New National A.R.O.Y. St. Nicholas Patron Icon Unveiled

During the proceedings of the 58th Annual A.R.O.Y. Conference in Detroit/Southfield, Michigan, this past September, National A.R.O.Y. President John E. Lazar unveiled the newly-written icon of our organization's Patron Saint, The Holy Hierarch Nicholas the Wonderworker.

Because of his extraordinary example of wisdom, leadership and charity, especially toward young people, the delegates to the 9th Annual Conference in Akron, Ohio, in 1958, chose Saint Nicholas the Wonderworker to be the Patron Saint of our organization.

The commissioning of an official A.R.O.Y. St. Nicholas Patron Icon was discussed by the National Board for several years, but finally came to fruition this past year thanks to the sponsorship of the project by a generous donor to whom we offer our sincere gratitude.  The icon was written by iconographer Niculae Enache of Toronto, Ontario, who is known for his iconography at St. Mary Cathedral in Cleveland, Ohio, and many other churches both here in North America and throughout the world.  Reproductions of the icon will be made available in the near future.

In addition to the A.R.O.Y. logo and red, yellow & blue "tri-color" ribbon above the saint, the text in the border reads:

"PATRON SAINT OF THE AMERICAN ROMANIAN ORTHODOX YOUTH"
and
"O FATHER AND HIERARCH NICHOLAS, PRAY TO CHRIST GOD THAT HE WILL SAVE OUR SOULS /
O PARINTE SI IERARH NICOLAE, ROAGA-TE LUI HRISTOS SA MANTUIASCA SUFLETELE NOASTRE"

We pray that, through the intercessions of our Patron Saint Nicholas, we may be strengthened as we strive to life-up to our organization's motto, "Dedicated to Orthodoxy Through Faith, Knowledge and Good Works."