Nativity of the Mother of God Russian Orthodox Church

The Nativity of the Mother of God parish in Albany

The Nativity of the Mother of God parish in Albany began with refugees from the Fischbek camp in Germany, where a chapel and school operated under the future First Hierarch of the Russian Church Abroad. After arriving in Albany they prayed for six years in a side room of the Episcopal cathedral, then in the mid-1950s bought the Anglican Church of the Holy Innocents with its rare stained-glass windows, carved an iconostasis for it and replaced the steeple with an onion dome. In 2005 the parish moved into a new church on Sand Creek Road in Colonie.

A close bond grew between the parish and Holy Trinity Monastery in Jordanville from the very start and continues to this day: monks came to serve, and a local Episcopal bishop helped find a temporary space. One of the parishioners built a portable iconostasis, and for the first six years services were held in a side room of the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception.

In the mid-1950s the parish bought, at a greatly reduced price, the Anglican Church of the Holy Innocents at the corner of North Pearl and Colonie Streets, built in the mid-nineteenth century when the neighborhood flourished with lumber yards, ironworks and breweries. An iconostasis was hand-carved by one of the founders, the steeple was replaced with an onion dome and cross, and icons were hung on the walls. The parish stayed almost twenty-five years until the neighborhood declined: the church was sold in July 1984, and the parishioners began worshipping at the Protection of the Mother of God church in Schenectady. In 1987 the two parishes were merged.

With the proceeds 2.9 acres were bought on Sand Creek Road in Colonie, and in 1988 the bishop blessed the land. The parish hall was built almost entirely by the parishioners, with help from seminarians from Jordanville, and since 1991 it has served celebrations and the sisterhood and is rented out on weekdays. Construction of the church began in August 2004, its foundation was consecrated on September 19, 2004, and in the sixth week of Great Lent 2005 the parish moved into the new church. On Lazarus Saturday, April 23, 2005, the metropolitan performed the minor consecration of the church, and the first service was held that evening.

Services: the All-Night Vigil on Saturdays at 5:00 PM and the Divine Liturgy on Sundays at 9:30 AM. The parish has a church school, a bookstore and a parish hall.