St. George Orthodox Christian Cathedral stands at 7515 East 13th Street in Wichita, Kansas, as the cathedral church of the Diocese of Wichita and Mid-America within the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America. For more than a century, generations of Lebanese and Arab Orthodox immigrants and their Wichita-born descendants have worshipped here, building a parish that grew from a small gathering of immigrants into the seat of the Antiochian bishop for the region.
From Marj'ayoun to the Plains
The community that would become St. George Orthodox Christian Cathedral began arriving in Wichita from the Middle East as early as 1895. Most came from the county of Marj'ayoun in south Lebanon, then a part of Ottoman Syria, drawn to the Kansas prairie by the same currents that brought other Levantine Christians to the American heartland. Their spiritual needs were first met by visiting missionary priests, most notably Father Nicola Yanney, a widowed priest from the village of Fi'eh in north Lebanon. Father Nicola was ordained in 1904 by Bishop St. Raphael (Hawaweeny), head of the Syro-Arabian Mission of the Russian Orthodox Church in North America, and served a vast missionary territory stretching from the Canadian border to the Gulf Coast and from the Rockies to Ohio.
As the Wichita community grew, Father Nicola urged the faithful to purchase a building for worship. He died during the influenza epidemic in early 1918, just as negotiations began, but the parish carried his vision forward. On April 5, 1918, three trustees, Jabour Ablah, Shaker Cohlmia, and Nemetallah Farha, signed a deed purchasing a vacant white clapboard church at 218 South Handley Street on Wichita's west side from the Episcopal Diocese of Kansas for $550. The community prepared the building in time for Pascha on May 5, 1918. On October 20, 1921, twelve leading members formed a Board of Directors and formally incorporated as the "St George Syrian Greek-Orthodox Catholic Society of Wichita."
A Building, a Bell, and a Move East
In 1933, Bishop Emmanuel (Abo-Hatab) visited Wichita and ordained local resident Father George Cohlmia to the holy priesthood as the parish's second resident priest. In preparation for the bishop's visit, Samaan Ayesh presented the parish with its first church bell, a bell that still hangs in the Cathedral's north tower. Under Father George's leadership the society was reincorporated in 1941 as "St George Syrian Orthodox Church." When Father George died on December 1, 1947, it was the very day construction bids were opened for a new church temple and fellowship hall.
The new facility, at the southeast corner of Walnut and Texas on Wichita's south side, was blessed in early 1948 by Metropolitan Antony (Bashir) of the Syrian Antiochian Orthodox Archdiocese. Father Antony Woolf celebrated the first Divine Liturgy in the new hall on Christmas Day, 1948, and the first Liturgy in the new Walnut Street church the following Pascha. Successive resident priests served the parish through the 1950s and 1960s, including Father John Matthiesen (1950-1963), Father Theodore Ziton (1963-1966), Father Karlo (later Bishop Mark) Forsberg, and Father Elias Armistead. Father Paul Nemr arrived in 1968 and would be assisted in the 1970s by Father Anthony Scott, who served from 1977 to 1987 and initiated discussions about a still larger parish home.
The Cathedral on East 13th Street
The decisive move came under Archimandrite Basil (now Bishop Basil) Essey, who pastored the parish from 1987 until his consecration to the episcopacy on May 31, 1992. Metropolitan Philip (Saliba) broke and blessed the ground for a new church temple at 7515 East 13th Street on the Sunday of the Myrrh-bearing Women, May 14, 1989. The last divine service in the Walnut Street church was the Vesperal Divine Liturgy of St Basil the Great on the morning of December 24, 1990. The first services in the new church were celebrated at midnight for the Nativity of Christ on December 25, 1990.
On April 21, 1991, Metropolitan Philip returned to Wichita to consecrate the 13th Street church and at that time declared it the Cathedral for the Southwest Region. With the formal establishment of the Diocese of Wichita and Mid-America on December 15, 2004, St. George became the Cathedral of the new diocese and the seat of its bishop, with Bishop Basil enthroned as the first Bishop of Wichita. Since then the Cathedral has expanded its fellowship hall, built an educational wing, and completed the Chapel of the Unmercenary Healers.
Sunday Worship and the Daily Round
The Cathedral's principal weekly schedule gathers the community around the ancient cycle of Orthodox services. Saturday evenings begin at 5:00 pm with Confessions, followed by the 9th Hour at 5:45 pm and Great Vespers at 6:00 pm. On Sunday mornings, Orthros is prayed at 8:45 am and the Divine Liturgy is celebrated at 10:00 am. A Coffee Fellowship Hour follows the Liturgy, giving visitors and regulars a chance to meet parishioners. The Divine Liturgy is also livestreamed on Facebook and YouTube, with recordings available on the Cathedral's YouTube channel.
Visitors are warmly welcomed. Greeters meet arrivals at the door and help them find a seat, and a printed welcome and introduction brochure is available in the narthex. Orthodox Christians in good standing are invited to receive Holy Communion, having fasted from midnight, recently confessed, and being at peace with others and on time to the service; it is courteous to let the priest know in advance. Non-Orthodox visitors are welcome to receive a blessing from the priest and a piece of Holy Bread after the service.
Clergy and Pastoral Leadership
The Very Reverend Paul O'Callaghan, Protopresbyter, has served as Dean since January 1, 1993. A native of Marin County, California, Fr. Paul holds a Bachelor's degree in Religious Studies from California State University, Chico, and a Master of Divinity from Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology in Brookline, Massachusetts. He was ordained by Metropolitan Philip in 1979 and previously served parishes in Cambridge, Los Angeles, and San Diego. He is the author of The Feast of Friendship and a contributor to the Orthodox Study Bible commentary on the Book of Revelation.
The Right Reverend Archimandrite Calinic Berger serves as Archiepiscopal Vicar for the Diocese of Wichita and Mid-America, appointed by Metropolitan Saba on June 10, 2024, and elevated to archimandrite three days later at the Diocese's Parish Life Conference. Born in Detroit in 1966, Fr. Calinic holds a degree in electrical engineering from Santa Clara University, a Master of Divinity from Holy Cross, and a Ph.D. in Historical Theology from the Catholic University of America. He has served parishes in Pennsylvania and California and is adjunct professor of Dogmatic Theology at Holy Cross.
Reverend Mark Sultani joined the Cathedral as Pastoral Assistant in August 2023 after earning his Master of Divinity from St. Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary, was ordained to the diaconate at the Cathedral on April 27, 2024, and was ordained to the holy priesthood at his home parish on August 18, 2024, becoming Assistant Pastor. Deacon David Sebits, originally from Hesston, Kansas, was ordained to the diaconate by Bishop Basil at the Cathedral on March 20, 2013. He chairs Pickrell Drilling Company and serves on civic boards including the Kansas Chamber, Wichita Grand Opera, and Wichita Salvation Army. Jacob Andrus directs the parish's youth work.
Faith Formation at Every Age
The Cathedral invests heavily in the spiritual life of its members from childhood through adulthood. Church School meets immediately after the Divine Liturgy on Sundays for children of all ages. Teen SOYO gathers on Wednesday evenings with dinner and discussion plus weekend outings for grades 7-12. YABOY holds twice-monthly events for grades 4-6, including bowling, baseball games, and learning at the Cathedral. Adults meet on Wednesday nights for "Continuing Catechesis," a varied program of sessions led by priests and parishioners on theology and parish life.
For older youth and adults, Orthodox Christian Fellowship meets weekly with college students to help them live their faith, the Young Adult Fellowship gathers quarterly for fellowship and discussion, and the Brotherhood of St. Raphael brings together young men around service and fellowship. The Antiochian Women sponsor parish luncheons and dinners, raise funds for Christ The Savior Academy, host the annual Women's Retreat, and support the monthly Women's Faith & Growth book club. A Women's Bible Study meets bi-weekly on Thursday afternoons with Fr. Paul, while the Sewing Sisters gather Thursday mornings to make blankets and other items for those in need, and A-Men's Theology holds monthly spiritual discussions at the Parish House.
Music and the Iconography
Music is central to Orthodox worship, and St. George Cathedral is blessed with two choirs. The Cathedral Choir, directed by Mrs. Chris Farha, is described as a magnificent ensemble of dedicated singers. The Byzantine Choir, under protopsaltis Dr. Sam Cohlmia, leads the faithful in the traditional chant repertoire of the Orthodox East. Recordings of the choirs are shared online. The Cathedral itself bears a full program of iconography, documented in a dedicated Cathedral Iconography booklet available from the parish.
Serving Wichita and the World
Outreach is woven into the weekly life of the parish. The Community Support ministry provides financial and spiritual assistance to those in need both inside and outside the parish, partnering with local agencies. The Outreach Committee welcomes visitors and helps them form connections. Parishioners serve meals at The Lord's Diner once a month alongside fellow volunteers. The Missions Team promotes awareness of Orthodox missions in Kansas, across the country, and abroad, having supported the building of a church in Ghana and sent a mission team to Kenya.
The Cathedral works closely with several affiliated organizations. Christ The Savior Academy is an Orthodox classical school in Wichita dedicated to training the minds of its students to recognize unchanging truth and their souls in virtuous character, through a classical curriculum rooted in historic Orthodox Christian spirituality. The Eighth Day Institute is a local Orthodox educational and cultural organization that renews culture through engagement with the early Church Fathers and the Classics. The Treehouse, located in Wichita, offers mothers and babies a brighter future through sharing God's love, basic necessities, education, and genuine personal care, gently encouraging moms toward spiritual life regardless of denomination. The parish also supports the International Orthodox Christian Charities (IOCC), the Orthodox Christian Prison Ministry (OCPM), the Orthodox Christian Mission Center (OCMC), and the St. Nicholas Uganda Children's Fund.
A Living Cathedral
From the bell presented by Samaan Ayesh in 1933 that still hangs in the north tower, to the chapel completed in recent years, St. George Orthodox Christian Cathedral carries the prayers of three generations of Wichita's Orthodox faithful into the present day. The parish offers classes for inquirers year-round on a rolling basis, gives tours to church and school groups, livestreams its services for shut-ins and the scattered, and welcomes all who walk through its doors to experience the Ancient and Apostolic Orthodox Christian Tradition.