St. Nicholas Albanian Orthodox Church & St. Nicholas Banquets

Last crawled date: 1 year, 7 months ago

In the spring of 1944, twelve men of Albanian descent decided that the time had come to organize a church for their community of Orthodox Christian families who had immigrated to the Chicago area during the 1920s and ’30s. The men began meeting in their respective homes and by summer had decided on a name for their church: the Albanian Orthodox Church of St. Nicholas. The new church was incorporated and recognized by the state of Illinois on June 18, 1944. The founders then focused on the most difficult task before them: soliciting donations for the purchase of a building where the Albanian Orthodox community could worship. After almost three years of fundraising, enough money was raised to allow them to start looking for a permanent building for their house of worship. On March 1, 1947, the Albanian community of St. Nicholas purchased the former Danish Evangelical Lutheran Church of Chicago, located at 1655 N. Rockwell Street, for the sum of $6,000. Application was made to the Diocese of the Albanian Orthodox Church of America for formal status as a canonical Albanian Orthodox Church, and official recognition was formally given by Bishop Fan S. Noli. #Chicago #Church #Denoall #Illinois #orthodox #St_Nicholas