OCF Illinois – NIKA House

OCF Illinois – NIKA House

At the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Since 1983, when the Orthodox Christian Fellowship (OCF) at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign was established, OCF Illinois has been the largest OCF group in the nation. The University of Illinois is a world-class university and OCF Illinois is the only OCF in the country with its own meeting facility. OCF Illinois is blessed to have the NIKA House (810 W Oregon St, Urbana, Illinois), the premiere and only permanent meeting facility for Orthodox college students. With over 4,000 square feet of space, the NIKA House is open every day for OCF members from 8 AM to midnight with amenities such as: Ping Pong Table, Nintendo Switch, board games, basketball hoop, two 75-inch TV’s, a music room with a drum set, guitar, and pianos, a library, kitchen, study room, and a chapel! 

Each Sunday, OCF students attend Three Hierarchs Greek Orthodox Church in Champaign through an OCF carpool system. You can expect to see around 30 students each Sunday! OCF meets at the NIKA House every Tuesday at 6 PM for their weekly meeting. OCF provides a free dinner thanks to Merry Ann’s Diner. Students then lead a discussion with our Spiritual Advisor Fr. Michael Condos, Priest at Three Hierarchs Greek Orthodox Church, who is always present. Every Thursday at 7 PM OCF participates in Bible Study at the NIKA House as well. Social events at the NIKA house range from Girls Nights, Movie Nights, sporting event watch parties, study sessions, bonfires, playing Quiplash with Metropolitan Nathaniel, and more. OCF Illinois participates in other activities including intramural soccer, basketball, volleyball, tennis, and trivia. We go kayaking and canoeing, and take road trips to Chicago, Wisconsin Dells, other Big Ten Universities, and OCF events at the St. Iakovos Retreat Center. We have Illinois football tailgates, attend Illinois basketball games together, and organize OCF Dad’s weekend and OCF Mom’s weekend events!

If you have a son or daughter that is looking to enrich their Orthodox faith with others, look no further than the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. The University of Illinois, established in 1867, is consistently ranked as one of the best universities in the world, with the largest OCF in the country, and the only university with an OCF meeting facility. Since OCF Illinois was established, the connection between Orthodox Christians from the Chicagoland area and the University of Illinois OCF has been strong. OCF Illinois will give your son or daughter a safe space to grow. They will easily form friendships from a large pool of Orthodox students coming in, and be part of a club that will keep them connected and entertained with many religious and social events. Check out our Instagram @ocf.uiuc, our Facebook: Orthodox Christian Fellowship – the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, and our website ocfillinois.com to see what the hype is all about! All of the links to the social media pages and website are listed below.