The St. George Orthodox Church in New Hartford, under the direction of the Rev. George Goodge, will host a Paraklesis service in Rome at 5:30 p.m. Friday, Aug. 12, in the chapel at Rome Cemetery, 1500 Jervis Ave., according to an announcement.

Paraklesis, of Greek origin, meaning a calling near, a supplication or entreaty for prayer, may be offered to any number of saints. The most common is to Mary, the mother of God. The first two weeks in August, parishioners look toward the August 15 commemoration of the Dormition, or Repose, of Mary. Most evenings, parishioners gather to sing the Paraklesis with an accompanying supplicatory canon. It is a simple service, sung a capella as are all services in the Orthodox tradition.

Much of the congregation of St. George Orthodox Church hails from New Hartford and Utica, with many parishioners from the surrounding area, including Rome, West Edmeston, Clinton, and other locations, the announcement said, adding the church also draws regular worshipers from Castorland, Cold Brook, and Cobleskill.

Orthodox Christian churches are not as plentiful as Catholic or Protestant houses of worship, so parishioners often must accept the need to travel. 

Like many churches, past decades have seen a decline in the number of congregants, necessitating the closure of facilities. Orthodox church services in Rome ceased in about 2010, the announcement said.

The St. Nicholas Ukrainian Orthodox Church had a colorful history, relocating to North George Street after outgrowing its original Depeyster Street home.  As worship declined, the building was sold to a private owner who donated the church bell to the Rome Historical Society. Services were moved to the chapel at Zion Episcopal Church on West Liberty Street, although those too eventually ceased.

The priests and parishioners of St. George Orthodox Church have talked for quite some time about conducting services in Rome, to be more accessible to some of our current members and to reach out to others, the announcement said. It is a slow process, the announcement added, with parishioners meeting at the Rome Denny’s for an Orthodox book study and even gathered in a private home for a reader’s service. The success of those events helped to bring about Friday’s service in the chapel in Rome.