A Man of Several Notable Firsts
Father Nicola Yanney, the congregation’s founding priest, was a man of several notable firsts. He was ordained on April 3rd, 1904—the first priest ordained by Saint Raphael after his consecration to the episcopacy. Father Nicola was also the first Arab man ordained to the priesthood in the United States. Immediately after his ordination, Father Nicola was assigned as the priest of Saint George in Kearney, Nebraska, and, thus, became the first resident Arab Orthodox Christian priest west of the Mississippi River.
He divided his time between ministering in Kearney and traveling to various communities throughout the region—teaching, holding services, and performing weddings and baptisms. The region covered by Father Nicola during his pastoral and missionary journeys was immense, extending from the Rocky Mountains to the Mississippi River and from the Canadian border to the Mexican border. Selflessly ministering to the sick and suffering of his flock in Kearney during the influenza epidemic of 1918, Father Nicola fell victim to the flu. He died on October 29th, 1918.
