According to the Antiochian Archdiocese website, St. Michael the Archangel was formally founded in 1994. However, the true history of the church begins in 1991 when a small group of believers began meeting in the hopes of establishing an Orthodox church. With the help of Fr. Matthew George and Subdeacon Joseph (later Deacon) Pasquella, services were held in various locations, including basements of people’s homes! At that time, they called themselves “The Pan Orthodox Mission on Cape Cod”. That name was later changed to “St. Nicholas Orthodox Mission”.
After some years of moving around, Ernie and Janet Khouri offered space for Sunday worship in a conference room above their rug cleaning factory. By that time, both Fr. George and Dn. Joseph had moved away, so most services were a “Typica Service” led by a layman or by Subdeacon Stephen Agosto. Deacon Ephraim Peters was ordained Father Ephraim. On many occasions, Fr. Ephraim would drive two hours from Worcester to serve liturgy. There were about ten or twelve people who attended services at that time. Many of those continue to worship at St. Michael even today.
By October 1999, the number of parishioners had grown and a larger space was needed. The faithful learned that the building at 62 Main Street in Cotuit was for rent. It was a former Grange Hall owned by a paint company that wanted to rent the upstairs while continuing to use the basement for paint storage! +Metropolitan Phillip+, of thrice Blessed Memory, renamed the community: “St. Michael the Archangel Orthodox Mission” to honor the warrior angel.
St. George Orthodox Church, in Norwood, MA was the “mother” parish that looked after the needs of St. Michael. Fr. Joseph Kimmett, Mission Coordinator, was assigned the responsibility of monitoring and nurturing its growth. Much support was also offered to St. Michael by the Archdiocese in Englewood, NJ, and by all the Antiochian churches of the Diocese of Worcester and New England, especially by St. George Cathedral in Worcester. +Fr. Gordon Walker+ of the Archdiocese Department of Missions and Evangelism would visit and offer his guidance. On most Sundays the congregation was blessed by having liturgy presided over by Fr. Ephraim Peters or a visiting priest. Around this time, a church near Springfield, MA called St. Michael, closed its doors. The altar table, candle stands, icons and many other items were donated to St. Michael in Cotuit.
In 2001, St. Michael received a blessing that would help ensure its future. +The Reverend Doctor Nicholas Manikas+ retired from the Greek Orthodox Church and relocated to Cape Cod. A strong believer in a Pan-Orthodox Church, +Fr. Nicholas Manikas+ agreed to become the first full-time priest for St. Michael. During the approximately 14 years that he and his amazing wife +Presv. Effie+ served, the church grew to a large number of families from many different backgrounds. Fr. Joseph Gori (OCA), Subdeacon Will Crocker and Subdeacon Daniel Moore assisted +Fr. Nicholas Manikas+. Sufficient funds were raised to not only purchase the building at 62 Main St, but also to completely renovate the basement.
In 2014, it was with great sadness that +Fr. Nicholas Manikas+ announced that he would retire for real this time. Once again, St. Michael was blessed. Through the efforts of His Grace Bishop John [Abdalah] and +Metropolitan Phillip+, a young priest by the name of Fr. Benjamin Kjendal, his wife Kh. Alyssa and their beautiful family would be assigned to serve St. Michael. Under his leadership, the church would continue to grow and prosper. New families joined and the Sunday School grew rapidly. Bishop John consecrated St. Michael, which officially upgraded its status from a mission to a church on November 15, 2015.
St. Michael was honored to have Subdeacon James Irving assist Fr. Benjamin Kjendal in the summers starting in 2018. Reader Joseph Boruch was ordained a Subdeacon in December 2020 and continues to serve the parish. Fr. Joseph Butts (US Navy Chaplain) served with Fr. Benjamin Kjendal for three years starting in July 2020. In October 2021, Bishop John ordained Subdeacon James to Deacon and assigned him to serve fully at St. Michael.
In August 2023, Fr. Benjamin Kjendal announced, to the tears of many, that he and his family were being transferred to a larger church in Yakima, WA later that month. Despite this great sadness, St. Michael was once again blessed with the announcement by Bishop John that Deacon James Irving would be ordained a priest to serve the community. Fr. James Irving was ordained on September 30, 2023 and assigned to be a full-time pastor starting October 1, 2023.
The future continues to look bright for St. Michael. To the many founders who still serve and to those who have moved away and no longer worship with us, THANK YOU. To those founders, clergy and parishioners who have gone before us, +may their memories be eternal+
Fr. Nick Manikas Emeritus was serving at St. Michael from 2001 to 2014, and retired in 2015. Fr. Nick Manikas passed away on 8/24/2023. May his memory be eternal.
Fr. Nicholas’ Manickas Sermons
From 2015 to August 2023 Fr. Benjamin Kjendal was the priest at St. Michael Orthodox Church.
