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About The Dormition of the Mother of God

St. Mary’s Orthodox Church

The Dormition of the Mother of God Orthodox Church (Saint Mary’s) is a parish of the American Carpatho-Russian Orthodox Diocese of the U.S.A. whose presiding Bishop is His Eminence, Metropolitan Gregory of Nyssa. Our Parish was founded over 100 years ago in the Southern Coalfields of West Virginia. The parish started in Elkhorn, in McDowell County. The community which was organized in 1895 by immigrant coalminers from the Carpathian Mountains in Eastern Europe, built the original church, which still stands, in 1912. The old church was sold, and a new church built in Bluefield, West Virginia in the year 2000. Since then, the church has experienced some growth, with Orthodox Christians from a variety of different ethnic backgrounds becoming members, along with several American converts to Orthodoxy. Following the banquet of the liturgy, which is a taste of the Eternal Banquet in the Kingdom of God, we gather in the church hall for what we call “coffee hour.” However, a better name might be the agape meal, or meal of love. The food reflects the different cultural backgrounds treasured by our community. This part of our tradition is what we hope to share with all who may use this cookbook; a taste of our ethnic cuisines but more importantly a taste of the agape —love and community, that we share daily as Orthodox Christians.

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