On the northeast corner of Maple and Martinson, three blocks west of Seneca in west Wichita, a small brick church has stood since 1936. St. Mary Orthodox Christian Church began in 1932 as the work of a men's club of Lebanese-Syrian immigrants, and over nine decades it has grown into a multi-ethnic Orthodox parish that worships in English, serves the wider Wichita community through food, shelter and prison ministry, and gathers more than 180 members from American, Egyptian, Ethiopian, Georgian, Greek, Lebanese, Palestinian, Russian, Serbian, Spanish and Syrian backgrounds. It belongs to the Diocese of Wichita and Mid-America of the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America.
From Mahaithi and Ain Arab to South Martinson
The parish traces its origins to the early twentieth century, when a wave of Lebanese Christians left behind religious turmoil in the Levant and built new lives in central Kansas. Many of those original families came from two villages in Lebanon, Mahaithi and Ain Arab. In 1918 N. J. Farha and Dave Stevens founded St. George Orthodox Church in Wichita and helped a small congregation acquire a house at 210 S. Handley St. for services. By the late 1920s the original church was crowded, and a group of men organized what would become St. Mary's on May 22, 1932. They bought a house at 344 S. Martinson St. - close to where many of the families already lived - and began raising money to turn it into a proper church.
The State of Kansas chartered St. Mary's American-Syrian Orthodox Church on July 20, 1932, the Feast of St. Elias. Frank Ferris served as president of the charter organization, with Sam Kallail as vice president, E. G. Stevens as treasurer, Thomas Laham as secretary, S. M. Stevens as custodian, Joe Namee as Sunday School superintendent and Joseph Kallail as warden. Father Bahhah, traveling from Allentown, Pennsylvania, became the first priest. The cornerstone of the present building was laid on December 8, 1935; inside it the founders placed the names of charter members, a copy of the Wichita Eagle and a copy of a New York Syrian newspaper. The inscription on the cornerstone records the administration of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, Governor Alf M. Landon, Patriarch Alexandros III of Antioch and Metropolitan Theodosius of Tyre and Sidon, with the Reverend M. M. Yanney of Sioux City, Iowa, officiating.
The Ladies' Auxiliary supported the early parish through annual Lebanese dinners, and through the late 1930s and 1940s a parade of priests - Fathers Yanney, Gholam, Shalhoub, Nasser, Trad, Nahas and Yared - served the community as clergy became available. The V. Rev. Nicholas Husson, who arrived in 1938, started the first choir and taught the congregation to sing the church's hymns in Arabic. The present building was consecrated in 1956 by Metropolitan Samuel of Toledo, by which time the debt was paid off. In 1953 Czechoslovakian stained glass windows replaced the original plain glass; in 1980, under Father Jason DelVitto, the interior of the sanctuary was completely renovated with a new iconostasis, a ceiling icon of the Pantocrator and a new altar; in the late 1980s the icons of the Twelve Apostles were added above the altar; and in the 1990s and 2000s the parish bought the lots across the street and beside the church, building a new parking lot, parish offices and Sunday School rooms that were dedicated in January 2000.
A Parish of the Patriarchate of Antioch
St. Mary belongs to one of the oldest Christian jurisdictions in the world. The Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America is part of the Patriarchate of Antioch, founded by the Apostles Peter and Paul. Antioch was one of the five original patriarchal sees of the early Church - alongside Rome, Constantinople, Alexandria and Jerusalem - and Acts 11:26 records that it was in Antioch that the disciples were first called Christians. The Wichita parish sits within the Diocese of Wichita and Mid-America, currently led by Bishop Basil Essey. Parishes in this diocese share a calendar of feasts, a cycle of pastoral assignments and the same English-language service texts used across the Archdiocese.
Worship in English, Rooted in the Liturgy
Although the founders prayed in Arabic and much of the older generation still treasures the language, St. Mary has chosen to celebrate its services in English in order to reach the wider American community. The Trisagion Hymn is still sung in both English and Arabic, and the choir draws on Byzantine chant, but the regular rhythm of the week is English-language and welcoming.
The weekly schedule begins on Saturday afternoon with Confessions at 4:30 p.m. and Great Vespers at 5:00 p.m. On Sunday morning, Orthros (Matins) begins at 9:00 a.m., Church School meets at the same hour (parents are warmly invited to join Matins), and the Divine Liturgy - the main Sunday service - is celebrated at 10:00 a.m. Wednesday evenings include Daily Vespers at 6:00 p.m. followed by a book study, and Thursday evenings at 6:30 p.m. are reserved for Bible Study. A weekly Catechism Class for those preparing to enter the Orthodox Church meets after the Liturgy on Sundays at 10:30 a.m. Services that cannot be attended in person are broadcast live on the parish's YouTube page, where recordings of recent homilies are also posted.
The Clergy
The pastor of St. Mary is the Very Reverend Father Aaron Warwick. Father Aaron was ordained a presbyter by Bishop Basil on May 6, 2007 and assigned to St. Mary on November 23, 2009. He graduated with a Master of Divinity from St. Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary in Crestwood, New York, in May 2009, and he was elevated to the rank of Archpriest by Bishop Basil at St. Mary in September 2021. Before seminary he earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Creighton University in Omaha and worked as a corporate auditor for the Union Pacific Railroad. He and his wife Gwen have four children: Emmelia, Adrian, Dominic and Simone.
Attached to St. Mary is Father John Baize, a Wichita native who served Protestant churches in Kansas before being received into the Orthodox Church on Lazarus Saturday 2002 together with his wife Khouria Cindy and much of his parish in Hillsboro, Kansas. He completed the St. Stephen's course of study in 2003 and was ordained to the Holy Priesthood on September 7, 2003. Father John continues to assist at St. Mary together with Deacon James.
A Multi-Ethnic, Multigenerational Community
St. Mary describes itself as home to people of a multitude of cultures - Americans, Egyptians, Ethiopians, Georgians, Greeks, Lebanese, Palestinians, Russians, Serbians, Spanish and Syrians - all committed to the one Gospel of Jesus Christ. Over 180 members of varying ethnic backgrounds and Orthodox traditions now worship at the parish. In the past decade the community has experienced what the parish itself calls a baby boom, with more than forty children and teens, an active youth group, and a steady stream of new inquirers and converts joining from other Christian backgrounds. Many of those converts say they came to St. Mary precisely because it offered the ancient apostolic faith in an American idiom, rooted in the liturgical and sacramental life of the early Church.
The parish's stated core values are to be a loving, welcoming and inclusive Orthodox Christian community; to faithfully practice and share the teachings of Christ and His Church; to exercise fiscal responsibility; to serve the community and the parish; to practice humility; to worship; and to work as a team. Its mission is to worship and honor God by living and sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ through prayer, unconditional love, mercy and service to others.
Choir, Chanters and Readers
Church singing has always been central at St. Mary. The Chanters page hosts audio recordings of the responses of the Great Litany, the antiphons, the Apolytikion of the Resurrection in each of the eight tones, the Entrance Hymn, the Cherubic Hymn, the Anaphora responses, the Megalynarion, the Communion Hymns and the hymns of Vespers and Matins. The choir leads the congregation in prayer, blending English text with Byzantine melodic tradition. The parish's resources for church singers include a long article on the ministry of church singers, drawing on St. John Chrysostom, St. Nikodemos the Hagiorite, the 15th Canon of the Council of Nicea and the 75th Canon of the Council in Trullo, with a recurring emphasis on humility and contrition over vocal display.
Sunday School, Catechism and Youth
Church School meets on Sunday mornings during Matins. Catechism classes meet on Sunday mornings after the Divine Liturgy for those preparing to become Orthodox. The cycle of catechesis typically runs from six months to a year under the oversight of the local pastor, and the parish points inquirers to Fr. Aaron as a first point of contact.
The teens of the parish are organized as Teen SOYO (Sports and Orthodox Youth Organization), the youth program of the Antiochian Archdiocese. Younger children belong to the Pre-Teen group. Young adults meet for catechesis and fellowship, and the parish has begun planning for study groups, small groups, retreats and activities for married couples, singles and college students. The parish sponsors occasional lock-ins, retreats and Vacation Bible School in the summer months.
Outreach: The Lord's Diner, Family Promise, the Food Pantry and Prison Ministry
Service to the wider Wichita community is built into parish life. A team from St. Mary serves at The Lord's Diner, a community meal program, on a regular rotation - typically the first Sunday of each month at 5:00 p.m. The parish also hosts a week for Family Promise of Wichita each year, providing overnight accommodations and meals for families experiencing homelessness. The on-site Food Pantry, stocked by members of the parish, serves more than 550 people every year with more than 2,000 pounds of food. Father Aaron is actively involved in prison ministry at the Winfield Correctional Facility and welcomes parishioners to join him; the parish has also begun supporting international mission work through the Orthodox Christian Mission Center and other Archdiocesan agencies.
Additional ministry teams include the Belles of St. Mary (the women's service organization, descended from the Ladies' Auxiliary), the Altar Servers, Greeters, Visitations, the Meal Train for families in need after births, illnesses or bereavement, the Matthew 5:4 Funeral ministry, Kitchen and Major Fund Raisers, Dillon's Dollars (a community gift card program), and St. Mary On The Go, the parish's outreach-oriented communications ministry. The Treehouse, mentioned alongside local Wichita ministries, is a partner organization for children's welfare.
The Mediterranean Festival
Every spring the parish hosts the Mediterranean Festival, the largest event on its calendar. Nearly a century after the founders came to Wichita with their family recipes, the festival still serves the Lebanese, Syrian and Greek dishes that have been passed down through the families of the parish. The traditional dinner includes kibbee, chicken shish tawook, green beans and rice, Greek salad, talamee bread and baklawa; the Marketplace sells Mediterranean pastries, breads and desserts; and in the evening a new outdoor Hafli features ala carte items, ethnic wines and beer, live music and dabke (Arabic line dancing). The festival raises money for an annual local charity, and in recent years it has supported Senior Services of Wichita/Meals on Wheels.
The Scroll, the Bulletin and the Teach Me Thy Statutes Podcast
St. Mary communicates through several regular channels. The Scroll is the parish magazine, first published as a newsletter in March 1974 and now issued monthly in a magazine format with feature articles on the Orthodox faith and news of the parish. A weekly bulletin carries the order of service and announcements, and the parish maintains a public calendar of services and meetings. Each week Father Aaron and parishioner Jason Ewertt record the Teach Me Thy Statutes podcast, in which they discuss the biblical readings from the Orthodox lectionary; the podcast is available through Transistor FM and the usual podcast apps. Audio of recent sermons is posted to the Sermons page, and videos are shared on the parish's YouTube, Facebook, X, Instagram and TikTok channels.
Becoming Orthodox at St. Mary
Those interested in joining the Orthodox Church are invited to begin with the parish's Catechism Class, which meets on Sunday mornings after the Divine Liturgy and walks inquirers through the liturgical calendar, the sacraments and the doctrines of the faith. The parish draws on the writings of Archpriest Josiah Trenham and the catechetical resources of the Antiochian Archdiocese to frame becoming Orthodox as a journey of inquirers, catechumens and, finally, the sacrament of chrismation (or baptism) at the Divine Liturgy. Catechumens are considered Christians from the moment they are received, and the parish offers preparation materials for both adults and children, including age-appropriate confession guides.
Confession and the Life of Prayer
The sacrament of Holy Confession is heard at 4:30 p.m. on Saturday afternoons and by appointment. The parish provides an extensive set of examination-of-conscience resources drawn from the Exomologetarion of St. Nikodemos the Hagiorite, broken out for adults, teens and children, along with the children's booklet We Return to God. A confession preparation article republished from St. Mary emphasizes three aspects of repentance - contrition, confession and satisfaction - and counsel from the Church Fathers on approaching an experienced spiritual father with humility and trust.
Orthodox Belief in Brief
St. Mary teaches the classical Orthodox Christian faith. The Orthodox Church confesses one God in three Persons - Father, Son and Holy Spirit - and holds that the Church was founded by Jesus Christ and described in the New Testament. The very word Orthodox comes from the Greek orthos (straight) and doxa (teaching or worship), so that Orthodox means straight teaching and straight worship. The parish points interested visitors to the Antiochian Archdiocese's online resources, the writings of Fr. Thomas Hopko, the online catechism of Bishop Hilarion Alfeyev, and the local Eighth Day Institute for further reading.
Getting to St. Mary
The church sits on the northeast corner of Maple and Martinson, three blocks west of Seneca Street. From Kellogg (US 54), visitors take the Seneca exit, head north to Maple Street and turn left (west), then continue three blocks to Martinson. Parking is available on the northwest corner of Maple and Martinson, and behind the church off Exposition Street. The Sunday cycle of Matins, Church School and Divine Liturgy makes for a full morning, and the Saturday vigil of Confessions and Great Vespers is a good way for newcomers to sample the prayer of the Church before committing to a Sunday visit. Visitors are welcome to come as they are.