Orthodox Parish of Saint Nicholas of Myra in Amsterdam
About us
Welcome to the site of Saint Nicholas parish! We are an Orthodox Christian community in the Russian liturgical and spiritual tradition for more than 50 years. After many years with the Moscow Patriarchate, in 2022 our parish was received into the Exarchate of the Benelux of the Ecumenical Patriarchate. Our diocesan bishop is Metropolitan Athenagoras of Belgium.
Our church is open to one and all. Feel free to come in, light a candle or just take a look around. Of course, the services are open to everyone as well. On Sundays we have hosts and hostesses to welcome visitors and show them the way.
After the Sunday service we share coffee and tea. This is the opportunity to ask questions, to visit the Information Centre to ask for information about parish activities. You can also register for the weekly bulletin or parish activities.
The church is open when there is a service. The schedule of services you can find here.
Schedule of services
Our services are alternately (mainly) in Dutch and Church Slavonic.
- The first and third Sunday of the month, the service is predominantly in Church Slavonic,
- the second and fourth in Dutch,
- if there is a fifth Sunday in the month, we also use some English
Schedule of Services August 2025
Saturday 16 August (3 August)
17:00 Panichida. No Vigil
Sunday 17 August (4 August)
10 th Sunday after Pentecost
9:30 Hours. 10:00 Divine Liturgy: 1 Corinthians 4:9-16; Matthew 17:14-23
Tuesday 19 August (6 August)
The Transfiguration of the Lord
9:30 Hours. 10:00 Divine Liturgy: 2 Peter 1:10-19; Matthew 17:1-9
Saturday 23 August (10 August)
17:00 Panichida. No Vigil
Sunday 24 August (11 August)
11 th Sunday after Pentecost
9:30 Hours. 10:00 Divine Liturgy: 1 Corinthians 9:2-12; Matthew 18:23-35
Thursday 28 August (15 August)
The Dormition of the Holy Theotokos
9:30 Hours. 10:00 Divine Liturgy: Philippians 2:5-11; Luke 10:38-42; 11:27-28
Saturday 30 August (17 August)
17:00 Panichida. No Vigil
Sunday 31 August (18 August)
12 th Sunday after Pentecost
9:30 Hours. 10:00 Divine Liturgy: 1 Corinthians 15:1-11; Matthew 19:16-26
Announcements
In August, only Panikhida will be celebrated on Saturdays
Due to the holiday period, only Panikhida will be celebrated on Saturdays in August, and there will be no Vigil. The regular schedule will resume on 6 September. The schedule for August, September, and October 2025 is already available on our website.
On 3 August, Father Oleg Karlashchuk passed away
The obituary can be read here.
Photos of Father Oleg can be found here.
On Thursday, 11 September, after the Liturgy, a Panikhida will be served on the fortieth day after the passing of Father Oleg.
Information center & bookshop
In the bookstore of our church you can find various Orthodox goods: icons, crosses, books, oil (consecrated), candlesticks, incense and coal, censers, rosaries, Orthodox calendars, etc. Volunteers working in the Orthodox Information Center can answer simple questions about the Orthodox faith and our church, or direct you to a priest.
From the Rector
Letter No 337, Monday, August 4, 2025
My dear Friends,
The Gospel portion this week is Matthew 14:14–22:
When He went ashore, He saw a great crowd; and He had compassion for them and cured their sick. When it was evening, the disciples came to Him and said, “This is a deserted place, and the hour is now late; send the crowds away so that they may go into the villages and buy food for themselves.” Jesus said to them, “They need not go away; you give them something to eat.” They replied, “We have nothing here but five loaves and two fish.” And He said, “Bring them here to me.” Then he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish, He looked up to heaven, and blessed and broke the loaves, and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. And all ate and were filled; and they took up what was left over of the broken pieces, twelve baskets full. And those who ate were about five thousand men, besides women and children. Immediately He made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds.
There is something quietly astonishing in the way this story unfolds. Jesus does not begin by teaching, commanding or correcting. He simply sees the crowd and has compassion. That is the beginning of everything: not strategy, not doctrine, not even prayer –but compassion born of presence. He sees them, and their need moves him.
He doesn’t send them away.
But the disciples want to. They offer a very reasonable suggestion: “Let them go find food. It’s late, and they need to fend for themselves”. Sensible, practical, even caring. But Jesus replies, “They need not go away. You give them something to eat”.
This is the turning point – not just of the story, but perhaps of every disciple’s life. This demands a personal response from them, but also from us. We need to move from thinking in political terms, to thinking in spiritual terms.
