Published: June 28, 2007 05:35 pm            

HOLY PIEROGI: Monk opens pierogi factory in Niagara Falls with plans to create a Pine Avenue monastery

WHO: Father Nicholas International Pierogies

WHERE: 1419 Main St., Niagara Falls

WHY: To create and support Holy Cross Monestary at 3920 Pine Ave., Niagara Falls.

COST: $5 to $6 per bag of frozen Pierogi

MORE INFO: Call 282-3694 or visit www.monks-pierogies.com



It’s fun to watch Father Nicholas’ face as he tells the story about when he asked his bishop if he could go to Niagara Falls and start a pierogi factory.

“Are you serious?” the bishop asked, his shock coming alive again as Father Nicholas reenacts it, eyes wide and just a hint of a smile on his face.

You can’t blame the bishop for his reaction. Why would a priest, who was a chancellor in New York and New Jersey earning “very close to six figures,” leave his important, comfortable post to come to a struggling city to make pierogies?

Why, indeed. One can only wager that whatever his earthly bosses may have thought about his relocation, his ultimate boss was surely pleased.

Father Nicholas is a Archimandite (like a monsignor) in the American Orthodox Church, a branch of the Christian faith with roots in the Russian Orthodox Church.

His ultimate goal — still a few hundred thousand pierogi away — is to build a monastery at Holy Cross Orthodox Monastery and provide a home to monks who want to live and work in the factory and throughout the community.

Currently, the factory is run with volunteers, some from the former Holy Trinity Church where the monestery now sits and which was famous for its parishioners’ homemade pierogi, and some from St. Peter and Paul Church in Buffalo where Father Nicholas once served as rector when he first came to the United States.

Now, unpaid, and struggling to make a go of the small storefront factory at 1410 Main St., Father Nicholas seems full of hope.

To get a sense of his nature, one might ask him where he’s from. In a slight Eastern Europe accent he will likely respond, “I was born in Transylvania, Romania,” and he’ll quickly add, “I am not a vampire.” Then, he’ll bark a hearty laugh at his own joke. This bearded abbot, who more than slightly resembles a saint named Nicholas, is surely going to need his sense of humor.

On a recent day in the little storefront across from the Niagara Falls Public Library, a trio of volunteers spent a full eight hours making the doughy pouches, some created by hand and some by machine, and all stuffed with a variety of traditional fillings including farmer’s cheese, ricotta cheese, sauerkraut, onion and potato or apricots.

Father Nicholas led the effort, and everyone was pushed to their limits as the pierogi spilled forth from the machines to be placed onto the trays, steamed, then bagged, then frozen.

It was fast paced and relentless work. The sauerkraut pierogi required even more effort and patience. Because sauerkraut tends to jam the works of the new $20,000 processing machine, they must be made one at a time, with dough pressed from a pasta machine.

It was a lot to ask of three volunteers who are retirees, but clearly they understood that the road to their spiritual rewards might very well be paved with the savory little white pockets.  As for the monastery, even though Father Nicholas will be inviting a handful of monks from countries including Russia, the Ukraine and Moldavia, he will welcome Americans who want to serve as well.

“Anyone who is interested, I’d be more than happy to receive them,” he said.

However, there is still much to do before the monks can come to live at the monastery and help make “Father Nicholas’ International Pierogies.” Currently, Father Nicholas is relying on the help of volunteers as he rebuilds the monestery at 3920 Pine Ave. He also hopes to build a 10-foot cross and small chapel on the front lawn there as a tribute to American soldiers. He admitted there is a lot of work ahead for him, and his monks, but smiled when he said: “you have to have plans.”

“I want the monastery to be like a spiritual cradle. Anyone would be able to walk in and be inspired by the reality of faith. Hopefully their hearts will be touched,” he said.

“And, if they were to come in at mealtime they would be invited to have a meal with us,” he added.

It would surely be a blessing for the visitors if the meal included those pierogies.

Contact editor Michele DeLuca at 693-1000, ext. 157.

        

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