  holy ascension orthodox church, located in albion, michigan, is one of the oldest orthodox churches in michigan. founded 30 april 1916 by belorussian, macedonian, russian, and ukrainian immigrants, the parish's name was originally Ð ÑÑÑÐºÐ°Ñ ÐÑÐ°Ð²Ð¾ÑÐ»Ð°Ð²Ð½Ð°Ñ Ð¦ÐµÑÐºÐ¾Ð²Ñ ÐÐ¾Ð·Ð½ÐµÑÐµÐ½ÑÑ ÐÐ¾ÑÐ¿Ð¾Ð´Ð½Ñ (russian orthodox ascension of christ church). from its foundation the parish was a part of the russian orthodox metropolia and later the orthodox church in america (oca). over the years the parish shrank as its older members died and its younger ones fell away from orthodoxy due to the community's refusal to celebrate the divine services in english instead of slavonic. in the early 1970s, however, the parish began using english in its services and switched to the new julian calendar. from this time forward more and more american converts to orthodoxy and english-speaking orthodox began attending the parish. the parish serves orthodox christians scattered from kalamazoo to jackson to hillsdale and ministers to the students from several nearby colleges and universities, among them hillsdale college and spring arbor university. the parish is in the diocese of the midwest. nearby is st. demetrius orthodox church in blackman township, also in the midwestern american diocese of the oca and to the north is the holy dormition monastery in rives. == external links == * official website
20th-century_Eastern_Orthodox_church_buildings Albion,_Michigan Belarusian-American_history Buildings_and_structures_in_Calhoun_County,_Michigan Bulgarian-American_history Macedonian-American_culture_in_Michigan Orthodox_Church_in_America Religious_organizations_established_in_1916 Russian-American_culture Ukrainian-American_culture_in_Michigan