09/02/2026
May His Eminence’s memory be eternal, and may his blessed soul rest in peace where the righteous repose. Amen!
On September 1, we mark the seventh anniversary of the falling asleep in the Lord of the ever-memorable Archbishop Nikon. A son of the archdiocese, he spent his formative years at St. Nicholas in New York, where his mother served for many years as the choir director and his father as the parish council chair. In ordination, he became the pastor at another St. Nicholas in Southbridge, Massachusetts, the first purpose-built Albanian Orthodox parish on this continent. Thereafter, he devoted himself to the life and community of St. Thomas Church outside Detroit. Famously, amid the construction of the new temple there, he would often show up to work with a tool-belt, putting aside his Cross and cassock to take up hammer and nails. After the repose of Prifteresha Sarah Ann (whom everyone knew better as Honey), he returned to the diocese from retirement as our archpastor, training and ordaining new generations of clergy who turned to him for his rye wisdom, patient kindness, and model of devotion through service and work. May his memory be eternal! I përjetshëm kujtimi! And may his lived testimony inspire us all also to greater dedication, greater zeal, greater knowledge of Christ's own people as ours to serve.
Photo credit to https://gazetadielli.com/archbishop-nikon-successor-to-metropolitan-fan-noli-passed-away/
