Review Friends Of The Holy Virgin Russian Orthodox Church In allegheny, pennsylvania, united-states | Church In Allegheny

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Friends Of The Holy Virgin Russian Orthodox Church

Allegheny,

Pennsylvania,United-states - 15106

Detailed description is Our parish is dedicated to the spreading of the Gospel of Our Lord Jesus Christ, through the Church He established - the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic.
Historical Review.
By: Nicholas G.
York.
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Literature transmits incontrovertible condensed experience...
from generation to generation.
In this way literature becomes the living memory of a nation –Alexander Solzhenitsyn.
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At the turn of the 20th Century, many Eastern European Slavs came to the United States in search of economic opportunities.
Most came from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, (from Austrian Galicia or Northeastern Hungary), and some from the Russia Empire.
Their migration occurred simultaneously with global changes that included: socialism, nationalism, industrialization, and urbanization.
They made a significant impact on American, including Western Pennsylvanianian economy and were an essential force in the establishment of Orthodoxy in America.
This condensed review will consider the challenges facing these new immigrants in their quest to establish The Intercession of the Holy Virgin Russian Orthodox Church in Carnegie, Pennsylvania and during the later years of the history of the congregation.
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Many of the Slavic immigrants settled near the Greater Pittsburgh area where industrial work was available: Ambridge, Braddock, Duquesne, Rankin, Homestead, Allegheny, and Carnegie.
In Carnegie, a plethora of industries existed, earning Carnegie the nickname “The Little Pittsburgh”.
Some of the jobs available at the time to Eastern European Slavs in Carnegie were in various industries such as: coal mines, the Pennsylvanian Railroad Company, glass mills, and Superior Steel Company.
Even though jobs were plentiful, the immigrants still had to deal with prejudices and questions about their ethnic identity.
To better understand the kaleidoscope of concerns facing the new Eastern European immigrants, we must look at their convoluted past..
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The Eastern European immigrants came from the Carpathian Mountain regions of the Austro-Hungarian and Russian Empires, and identified themselves with different nationalities: Slovak, Romanian, Austrian, Hungarian, Polish, Ukrainian, Russian, or Rusin.
They spoke a diversity of languages that parallel their ethnic identities.
The majority of the Rusins spoke various Carpathian dialects of Russian, which never matured into a single literary language.
The variety of ethnic labels actually increased ethnic confusion of the 2nd largest Slavic American immigrant group and was the major barrier preventing the development of a unified historical record.
In Carnegie, the majority of people identified themselves as either Russian Galicians or Ukrainian Galicians.
They spoke one or another of the Carpathian dialects and very little “hard” Russian.
As we will see later, ethnicity played a very large role in the founding of Holy Virgin.
For now, the Carnegie Galicians had to adapt to a new way of life in America..
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Practically none of the immigrants were literate in English.
Being “strangers in a strange land,” the Galicians in Carnegie needed a way in which they could maintain their identity and at the same time, amalgamate to American Society.
The answer to this dilemma was met with a familiar solution.
They formed fraternal lodges.
Educated Greek Catholic priests organized lodges first in Eastern Europe as literally a defensive unit for those of the Eastern Rite to fight off Polish and Slovak Roman Catholics influences.
The Greek Catholic priests were educated in both canon and civil law.
When they came to America, these priests established independent lodges that were open to all Rusins.
Their objectives were to provide insurance for injured workers, workers’ children, and widows.
They became catalysts for learning democracy and established resources for the building of churches.
The latter, building churches, is how SS.
Peter & Paul and Holy Virgin were able to start..
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In 1901, SS.
Peter & Paul Branch no.
55 of the Ukrainian National Association was founded in Carnegie.
Unfortunately, this is the only mention of the SS.
Peter & Paul Branch.
It is assumed to have either collapsed or transformed itself into the Brotherhood of St.
John the Baptist Branch no.
20, which was formed the following year.
The Brotherhood of St.
John started with an initial membership comprised of 22 members.
They managed to secure property at 220 Jane Street in October of 1902 which today is the current site for SS.
Peter & Paul’s social hall.
At the time, a simple wooden structure sufficed as a makeshift church.
On August 8, 1903, SS.
Peter & Paul Russian Greek Catholic Church was legally Incorporated by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
The initial membership was approximately 50 families.
Over the next couple years, more land was secured with the aspiration to build a permanent place of worship.
On July 12, 1908, the old calendar Feast of SS.
Peter & Paul, Bishop Soter Ortynsky came to consecrate the new church.
Bishop Ortynsky’s visit denoted a turning point for the futures of the Galicians in Carnegie, Pennsylvania.
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Bishop Ortynsky was first a Greek Catholic Bishop sent from Galicia by the Pope of Rome to the Americas as a vicar bishop for the new Greek Catholic communities.
This meant he had to obtain approval from the local Roman Catholic Bishop of an area were a particular Greek Catholic community existed before attending to their needs.
The Roman Bishops were Irish, Polish, German, or Italian who had little or no contact with the Eastern Church.
They questioned the validity of the Greek Catholics as valid Catholics in communion with the Pope of Rome or treated them as 2nd class Catholics.
In effect, Bishop Ortynsky was powerless.
In order to be excepted as Catholics in communion with the Pope of Rome, the Greek Catholic Church began to go through a period of Latinization in which rituals, beliefs, and spirituality were altered to be more like that of the Western Church.
On top of all of that, Bishop Ortynsky was pro-Ukrainian.
His political views combined with his union with the Pope of Rome led a significant number of Galicians to return to Holy Orthodoxy..
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Three major factors led to the establishment of Holy Virgin.
First, The Brotherhood of St.
John the Baptist’s intention for SS.
Peter & Paul was to be an independent church.
They understood independent to mean not under the Pope of Rome.
Secondly, SS.
Peter & Paul was in danger of being repossessed by the banks for almost defaulting on $16,000.00 loan towards the construction of the new SS.
Peter & Paul Church.
Third, different ethnic concepts divided the community.
Some saw themselves as Russian-Galicians and spoke Carpathian Russian dialects, while others identified themselves as Ukrainian-Galicians speaking Ukrainian.
Because Bishop Ortynsky was sympathetic to the latter group and thus, unable to heal the issues, a significant group of people left SS.
Peter & Paul Russian Greek Catholic Church on July 9, 1908 and approach the Russian Orthodox Church with the intention of forming an Orthodox congregation.
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Mr.
John Skirpan, a member of St.
John the Baptist Lodge and co-founder of SS.
Peter & Paul was elected by the 70 families to represent them in dialoguing with the Russian Orthodox Church.
He spoke with Mitered Archpriest, Peter G.
Kohanick, who at that time was the Dean of the Russian Orthodox Church in the Pittsburgh area and pastor of St.
Michael’s Russian Orthodox Church in the Hill District.
Property had to be secured for the new Orthodox congregation.
For this task, Father Kohanick re-designated the Brotherhood of St.
John The Baptist to the Protection of the Holy Theotokos Brotherhood on May 4, 1908 and charged them with the task of securing land and funds.
They acquired 2 lots on 210 Jane Street with 2 wooden two-storied homes.
One would serve as the rectory, the other as a temporary church.
An installment plan set up.
The first payment was an up-front $400.00, December 17, 1908 $600.00, June 17, 1909 $1,500.00 and January 17, 1910 $2,500.00 for a grand total of $5,000.00.
Difficulty occurred when the purchase was made.
The one house bought for the parish rectory could not be inhabited until April 1, 1909 when the rent terms expired.
At the time, the house was being rented to the Uniate priest of SS.
Peter & Paul.
This was not the only obstacle facing the new parish..
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On September 28, 1908 the new church was rejected for legal incorporation by the courts for insufficient funds.
The reason for the church having insufficient funds was because no permanent pastor had been assigned to the parish.
Father Kohanick could only served Sunday vespers in the makeshift church.
The parishioners had to travel to St.
Michael’s Orthodox Church in the Hill District for Sunday and Feast Day Liturgies.
This caused some skepticism about the future of Holy Virgin among its members.
It was through the leadership and determination of Father Peter Kohanick, Mr.
John Skirpan, and the Protection Brotherhood that Holy Virgin was able to gain new members and to become financially secure.
In the mean time, Father Kohanick urged Archbishop Platon to send a permanent pastor to Holy Virgin to expedite the establishment of the young parish.
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Father Kohanick’s suggestion was acted on early 1909.
In February 1909 Father Basil Popoff was assigned as the first pastor of Holy Virgin.
Father Popoff introduced a daily cycle of services to the parish.
With a now permanent priest, the people of Holy Virgin became energized! A Parish Council was set up to help the priest run the parish.
The following were the elected council members: John Skirpan as church warden and cashier, Petr Telep as Warden Assistant, Petr Pavlovich Scherba, Vasilii Pelesh, Vasili Durkot, Ilia Bets.
The following were the trustees or those who would mortgage their homes if the parish was found financially insolvent: Mikail Pronko, Ivan Pronko Griv, Peter Telep, David Merkuvoch, Iakov Yuschak, Antonii Kravichimnik, Iann Skirpan, Nikolai Karas, Mikail Yuschak, Petro Scherba, Kost Pistsov, Andrei Telep, Philip Vanko, Iakim Pistsov, Vasilii M.
Lionar, John M.
Pronko, Daniel Mezek, Feodor Skirpan, Alexander Skirpan, Feodor Kulik, Petr Fesh, Vasili Mlinar, Simeon Gubiak, and Andrei Ligosh.
The majority of the people that made up the new Holy Virgin were from Austrian Galicia and Hungary.
The rest were Russians, Serbians, and Syrians who lived in neighboring towns such as Sygan and Rich Hill.
The Russians, Serbians, and Syrians totaled no more than 10 families.
The Syrian Families would eventually leave Holy Virgin and form St.
George Antiochian Orthodox Church in Bridgeville in 1920..
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On June 5, 1909 the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania legally incorporated The Intercession of the Holy Virgin Russian Orthodox Church under the spiritual leadership of Archbishop Platon of the Orthodox Russian Church of North America.
Later in June, Father Popoff sent a telegram to Archbishop Platon requesting permission for a minor consecration of the new church-house.
Archbishop Platon gave an Icon of the Protection of the Mother of God to the parish along with his blessing to Father Peter Kohanick to consecrate the altar sometime in 1909.
Unfortunately, we do not know the exact date of the minor consecration..
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Holy Virgin experienced a great surge in its members.
The main two causes for growth in membership were from many families returning from the Unia and the arrival of more immigrants from Eastern Europe.
Church membership in 1913 numbered 350 families.
To meet the demands of an ever-growing younger population, a school was opened four years after the incorporation of the congregation.
The parish priest taught all the classes.
Classes ran from 4pm-6pm offering subjects in religious education, the Russian Language, Church Slavonic, Russian History, and church singing.
With the constant growth of the parish, the church-house became to small for the needs of the young and thriving parish.
Also, a need arose as to where to inter deceased members.
The next two major tasks facing Holy Virgin were the establishment of a parish cemetery and the construction of a larger church.
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A committee was formed in 1911 with the specific intention of finding land for a parish cemetery.
6 acres of land were purchased in 1912 for $2,503.00 on West Manilla Ave in Greentree Borough as a place of interment.
Later, Father Vasilii Rubinski, the pastor at that time asked Archbishop Platon to bless the new cemetery and cemetery cross.
On September 22, 1913 the parish cemetery was blessed by Bishop Alexander (Nemolovsky) on behalf of His Eminence, Archbishop Platon Archbishop of the Aleutians and North America.
With a cemetery now incorporated, the challenge of building a new building followed..
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The congregation decided to purchase a lot next door to the parish rectory with the intention to construct a new church.
Father Konstantine Auroroff came to the parish in 1915 to start the construction process.
Father Auroroff ran into difficulty.
The church was $6,303.00 in debt.
Father Auroroff’s solution to the debt was to construct the new church’s basement at a cost of $5,500.00.
The new church basement would then serve to hold all liturgical services until the upper portion of the building could be finished.
The church-house would then be rented out at $40 per month while the basement of the church-house could be used to hold fund raising events.
This was the arrangement until the upper church was completed in 1920.
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The dream of a well established Orthodox Community was forming for the Orthodox Christians of Carnegie.
Construction of the new church edifice was almost complete when another misfortune occurred.
The congregation could not afford to finish the roof.
For nearly two years, the new church building stood exposed to the elements.
In 1919, Protopresbyter Dimitry Jarema was sent to aid the Carnegie Orthodox Community.
Father Jarema was by trade a skilled carpenter.
It was through the tireless labors of Father Jarema and Mr.
John Skirpan, who also was a carpenter, that the roof of the church was completed.
The summer of 1920 marked the completed construction.
The overall construction expense was $23,000.00.
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With the church now completed, Father Jarema continued to utilize his skills as a carpenter for Holy Virgin Congregation.
Father Jarema carved the original iconostasis, tetropod, and altar table.
The parish of The Intercession of the Holy Virgin Russian Orthodox Church in Carnegie was now firmly established.
The people now awaited the consecration of the new church..
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Plans were first made to have Metropolitan Platon come to consecrate the new church edifice on June 21/July 4 1922.
A couple of weeks after the Metropolitan’s response to come, the coal miners and the railroads went on strike.
Therefore, mass transportation into Carnegie was virtually impossible.
Needless to say, the majority of the parishioners were temporarily out of work.
Therefore, the congregation could not finance the Metropolitan’s trip.
Metropolitan Platon later wrote to Father Jarema to reschedule the consecration for Sunday October 22/November 4, 1923.
With the lack of archival information, it is assumed the consecration took place on October 22/November 4, 1923.
Over the next few years, the parish of the Holy Virgin grew in membership and the financial situation improved despite the Great Depression and World War II..
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On August 6, 1956, the church braved its first disastrous flood.
As a result, the building was gravely damaged.
The original stone railings on the front of the church and walls in the basement had collapsed.
A $50,000.00 loan was secured to repair the damage.
Metal hand railings were installed on the front steps of the church.
Glazed brick was used in rebuilding the walls in the basement.
The congregation also decided that the church building should be restored as well.
New stained-glass windows were installed except for the rose window in the bell tower.
The church was repainted.
A cement floor was poured in the basement, replacing the rotten wood floor.
The iron posts in the basement were sawed-off and reinforced with steel beams to support the sagging floor in the main church.
Despite the tremendous task, the church was able to burn all mortgages on October 12, 1958.
The church was re-consecrated on October 18, 1959 during the 50th Anniversary Liturgy by Metropolitan Leonty and Archbishop Benjamin.
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With a milestone reached, the parish took on two challenges, the acquisition of a new parish rectory, and the renovating of the church sanctuary.
The original rectory had seen better days.
It was well over 100 years old and had fallen into decay.
Maintenance for the rectory had become astronomical.
The congregation decided to purchase a new rectory and demolish the original one.
A home was purchased in 1963 at 334 Rockfield Road for the intent of housing the parish priest and his family, a function it still serves today.
Father Michael Karas and his family were the first to reside in the new rectory.
The purchase of the new rectory occurred simultaneously with the church’s interior being renovated.
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The church interior’s renovation began in 1960s.
At the beginning of the renovation, Mr.
Slav Tkach was hired to re-wire and replaced the bottom crystal on the chandelier in 1960.
In 1972, the church was carpeted and new pews were installed for approximately $15,000.00.
A new iconostasis was purchased for approximately $14,500.00.
Mr.
John Yarowenko had to re-build the floor in the altar in order for it to support the Iconostasis.
Renovations were complete in 1973.
Later that year, the church, again was re-consecrated on March 4, 1973 by the future Metropolitan Theodosius, who at that time was the Bishop of Pittsburgh.
Bishop Theodosius interred the relics of Saint Herman of Alaska into the altar along with the original confirmation oil that was used by Archbishop Benjamin of Pittsburgh to consecrate the building in 1945.
After the major renovations of the 60s and 70s, the congregation of Holy Virgin was now turned its attention to the ever-pressing pastoral issue of being an American Orthodox Church..
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1982 proved to be yet another year of great change.
In a bold attempt to further bring Holy Orthodoxy to the American Society, the Holy Synod of Bishops of the Orthodox Church in America issued a statement for all Orthodox Churches to adopt the Revised Julian Calendar.
Though the decision was not easy, the congregation of the Holy Virgin accepted the new calendar on September 1, 1982.
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Another serious matter occurred in 1982.
14 out of the 24 ribs in the roof had cracked due to the amount of pressure the slate roof and fourth dome exuded on it.
The company V.
Scotti & Sons was contracted to remedy the problem for a cost of $35,780.00.
The slate roof was replaced and the center dome was removed in order to relieve stress on the church walls.
Moreover, steel beams were inserted in the roof to give it additional support.
The rest of the 80s and 90s were focused on parish education and the importance of the involvement of youth within our parish..
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Through the leadership of Father George York and Mrs.
Tamara Krajnak, the Religious Educational system was re-organized to build a solid foundation of understanding of the Orthodox Faith in the future leaders of our parish.
Academic trips exposed the young adults of our parish to Orthodox Monasticism at our monastery in Ellwood City, the traditions of the Coptic Orthodox Church in Ambridge, and community involvement in the South Hills Interfaith annual remembrance of victims of the Holocaust.
The Junior Choir was reformed through the great efforts of Fred & Rebecca Danchenko.
Mrs.
Krajnak coordinated a Christmas Pageant along with Mr.
& Mrs.
Danchenko for the children to learn the Christmas Story.
A scholarship program was initiated to reward students who completed our Religious Education Program and to further instill in our youth to remain active in the Orthodox Church wherever they find themselves.
Still, Father George formed an adult inquiry of Orthodoxy class for people interested in converting to Holy Orthodoxy.
All of these programs still continue to prove very rewarding in bringing about the evangelization of the Holy Orthodox Faith.
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In the summer of 1995, the church again undertook a $300,000.00.
restoration process.
Among the projects were the repainting of the domes, the Pantocrator was installed above the chandelier along with the angels on either side of the iconostasis.
The kitchen and church basement were renovated to support various church and fundraising events.
The stage was closed in with the intention of behind utilized as a multi-purpose room.
A storage shed was constructed next to the church.
However, tragedy struck the church 9 years later..
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On Friday, September 17, 2004, hurricane Ivan swept through the City of Pittsburgh causing catastrophic flooding all over the area.
Our parish was not spared from this disaster.
The Church basement was filled with 6ft of raw-sewage.
Fortunately, all of the original church records and most of the contemporary church council minutes were saved.
Most importantly, all the prosphora was lost in the basement.
Miraculously, SS.
Peter & Paul Ukrainian Orthodox Church managed to save their prosphora but lost their wine.
Since our wine was stored upstairs, the priests of both parishes decided to combine and celebrate the Divine Liturgy in thanksgiving to God for sparing our respected churches.
Father George York along with Father Steve Repa decided to celebrate the Divine Liturgy in SS.
Peter & Paul Church, primarily because the Ukrainian Club next door to SS.
Peter & Paul had their restroom facilities fully cleaned for the purpose of being a center for the local community.
Through the tireless efforts of Father George and the parishioners, the church was up and running for services the following weekend.
The basement was fully restored in 2006 through with the great assistance made by the OCA, Mrs.
Jean Prandini, various friends, and parishioners..
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Thus, a century has past!.
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Throughout the existence of The Intercession of the Holy Virgin Russian Orthodox Church in Carnegie, Pennsylvania, many honorable and hard-laboring hierarchs, priests, and laity have contributed judiciously to the preaching of the gospel of Christ.
We have faced many trials and shared countless joys over the past century.
As we enthusiastically look to the opportunities in the future that await us and the generations after us, we the faithful of the Holy Virgin Orthodox Church continue to live and proclaim the words of Christ in the Gospel of St.
Luke 17:10:.
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“So, you also, when you have done all that is commanded you, say: “We are unworthy servants; we have done only what was our duty’”.
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