Singing group from Ohio?

Your blogger is a little unsure about this image, except that it is of our church basement, back in the '70s, maybe earlier, and that the girls wearing similar dresses in the foreground of the photo were a singing group that was visiting here. Anyone remember anything about this group, who  they were, when this event took place? Please comment here! That was kind of nice having a Coke machine in the basement wasn't it? ;-)

Know Your Parish Leadership, 1973.

This is a group of the parish leaders from 1973, the time of the consecration of the current church building. Let's see if we can name them all correctly!

In the center is Father Wojcik. In the back, on the right, are Al Joseph and Andy Babish. On the right in front are Sandy Paiko and Gene Grenek. (At least we think that's right.)

The names we have for those on the left are: Dorothy V...?, Paul Prybla, Helen Dresko, Boris Glus and Donald A..? Can you help sort out who is who, and fill in the last names? Remember, if you click on the photo you can make it bigger for viewing :-)

Bingo!

As mentioned before, there were numerous fund raisers in the 1960s and '70s. There was a building to furnish, a parish to establish, a mortgage to be paid off and while the individual parishoners contributed generously, there were simply limits to what they could do. In addtion to the fund raisers mentioned already, church members ran a bingo game for some years in the 1970s. They rented a Knights of Columbus Hall on South Avenue and many parishoners worked these games. The top image is of Marge Cavalcanti, tallying up the proceeds by the looks of things.

Some other people who helped out were the folks shown in this next image. In the back we see Gretel Stavrevsky and Cora Joseph, and on the right in the
foreground is Lillian Stavrevsky.

Not just adults, but younger members worked these games too, as shown here with two of the Joseph brothers, Nick and David.

Please help identify this young sub-deacon

Among other photographs from Boris Glus' extensive collection of photos of church events over the years was this photo. It is from the early 1970s, since Father Wojcik was still here, who you see coming out from the Royal Doors. Out in front of him is Father Cyril, who at that time was probably already serving as chaplain at West Point. On Father Cyril's left is a young sub-deacon. He looks familiar, doesn't he? Or does he? We think we know his identity, but if you'd like to try a guess, please comment here! (Remember, you can left click on the image to view it in a larger size.)

Fundraisers

When the parish bought the current church building in 1967 it cost $67,000. In today's dollars that would be some $470,000 according to this inflation calculator. A lot of money! So the people of the church initiated a series of fundraising events that over the years represented a lot of work, a fair amount of money for the church, and sometimes some good fun too, judging by some of the photos. Jane Wargo recalled in an interview for example that in the 1960s they held a number of rummage sales in the Grange hall in Chili.


 Another good fundraiser done for a number of years in the 1970s is shown in the photographs here. This was the food stand that they ran every summer at the Monroe County Fair. Shown below are Al and Cora Joseph.

In the following photo we see Bill Cavalcanti and Cora Joseph.

More on the "Carpatho-Russians"

This ethnic group, not well known to many in the U.S., was commented on earlier in this blog. Recently the blogger ran across some wonderful images and books about the heartland of these people, Carpathian Ruthenia. This was in the World Digital Library, an online cooperative venture of a number of national and other libraries. In the European section there is a book from the National Parliamentary Library of Ukraine showing rare images of the villages, churches and people in this region which was the center of this ethnic group.

As noted in the records, this mountainous region was largely in the former Austrian-Hungarian Empire before WWI, but afterwards some of it became part of Czechoslovakia. some fell to Poland, with most of it becoming what is today the Zakarpattia Oblast in western Ukraine. The natives were a rural peasant people who spoke a Slavic dialect similar to Ukrainian with Polish influences. Shown here is a group of women of the region.

Religiously they were predominantly what is referred to as either "Eastern Catholics" or "Uniates." Their story is significant not only to our parish but to the Orthodox Church of America as well, since after the followers of this church came to America many of them became part of the former "Metropolia," which later became the OCA. What follows is an attempt to relate briefly a very complicated and often contentious story!

Essentially what happened is that in the European borderlands between West and East there was a tremendous amount of political and religious rivalry between Roman Catholic and Easter Orthodox princes and powers. The Easter Catholics or Uniates are an outcome of this rivalry. They are a church which largely follows an Orthodox style worship and tradition, but recognize the primacy and authority of the Pope, rather than the collegial body of Orthodox metropolitans and patriarchs. So for example their priest can marry, as in Orthodoxy, but they still accept the authority of Rome. At left is one of their churches.

When these people came to the U.S. and brought their church with them, there was a good deal of confusion. Roman Catholic leaders here were not familiar with their situation, and unsympathetic to it in many cases, finding the marriage of priests mentioned above unacceptable, and so on. A leader of this people, Father Alexis Toth, a Uniate priest, struggled with these issues and in the end led many to reunion with the then main Orthodox body in the U.S., the Metropolia mission of the Russian Orthodox Church. The Carpatho-Russian Uniates who returned to Orthodoxy form an important part of the history of today's Orthodox Church in America.

Men & Women of the Parish, March 1967

Here are two snapshots of some of the men and women of St. John's in March of 1967, not long after moving into the present church building. The men are shown seated at a table in the basement. From left to right they are: unidentified, Joe Cherney, Carl (later Fr. Cyril) Stavrevsky, Fr. Warnecke, John Dresko, Marty Staschak and "Sam," (also known as "Sam the Albanian.") All of these men were active in the establishment of the new parish. Carl Stavrevsky, later Father Cyril, became a priest in 1969 and later served this parish, where his son, Father Ken James Stavrevsky serves today. Father Warnecke was the priest of St. Peter and Paul in Syracuse, and a major figure in Orthodox circles in upstate NY. He, and his parish, served in something of the role of godparents to our parish. "Sam the Albanian" was actually named Sam Theodore, something like that, but many found his full Albanian name difficult to remember, hence "Sam the Albanian!" He was a member of the small Albanian church that our parish worshiped in for almost two years prior to purchasing the current building.

Next we have a group of women of the parish, also from March 1967, in the kitchen. (It was a more traditional era...) From left to right we see Helen Dresko, Dorothy Stavrevsky (Father Ken's grandmother,) Ann Paiko, Dorothy Staschak, Katherine Youney, Jane Wargo and Sultana Popoff. Again, a key group of our founding members. Without the dedication, hard work, and faithfulness of all of these servants of God our much loved parish simply would not exist!

So, you want to build an altar...

After our parish moved into their new church building in 1966 there were many changes that had to be made in order to create an Orthodox worship space. In an earlier post we looked at the building of the iconstasis, the wall of icons that divides the sanctuary and the nave. Inside the nave, the area where the priest celebrates the Eucharist, is an altar. Originally the altar was one from another church, but then in 1970 a new altar was built. Shown at left are George Kuyon and Walter Kisel, in the rear of the photo, with the altar in George's workshop in Gates. The cost of the altar was sponsored by Katherine Youney, right, and Fr. Wojcik, left, was the priest at the time.

While there are certain specific guidelines for altars derived from Exodus and Leviticus, for example they are not to use nails or screws, but must be pegged together, there is some latitude in the dimensions and woods used. This altar was built in part with birch plywood for example. The altar is not actually fully assembled though until the consecration, when it is hammered together with a rock, by the bishop and priests presiding. At that time a sacred relic is placed and sealed inside the altar as well.

One element that is required is a sort of drop box in the center of the altar to hold the relic. The custom of having a relic of a martyr or saint included in the altar goes back to the earliest days of the church, when they would celebrate the Eucharist in the catacombs over the grave of a martyr. The plan on left is one of the original drawings done to design the altar. If you click on it to see it larger you will see how the center post is lower, and allows for a place for a relic.

Traditionally an altar will hold a relic of a martyr. In our altar however, as in many churches of the Orthodox Church of America that were built in those years, the relic is of Saint Herman of Alaska. He was not a martyr, but the problem was that while, with the Slavic background of our church, the natural thing would have been to get  a relic of one of the "new martyrs" of Russia, those priests, monastics and faithful killed by the Communists, during the Cold War years this simply wasn't possible to do, and so churches built in that era often used relics of Saint Herman, the first Orthodox saint of North America.

When interviewing George Kuyon about the building of this altar, George said that working on this project had been one of the most profound spiritual experiences in his life. He recalled driving from his workshop in Gates to the church, with the altar secured in the back of his pickup truck, feeling as though nothing could happen to him, that his trip was blessed by what he was doing, which of course it was!

The Iconostasis

In previous posts we have seen photos of the interior of our church dating from when we first purchased it from the Lutherans who had occupied it as St. Mark's, and who had moved to a new site in the suburbs. It was a typical Protestant setting, with largely bare walls, a pulpit for the minister, a choir loft and so forth. Naturally enough, an Orthodox church building needs to meet the requirements of Orthodox worship. One of the most significant needs in converting this space into one fitting for Orthodox worship was to have an "iconostasis." 

The iconostasis can be thought of as a line that separates the nave, where the worshipers stand, representing the human world, and the sanctuary, representing the divine world, where the altar is, and where the priest celebrates the Eucharist. An iconostasis can take a variety of forms. It can be literally a wall, with doors set into it, as ours is. It can also be represented by sections of stands or in other ways, but the common purpose is to separate the two areas, and to allow for presentation of icons.

Our iconostasis, shown above in a recent photo, was designed by parishioner Samuel Milley and built in the basement in sections by a group of parishioners, including a young Steve Merowsky Jr. and his father. It was assembled and set into place in late 1967 or early 1968. The center doors, or "Royal Doors," were a gift to this parish from St. John the Baptist Orthodox Church in Mayfield PA, the home parish of founders like the Wargo family, the Staschak family, Tatiana Sweda and others. It is a lovely, traditional style iconostasis, on which one will find those icons common to Orthodox believers and worship.

Icons are of course another vital element in Orthodox worship, and perhaps one familiar to those who otherwise are largely unfamiliar with Orthodoxy. Icons in Orthodox understanding are not simply "pictures." They are a spiritual device that allows one a certain window on the world beyond. They are not worshiped, but rather serve to facilitate our worship and prayer.

On the left is a 1960s photo of the icon found above and centered behind the iconostasis, that of the "Theotokos," or "God bearer," the Virgin Mary, flanked by two angels. This icon of the Theotokos is a very traditional style icon done after the iconostasis was put into place. It is the work of James McKean, a parishioner at the time, and was hung on the wall by George Kuyon and Walter Kisel. George recalls that it was quite a challenge to mount and center this large, and heavy icon, (it is painted on masonite,) while he and Walter were balancing on two long extension ladders! Below is a 1960s photo of the icon, notice the walls are blue and the angels have not yet been done.

The languages of St. John's

The story of today's Orthodox Church in America, and that of our parish, is in part one of an ongoing effort to share the riches of Orthodoxy with Americans of all backgrounds, not just those with roots in traditionally Orthodox countries. All ethnic groups of course feel the pull of the homeland and the mother tongue, not just Russians or Greeks. Until relatively recent times for example many churches in the Missouri Synod of the Lutheran church were insistent on the use of German in worship.

The history of the OCA, being connected as it is with missionary efforts of the Russian Orthodox Church in North America, means that for many years it was common for services to be conducted in "Church Slavonic," which is a sort of old style of Russian. Until comparatively recently many clergy in the OCA and it's predecessors were Russian immigrants, and often spoke Russian by preference. (Shown here is the cover of a bilingual service book, in Slavonic and English.)

By way of illustration, at a council of bishops in 1967 of our predecessor, the "Russian Orthodox Greek Catholic Church," the proceedings were conducted in Russian, not English. And it wasn't until well into the 1970s that a wide range of liturgical music, theology and so forth were being actively translated into English.

Despite the emotional tug of attachment to mother tongues, and traditions of Church Slavonic, visionary leaders realized that to be a truly American church, the use of English was of vital importance. Metropolitan Leonty, despite the fact that he himself was more comfortable in Russian than English, was a strong proponent of the use of English in church services, and under his leadership in the 1950s and early 1960s many English language parishes were started, including ours.

Even so, in the early years of St. John's there was a little use of Slavonic, since that is what some were familiar with, but over time that ceased. What we enjoy today is a parish that while delightfully multilingual, with speakers of Carpatho-Russian, Ethiopian, Greek, Macedonian, Romanian, Russian, Ukrainian and other languages among our members, we are blessed to be able to share the treasury of Orthodoxy together in English.

Father Kozak

One of the earliest priests in our parish was Father John Kozak. He was a handsome and capable young man with a family, a wife and five children, and every Sunday they drove in an old station wagon from Syracuse, where he was based with Father Warnecke, to Rochester so that he could celebrate the liturgy. This photo shows Father blessing the Pascha baskets in 1967. He was much loved in the parish and it was hoped he could become our first permanent assigned priest but health issues precluded his being able to do so. He is remembered with warmth and respect by many still today. Standing closest behind him, left to right, are Mary Cherney, Anastasia Wargo, and Joseph Wargo. Can you recognize anyone else? Post a comment here and help identify them!

(By the way, if you haven't noticed, you can click on the photos posted in this blog to see them larger size.)

The "Antemension"

One of the joys of researching our parish history is the opportunity to speak with so many good people, to hear so many interesting stories, and to see so many fascinating things. Today I spoke with our parish priest, Father Stavrevsky about his life in our parish, and the history of the last fifty years. Father invited me to come into the altar area and as we discussed some of the items found there, such as the beautiful altar built by church members (more on that in a future post,) he unfolded and showed me the "antimension." This liturgical item is a piece of linen, given by the bishop to the priest, and in part serves as the priest's "license" from the bishop to celebrate the divine liturgy and holy mysteries.

The antimension is essential to conducting the service, the Eucharist cannot be celebrated without it. It is unfolded during the liturgy and serves to catch any crumbs that might fall from the bread. It may be used in special situations as a substitute for an altar table, and in fact when a military chaplain Father Ken used an antimension in just such manner when out in the field.

Father Ken unfolded the antimension that I might see and photograph it. It is about 16"x16", and has the imagery typical of these items, namely the four evangelists, one at each corner, and in the center the entombment of Christ. The sense here is that out of Christ's death comes life for all of us. As is the custom there is a small relic (St. Herman of Alaska) sown into the back of the cloth. On the front, under the imagery, one can see, although faded by time, the signature of Metropolitan Ireney, the Metropolitan of the Orthodox Church of America at the time this was given in 1972.

A (very) brief history of Orthodoxy in America

In North America the Orthodox church and faith are largely unknown to most people, or thought of perhaps in a casual and confused way as a sort of Catholic church that uses Greek or Russian for some reason. Part of the reason for this of course is that much of the early immigration to this continent and the founders of the various nations and colonial realms were largely from Western Europe, and thus either Roman Catholic or Protestant.

The only early Orthodox presence was on the far western edge of things in Alaska, which was a Russian colony and where figures like the missionary later recognized as St. Herman did much to establish an Orthodox presence in that area. Herman and other Orthodox clergy were tireless advocates of fair and respectful treatment for the native peoples, and established deep roots among them.

This Russian Orthodox foothold extended down into northern California, and being the earliest Orthodox presence in North America took onto itself, according to Orthodox canon and practice, the general shepherding of Orthodox peoples throughout the United States and Canada.

As time went on, many peoples from traditionally Orthodox countries besides Russia began to immigrate to the New World. Greeks, Syrians, Albanians, Macedonians, Carpatho-Russians and many others came here and sought to preserve their native Orthodox traditions and customs in their new home. In the late 19th and very early 20th centuries there was a window of opportunity for the establishment of some form of overall, unified Orthodox church in America. 

Bishop Tikhon of what was then called the "Metropolia" was a staunch advocate of Orthodox unity, and a keen respecter of the needs of the various ethnic groups. He sought to build a collegial body within which regional and ethnic traditions could be respected, but that would provide a cohesive unity beneficial to both the "cradle" Orthodox, and those in their new home who might be attracted to the treasure of Orthodoxy.

Unfortunately the onset of WWI with the subsequent terror of the Bolshevik Revolution, and the dissolution of the old empires led to a great surge of conflict and nationalism and ethnic focus. The resulting complications and tensions put much of the earlier work to naught and led directly and indirectly to the confusing aspect of Orthodoxy in North America today, where there are multiple "jurisdictions," all with their own bishops, monasteries and so forth. In recent years the long lasting impact of WWI and subsequent events seems to be receding somewhat, and new hopes and possibilities for great Orthodox unity in North America are emerging.

Please note that this is indeed a very brief and greatly simplified presentation of a hugely complex history. It is done only to illuminate that which is often so confusing to those coming to Orthodoxy and to provide some background to the establishment of our beloved parish. It is not intended to stand as a complete or in depth examination of a many faceted and at times contentious history.There are many good books on the topic, one being Orthodox Christians in North America: 1794-1994, by Mark Stokoe and Leonid Kishkovsky.

Choir loft

Here is another early shot of the church from 1967 showing the choir loft that was on the left as you faced the altar area. Celebrating the liturgy is Father John Kozack (more on him in a future post.) The choir were a group visiting from St. Vladimir's Seminary.

If you click on the image to see it larger you will note there are now two familiar looking icons on the wall. Those two icons, of the Theotokos and Christ, are on stands now flanking the steps up to the "royal doors" of the iconostasis. The icons were gifts to the parish from Sts. Peter and Paul church in Syracuse.

The new church building!

As previously mentioned the parish had, through much hard work, managed to acquire a former Lutheran church that was for sale on South Goodman Street. It was a handsome stone building constructed in the 1920s, when the neighborhood was a strongly German enclave.Naturally, being a Lutheran church, it had a certain style and layout, which differed of course from that found in Orthodox sanctuaries.

The walls were bare of icons, there was no iconostasis, none of the furnishings associated with Orthodox worship. Shown here is a photo of that space in early 1967, with Father Warnecke of Syracuse celebrating the liturgy.

For those familar with today's space it is startling to see what it once looked like. The platform in the front was much larger, with a small choir loft on the left as one faced the altar area. There were no icons on the walls as yet, only a stained glass image seen in the center high on the wall. (This was removed and an icon of the Theotokos done by a parishoner named James McKean was mounted in that space. George Kuyon was one of the men who hung the icon and recalls how tricky it was to hang  and center it while balancing on extension ladders!)

It started in their homes.

The initial meetings of the group seeking to build a new Orthodox church in Rochester were held at individual homes, including the home of Martin and Dorothy Staschak at 13 Phyllis Lane, shown here. This is a recent photo of the home where in February 1964 the decision was made to make a formal petition to the Russian Orthodox Greek Catholic Church, as the Orthodox Church of America was then known.

Having received the blessing of Metropolitan Leonty in April of 1964 to start a new parish, the members, who numbered 63, met first for worship first at the Colgate Divinity School chapel, and then from 1965 to early 1967 they worshipped at the Albanian church that was on East Avenue at the time. It was a very small congregation, with no priest, and the new parish of St. John's could supply that lack because they were supplied with a priest coming in each week from the church of Sts. Peter and Paul in Syracuse. Father Warnecke was the priest there, and he was instrumental in aiding in the start of the new parish, in supplying not only general guidance, but priests to celebrate the liturgy, and later in providing church furnishings such as icons.

By the winter of 1966-1967 they had raised sufficient money through fundraisers and amongst themselves to purchase a Lutheran church that was for sale on South Goodman Street, where we still worship today. The first service was held there on January 22, 1967.

Earlier histories & records

While following this blog to learn more about the history of our parish, and awaiting the publishing of the 50th anniversary history in May this year, there are other resources to enjoy as well. At our parish website there is an archives section which has downloadable files for example of the 1973 consecration book and the book done for the 20th anniversary in 1984. The OCA itself has an excellent archives and history section online. Happy reading and viewing!

The beginnings...

In the early 1960s a group of friends and acquaintances in the Rochester area had come to feel more and more the need for an Orthodox church at which they could worship. There were several Orthodox churches in Rochester then, an Albanian, Greek, Russian and Ukrainian, all strongly ethnic in culture and language. This group of friends did not fit neatly into any of those three groups, since the friends were many of them Carpatho-Russian, some Macedonian, and a few of other backgrounds.

So in early 1964 at the urging of John Wargo, one of the older members of the group, they began to look into starting a new church, that would be in English and accessible to all. They worked with Father Warnecke of Sts. Peter and Paul church in Syracuse, a parish of what was then known by the rather confusing name of the "Russian Orthodox Greek Catholic" church, the forerunner of today's Orthodox Church of America. Father Warnecke advised the group on how to proceed and they submitted a formal application to Metropolitan Leonty in Februrary 1964. Their proposal was welcomed and the new parish of St. John the Baptist in Rochester was formally established. (Metropolitan Leonty is shown here. He was a visionary leader and a keen proponent of establishing English language parishes that would open the treasures of Orthodoxy to all in this country.)

Oh, the "Carpatho-Russians?" They are not a well known group to many, but they are, or were, a distinct ethnic group. They were a Slavic people from central and eastern Europe, with their own culture, speaking their own Slavic dialect, as well as Polish, Hungarian, Ukrainian or other languages, depending on what empire or nation they happened to be under. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries many emigrated to the mining and steel mill centers of the Pennsylvania and New York border region, and some of the industrial cities of  the Mohawk Valley, out in Ohio and so on. Most of our founders were Carpatho-Russians who had come to Rochester to work from places like Mayfield PA and Elmira NY.