St. Elias Orthodox Church
Antiochian Archdiocese
716 Copeland Ave, La Crosse, WI
/ About / Administration
Administration

ANTIOCHIAN ORTHODOX CHRISTIAN ARCHDIOCESE OF NORTH AMERICA

DIOCESE OF TOLEDO AND THE MIDWEST

His Eminence SABA, Archbishop of New York and Metropolitan of North America

Rt. Rev. Archimandrite Jeremy (Davis), Archiepiscopar Vicar for the Diocese of Toledo and the Midwest

Met. SABA
Met. SABA
Met. SABA

Metropolitan Saba was born in Latakia, Syria in 1959. He holds a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from the University of Tishreen in Latakia, and a bachelor’s degree in theology from the St. John of Damascus Institute of Theology in Balamand. His Eminence is fluent in Arabic and English.

His Eminence was ordained a priest in 1988 and elevated to the dignity of archimandrite in 1994. He pastored St. Michael the Archangel Church in the Archdiocese of Latakia until 1998. During that time, Metropolitan Saba edited and published the Orthodox Christian magazine Farah geared toward children and families.

In 1998, Metropolitan Saba was elected and consecrated as an auxiliary bishop to His Beatitude Patriarch Ignatius IV of thrice-blessed memory. In 1999, His Beatitude and the Holy Synod of Antioch elected him as metropolitan of the Archdiocese of Bosra, Hauran and Jabal Al-Arab in Syria. Simultaneously with his pastoral and episcopal duties, from 1995-2006, His Eminence served as instructor of Pastoral Care and Introduction to the Old Testament at the St. John of Damascus Institute of Theology in Balamand. 

His Eminence established a publishing house in the Bosra Archdiocese, the Al-Arabiya magazine for adults, and continued issuing Farah for children. An English version has been produced since 2010. Metropolitan Saba authors weekly articles on his Facebook page and has written on various topics in Al-NoorPatriarchal and Al Arabiya magazines. He has authored a number of books in pastoral life and theology.

Metropolitan Saba has also translated a number of titles from English to Arabic, including works by Metropolitan Kallistos Ware, Metropolitan Anthony Bloom, Metropolitan Hilarion Alfeyev and Protopresbyter Thomas Hopko.

His Eminence's patron saint is St. Saba (Sabbas) the Sanctified, commemorated on Dec. 5.

Arch. Jeremy (Davis)
Arch. Jeremy (Davis)
Arch. Jeremy (Davis)

Archimandrite Jeremy (Davis) grew up in Wichita, KS. Throughout his early life, he and his family were active members of Evangelical Protestant churches. During his high school years, he felt a calling to Christian ministry and subsequently enrolled as a religion and history major at Friends University in Wichita. In his final year of college, he attended Divine Liturgy at St. George Cathedral in Wichita at the suggestion of a friend. Although he knew next to nothing about Orthodoxy, he was left in wordless wonder by the experience of its rich theology and genuine spirituality, as they came to life in the piety and love of this parish community. After a period of catechism, he was chrismated on Holy Saturday in 1998.

Fr. Jeremy attended St. Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary from ​2001-2004,  earning his Master of Divinity degree. Fr. Jeremy was ordained deacon by His Grace Bishop BASIL at St. George Cathedral on January 1, 2006. He worked fulltime at the Cathedral until being ordained priest there (also by Bishop BASIL) on July 16, 2006. He then served as second priest of St. Elijah Church in Oklahoma City, OK. until March 2016, when he became proistamenos (pastor) of Holy Ascension Church in Norman, OK. He was elevated to the rank and dignity of Archimandrite by His Grace Bishop BASIL on March 19, 2017. While in the Diocese of Wichita, Fr. Jeremy also served as the spiritual advisor of the Fellowship of St. John the Divine and its successor, the Diocese Council, from 2007 to 2021. 

On September 1, 2021, Fr. Jeremy was transfered from Holy Ascension Church to serve as Hierarchical Assistant at the Archdiocese Headquarters in Englewood, NJ. On October 31, 2021, he was appointed Protosyngellos of the Archdiocese. On June 10, 2024, Metropolitan SABA appointed Fr. Jeremy as Archiepiscopal Vicar for the Diocese of Toledo and the Midwest effective August 1, 2024. In this role, he oversees this Diocese on behalf of the Metropolitan, based at the chancery in Toledo.


ST. ELIAS ANTIOCHIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH

Reverend Father Nicholas Hanna - Pastor

Subdeacon Ephraim Gorgy

Rev. Fr. Nicholas
Rev. Fr. Nicholas
Rev. Fr. Nicholas

Father Nicholas M. Hanna was born in Beirut, Lebanon, in 1970 to devout parents Mansour and Samira Hanna. As a child, he attended the public-school system in Beirut until grade 6. With his parents, he moved to Jeita near Jounieh in Keserwan and completed his high school and graduated from Notre Dame of Louize in Keserwan in 1987. He traveled to Michigan, USA, and earned his MBA in 1995.  Like his late father who was killed during the Lebanese civil war in 1983, he was extremely interested in theology from a young age and the life of the saints. He and his wife, Khourieh Sofia, immigrated to the United States in July 2004, when and where he joined the Diocese of Los Angeles and the West at St. Nicholas Cathedral in Los Angeles where he served from 2004 to 2014 as a deacon and a priest.

In 2011, during the Chicago Archdiocesan Convention, he received from the hands of the late Metropolitan Philip Saliba, of Thrice Blessed Memory and Eternal Rest, his MA, Master’s Degree in Pastoral Theology. The Holy Spirit ordained him a priest by the laying on of hands of Archbishop Joseph on Sunday, September 15, 2013, and he was assigned the pastor of St. George Church in Upland, California, until his move to Canada on July 7, 2019, as he served St. Philip Antiochian Orthodox Church until June 2023. Fr. Nicholas is serving as the pastor of St. Elias Church in La Crosse, WI since September 1, 2023.

Father’s interests and hobbies include country music, Byzantine music and Mediterranean Classic music, mainly Lebanese and Egyptian, reading, biking and hiking. On the spiritual level: saying the daily prayers, daily liturgical readings and the lives of the saints and the prophets and the great personalities of the Old Testament. His patron saint is St. Nicholas of Myra, and the closest saints to his hearts for daily intercession and prayers are the Theotokos, St. John the Forerunner, St. Anthony the Great, St. Necktarios and St. Paisios.

Sdn. Ephraim
Sdn. Ephraim
Sdn. Ephraim

Subdeacon Ephraim was born in Egypt. He was raised Coptic Orthodox. When he was 8 years old, he started serving as an acolyte and a choir member on regular basis. He was blessed with a loving and strong-faith family and Christian community. He earned a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from Cairo University. He traveled to the U.S. for graduate education. He earned a Master's and Ph.D. in mechanical engineering. While in graduate school he became associated with St. Mary Magdalene Antiochian Church in Manhattan, KS and grew close to the Antiochian Church's rich tradition and history. He was influenced by the spiritual experience that St. Mary Magdalene and her faithful offered to the community.

After graduation, he relocated to Huntsville, AL. While in Huntsville he attended Holy Cross and Sts. Constantine and Helen Greek Orthodox Church. Him and his wife were part of the church choir. Later, the family relocated to La Crosse and joined St. Elias Antiochian Church. With the invitation of Fr. Dionysios, he was ordained a subdeacon by His Grace Bishop ANTHONY (Michaels) on December 17, 2017. Sdn. Ephraim and his wife led the Sunday school ministry. In his spare time Sdn. Ephraim enjoys reading about the church saints, The Sayings of the Desert Fathers, and patristics, especially the writings of St. John Chrysostom.

 

St. Elias is a small church that relies heavily on the generous donations

and regular contributions of our parish members, friends and those who have historical ties to the church. A sincere thank you for any support you can offer for the well-being and long term survival of St. Elias.

May God be with you!



  • Thu
    7Nov

    7:00pm Catechumen Class (Google Meet)
  • Sat
    9Nov

    5:00pm Vespers
  • Sun
    10Nov

    8:45am Matins (Morning Prayers)
    10:00am Divine Liturgy


St. Elias Orthodox Church * 716 Copeland Ave * P.O. Box 3176 * La Crosse, WI 54602-3176

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