More thread creep...

Ebbie, I think St. Nicholas is also the oldest Orthodox church in North America. And don't forget St. Herman of Alaska. The Russians were the first to bring Orthodoxy to this continent and remained the only jurisdiction with a North American presence until early in the last century.

RtS, Greeks celebrate all feast days except Pascha according to the "new calendar" so Christmas is celebrated along with all western denominations. The old calendar Orthodox communities use the calendar of Julius Caesar (Julian, c. 64 BC) for all feast days. Christmas is still on December 25 but, since the Julian calendar is not in precise synchronization with astronomical observation, the two calendars are now twelve days out of alignment.

      - Mark