennsylvania. At the present time there are 6 Antiochian seminarians who are attached to St. Mary's for part of their Antiochian Orthodox pastoral training. These seminarians serve as chanters and also help to teach in the Sunday School, and work with the Teen SOYO. Father David also teaches a course each semester at St. Tikhon's in Patrology, as well as a course in Antiochian Liturgics.
