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History of St Nicholas Byzantine Catholic Church

St. Nicholas Parish was formed in 1921 by a small group of Byzantine Catholic (then Greek Catholic) immigrants from a region in eastern Europe called Carptho-Ruthenia. They initially constructed a basement on the east side of Detroit in which to worship. In 1938, the cornerstone was laid for the church, was dedicated in 1939. The church interior was redecorated in 1944, with additional refinement during the early 1960s.

 

During the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s, St. Nicholas parish experienced what may be called its heyday with its largest membership and very robust group activities—from choir to scouts, from feather parties to picnics, as well as various men’s and women’s groups.

 

In the 1970s, during the pastorate of Rev. Nicholas Ivan, the Detroit neighborhood had begun to decline. For the parish to survive, the decision was made to purchase land in Harrison Township to relocate the parish eventually. In the interim, the parish purchased an existing protestant church building a few miles north in Detroit as a temporary move, retaining the original bell from the original church.

 

When Rev. Robert Barter came to St. Nicholas in 1987, the parish was growing older, the current neighborhood was declining, and families were moving out of the city into the suburbs. In 1996, it was decided that, in order for the parish to continue, it needed to move.  Fr. Barter and the parish council received approval from Bishop John Kudrick to purchase from the Archdiocese of Detroit the recently closed St. Valerie Roman Catholic Church in Clinton Township in August 2009. The articles of the church were moved, and the first official Divine Liturgy at the Clinton Township site was celebrated on October 11, 2009.

In December of 2014, upon the retirement of our long time pastor Fr. Barter, we welcomed Fr. Joseph Repko as our new pastor.

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On July 1, 2022 Fr. Joe was transferred from pastor of St. Nicholas Byzantine Catholic Parish in Clinton Township, MI, to pastor of St. Mary Byzantine Catholic Parish in Marblehead, OH.  We fondly thank Fr. Joe for his 7-1/2 years of service to our parish, and ask God to bless and guide him, as well as the parishioners of St. Mary’s, as he begins his new assignment.  May God grant Fr. Joe many blessed years!  Na Mnohaja i Blahaja L’ita!

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On July 1, 2022 Fr. Mykhailo Solianyk became the new Administrator at St. Nicholas Byzantine Catholic Church  Fr. Mykhailo will be moving here from the Cleveland area, where he served as parochial vicar of the Cathedral of the Dormition of the Mother of God.  He arrived at our parish with his wife, Zita, and his five children:  Sofia, Andrij, Mykhailo, Anastasia, and Zita Maria. 

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