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Nikolaj born in Butte, Montana on April 9, 1949 to devout Serbian Orthodox parents, Nikola and Vera Grace [nee O’Billovich] Soraich. His parents, both deceased, were active all their lives in the Orthodox community in in Butte.
On December 24, 1949, he was baptized in [[Holy Trinity Church (Butte, Montana)|Holy Trinity Serbian Orthodox Church]], which had been consecrated by [[Tikhon of Moscow|Saint Tikhon ]] in 1905, during his tenure as Archbishop of North America. Upon graduation from high school in 1967, he enrolled in [[Christ_the_Saviour_Seminary_(Johnstown,_Pennsylvania)|Christ the Saviour Seminary, Johnstown, PAPennsylvania]].
On August 8, 1970, he was tonsured a monk of the [[Lesser Schema]] and given the monastic name [[Nicholas|Nikolai]]. The following day, he was ordained to the [[deacon]]ate. He was ordained to the [[priest]]hood on June 4, 1972 at Saint Stevan Serbian Orthodox Cathedral, Alhambra, CACalifornia.
After graduation from the seminary in 1972, Father Nikolai was sent to Billings, MT, where he organized [[St. Elijah Church (Billings, Montana)|Saint Elijah parish]]. In 1974, the parish’s new church building was consecrated. While residing in Montana, Father Nikolai worked in secular positions with the State of Montana as a juvenile parole officer from 1972 until 1976 and as assistant principal of Billings Central High School from 1976 until 1978. He also pursued graduate studies in Rehabilitation Counseling.
In 1978 and 1979, Father Nikolai pursued post graduate work in Theology at the Theological Faculty of the Serbian Orthodox Church in Belgrade, Yugoslavia.
His consecrated to the episcopacy on April 22, 2001 in Dallas, TX, in conjunction with the consecration of the recently constructed Saint Seraphim Cathedral by Metropolitan [[Theodosius (Lazor) of Washington|Theodosius (Lazor)]], Archbishop [[Dmitri (Royster) of Dallas|Dmitri]] of Dallas and the South; His Eminence, Archbishop [[Herman (Swaiko) of Washington|Herman]] of Philadelphia and Pennsylvania; His Eminence, Archbishop [[Nathaniel (Popp) of Detroit|Nathaniel]] of Detroit and the Romanian Episcopate; and His Grace, Bishop [[Tikhon (Fitzgerald) of San Francisco and Los Angeles|Tikhon]] of San Francisco and the West<ref>http://oca.org/news/archived/archimandrite-nikolai-soraich-consecrated-to-episcopacy-at-dallas-cathedral</ref>.
His Grace, Bishop Nikolai of Baltimore, Auxiliary to Metropolitan Theodosius, began overseeing the life of the Diocese in June 2001 after the transfer of His Grace, Bishop Innocent to the auxiliary see of Hagerstown, MD<ref>http://oca.org/news/archived/diocese-of-alaska-to-elect-candidate-for-episcopacy</ref>.
On October 31, 2001 Eighty-two clergy and lay delegates from parishes of the Orthodox Church in America's Diocese of Alaska unanimously voted to nominate His Grace, Bishop Nikolai of Baltimore, as the candidate for the vacant episcopal see of Sitka and Alaska. At a special session of the Holy Synod of Bishops of the Orthodox Church in America, His Grace, Bishop Nikolai of Baltimore and Auxiliary to His Beatitude, Metropolitan Theodosius, was canonically elected to fill the vacant diocesan see of Sitka and Alaska.
On March 24, 2014 in response to a letter from the Hierarchical Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia dated January 13, 2014 and after much prayerful deliberation, the Holy Synod of Bishops of the Orthodox Church in America has released His Grace, Bishop Nikolai (Soraich), Former Bishop of Sitka, from the jurisdiction of the Orthodox Church in America to the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia. According to conditions outlined by ROCOR, Bishop Nikolai is released as a retired Bishop and will not have the right to participate in meetings of the ROCOR Hierarchical Synod and Sobor<ref>http://oca.org/news/headline-news/holy-synod-releases-bishop-nikolai</ref>.
==References==
{{Reflist}}
== External links ==
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{{succession|
before=?see created|
title=Bishop of Baltimore<br>([[OCA]])|
years=2001-2002|
