The Christ the Savior Chapel in Northern Kentucky celebrated its first Vespers at Gathering Place in Florence, KY. Parishioners committed to the Northern Kentucky Chapel were joined with folks from Gathering Place for a taste of Orthodox worship.

Each Sunday of Lent we celebrated pan-orthodox vespers with the various churches in the region. Each vespers is followed by a lenten meal together. This gives us a chance to pray in unity and continue our lenten journey together.

On the Sunday of Orthodoxy we celebrated a pan-orthodox vespers at Holy Spirit - St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church in Finnytown. This year clergy from Christ the Savior - Holy Spirit, St. George Serbian, St. George Russian, St. James Antiochian, St Ilija Macedonian, Annunciation Greek, Assumption Church Greek, and St. Paul OCA. Vespers was followed by a lenten dinner.

On January 1 we commorate St. Basil the Great. The following Sunday we celebrate with St. Basil's Cakes for the youth and children of the parish -- one for the boys, and one for the girls. Hidden in each cake is a coin, to be found by one lucky boy and one lucky girl. Here are this year's finders!

Dr. Scott Kenworthy presented the topic of his new book, St. Tikhon, Patriarch of Moscow. The parish enjoyed his presentation on the life of this great, and recent, saint of the Church.

We celebrated a lovely dinner to honor the founders of our parish. The dinner was preceded by the dedication of a new icon of the Saints of North America, written by Anya Gerasimchuk. Following the dinner, Joe Kormos gave a multimedia presentation on the history of the parish.

Our Vespers of Holy Friday included a solemn procession lead by our lovely Myrrhbearing Girls.

We had a church full to hear the reading of the 12 Passion Gospels.

Check out the gallery!

Sr. Vassa visited our parish to give a Lenten retreat on the topic of "Great Lent as Great Catechism." The talk was enjoyed by all. A lenten pot-luck meal followed for some fellowship.

Dormant for several years, our parish picnic sprang back to life in a big way in 2023, with new parish members joining longtime parishioners and founders to bring back this popular event.

Check out dozens of photos from our Parish Picnic, held at Swaim Park in Montgomery, Ohio. Perfect weather, easy parking and access, and plenty of space and activities set the stage, while everyone helped out to bring sides, drinks and supplies, while others handled grill duties of meats and Impossible Burgers.

We hope to see you there! Let's make this an annual event for many more years to come!

Dear Parish Faithful,

We received this sad news from our diocesan chancery yesterday afternoon:

His Eminence, Archbishop Daniel received word that Fr. Daniel Rentel fell asleep in the Lord at 4:00 pm Eastern time today... May the Lord God receive the soul of His servant, the newly-departed Archpriest Daniel, into the mansions of the righteous. Memory Eternal!

In Christ,

Philip Sokolov, Secretary to the Archbishop

Fr. Dan Rental was the first priest of our parish when it was a young and growing mission. He served faithfully for many years.

After a year of lockdowns and limited attendance due to the Covid-19 pandemic, signup protocols for our services, and little opportunity for fellowship, 2021 saw our parish life reopen, with renewed attendance at services and the Great Feasts, several new members, baptisms, weddings, the return of our Summer Bible Study and Fall Adult Class, and the relaunch of Church School.

Here is a brief overview of some of the highlights of this year of rejuvenation. Scroll down our Photo Gallery page for more in depth galleries of some of the events presented here.

After the Covid lockdown began  in Spring 2020, we did all we could with our existing technologies (iPhones streaming via Facebook, and laptop via Zoom) to enable parishioners and friends to view our services online. Over the Summer and Fall of 2020 we continued to improve our livestream quality, eventually installing a pro-grade microphone system in early 2021 to match our HD video.

On January 12, the Sunday following Theophany, we celebrated the Great Blessing of Waters outside the church, reminding us of how Christ, when baptized in the River Jordan by St John the Forerunner, sanctified all the waters and all creation through His Incarnation.

Congratulations to Andrew and Suzanne Herbst on the baptism of their daughter, Maria. God grant you Many Years!

From Fr Steven:

"See that you all follow the bishop - even as Jesus Christ followed the Father - and the presbyters as you would follow the apostles, and reverence the deacons as the institution of God. Let no one do anything connected with the Church without the bishop. Only a Eucharist that is [administered] either by the bishop or by one that the bishop entrusts should be deemed a proper Eucharist."  

~ St. Ignatius of Antioch - Epistle to the Smyrnaeans, ch. viii.

"A Worthwhile Weekend - By any account, I believe that our parish just experienced a wonderful weekend together with His Grace, Bishop Paul. From the Great Vespers on Saturday evening to the majestic hierarchical Liturgy on Sunday, the parish was well-represented and everyone enjoyed listening to and speaking with His Grace. Bishop Paul is always accessible and "down to earth" as the saying goes. He also spent some "quality time" with the Youth Group yesterday. With a geographically far-flung diocese, his visits are rather rare occasions and take on a certain intensity because of that. There were many parishioners who signed up for setting up and cleaning up afterwards in the Church Hall and that is very much appreciated. And, of course, though the fish was catered, all the other delicious food was prepared by members of the parish, and that is also greatly appreciated."

From our new digital Church School Registration, to the formal blessing of the students at the beginning of classes, to our beautiful Youth Group T-shirts (designed by our 'artist-in-residence' and mom of four, Anya Gerasimchuk), and views from our Church School classes themselves, this slide show pulls together several aspects of our thriving ministries and Christian education for our children and teens.

From Father Steven:

On this coming Sunday, June 30, I will have completed thirty years of pastoral ministry here at Christ the Savior/Holy Spirit. Since I am now sixty-six years old, that is actually a significant portion of my entire life spent here in Cincinnati. God willing, I hope to continue as the parish priest for at least a "few more years." But only God knows, for the future always remains an unknown terrain to us. I always like to quote that colorful character,Tevya the dairyman: "The more man plans, the harder God laughs." I understand that on Sunday a recognition of those thirty years is planned to take place in the church hall following the Liturgy. By way of anticipation, I would like to express my deep appreciation for that kind consideration on the part of the parish. Presvytera Deborah has been a co-minister with me over the years, so she would like to express the same deep appreciation to the parish. It would be false humility to deny that the priest is a "key" figure in any parish; but priest and parish work together, so I would like to thank everyone for the support - and love - I have received over the years. I believe that our mutual respect and care for each other has made our parish a stable and spiritually healthy Orthodox Christian community. It is always difficult to find that one precise word that can convey all that one wishes to express. But if I was to seek such a word, I would say that it has been a source of "joy" to have served here for the last thirty years.

Once again, Presvytera Deborah and I offer our sincere thanks for the upcoming recognition.

And, following the celebration, Father Steven sent this message to the parish:

Beginning My Thirty-first year Today - Yesterday was a wonderful day for Presvytera Deborah and me and my entire family. We began with a very lively - even dynamic - Liturgy in which we celebrated the Saints of North America, together with the original twelve Apostles of Christ. The celebration to follow in the church hall was an extension of the unity in Christ experienced in the Liturgy. We very much enjoyed the prepared program and the thoughtful words directed to us, followed by the meal and fellowship. The heartfelt words that Presvytera Deborah shared, expressed the feelings of both of us. We have received many wonderful cards and other expressions of love that we are further thankful for. God has been good to us!  So now we continue our common journey together ...

Our Summer Workshops returned for 2019 with a rich selection of courses well attended by parishioners and our Norwood neighbors. This year's workshop series included classes on Chess (taught by Steven Korach), Cross Stitch (Shirley Leara), Folk Dancing (Presvytera Deborah), Painting with Watercolors (Anya Gerasimchuk), Photography (Ralph Sidway), and Table Tennis (Fr Steven, and Paul Kostoff). A festive closing session following the Divine Liturgy on Sunday, June 23, with exhibitions of the various art and crafts produced, demonstrations of Chess and (in the Education Center) Table Tennis, and a rousing round of several Ethnic Folk Dances, to the delight of all.

Our Parish Youth Group continues its active year with outings and meetings into June and beyond. Late May saw a special gathering for the end of the school year, and on June 9 our teens served meals for hundreds of homeless of the Tri-State area at the Henry Hosea House in Newport KY.

Upcoming plans include a commemorative T-shirt specially designed by Anya Gerasimchuk, and an expended relaunch for 2019-2020. Many of our teens are making their annual retreat to the Antiochian Village Orthodox Christian Camp in Pennsylvania in July as well.

Glimpses of Pascha: the Night brighter than the Day, with images from the Nocturn Service before the Tomb, the Candlelit Procession and Entrance to the Church, and Pascha Matins & Liturgy, followed by the Agape Vespers, with the Gospel read in many languages.

For many Orthodox Christians, the prayerful and compunctionate season of Great Lent, and the journey with Christ through Holy Week to Golgotha and the Cross, and on to the Empty Tomb and the incandescent joy of the Paschal Night as Bright as Day, is their favorite period in the Church Liturgical Year. We hope these photos give you a glimpse of our parish life as we pass through the course of the Fast and on to the the Lord's Passion and Resurrection.

On Sunday, April 7, we received our brother Shannon Grubb into full communion of the Orthodox Church through the Sacraments of Chrismation and Holy Communion. His sponsor is Dn. Paul Gansle. God grant you many years, Shannon!

On the First Sunday of Great Lent, we commemorate the Triumph of Orthodoxy and the Restoration of the Holy Icons following the century-long heresy of iconoclasm. To help honor this landmark celebration in the Life of the Church, our Church School students process with icons into the church following the Liturgy, and Father Steven reads the classic text proclaiming the Veneration of the Icons.

Following the dismissal and veneration of the Cross, the students complete their annual Lenten Service Project, which this year saw the preparation of lunch bags to benefit the Broken Bus Ministry.

As always, the Orthodox Church's great feasts of the revealing of the Triune God — the Nativity according to the Flesh of our Lord, God and Savior Jesus Christ, and the Baptism of Christ in the Jordan by John the Forerunner, at which 'the worship of the Trinity was made manifest' (from the Troparion of the Feast of Theophany) — were celebrated joyously at Christ the Savior-Holy Spirit.

This selecton of photos from Nativity and Theophany offer a few glimpses into these powerful feasts, especially Theophany, at which we celebrated the Great Blessing of Waters outside for the first time.

We recently welcomed into the fullness of the Orthodox Church Kevin Rains, and Joshua and Maurie Hanauer, through the Sacraments of Confession, Chrismation and Communion. Congratulations also to their Sponsors, Philip Entweiler for Kevin, and Jacob Boehne and Erin Lockridge for Joshua and Maurie, respectively. God grant you Many Years!