St. Andrew’s Ukrainian Catholic Church: 20 Years of Faith

1.

by Walter R. Bell

“Khrystos voskres!” Christ is risen! With these words, spoken at 6:00 a.m. on April 3,1983, Father Roman V. Russo, a Melchite priest, began the liturgical history of St. Andrew’s Ukrainian Catholic Church.

It is recorded that the 75 worshippers who were present that rainy Easter made a procession around the house containing the chapel, then stood for the entire 2 hours of the Paschal Divine Liturgy. Afterwards, Father Russo blessed the traditional Easter baskets placed on the porch.

At this inaugural Easter service, the parishioners sang the entire Divine Liturgy. This has remained our Sabbath custom during the entire 20 years of our existence: our entire parish serves as the choir. In fact, visitors to St. Andrew’s frequently comment on the beauty of our singing, which we offer to praise and glorify God.

Established on the grounds of the Holy Spirit Ukrainian Catholic Cemetery, the new chapel was dedicated to St. Andrew the First-Called Apostle and to the Servant of God Metropolitan Andrew Sheptitsky. Even before there was a chapel, as Father Russo explained, “the number of letters received from Orange County through the years convinced the diocese that a church could be started here.” Beginning in January, 1983, Father Russo visited potential parishioners in their homes. “Eventually, 20 of us gathered together and discussed starting this chapel as a mission of Saints Peter and Paul in Spring Valley.” It was decided that the new St. Andrew’s would follow the New Calendar so there would be no impediments to sharing a priest with any of the surrounding parishes.

John Huryn drove his truck to Cohoes with John Chomyn and transported donated pews to the new St. Andrew’s chapel. John Chomyn also built additional pews, as well as the altar and tetrapod. Stephen Yablonski, Sr. did the electrical work.

Parish records tell us part of the story of those early years. At the end of 1983, the parish was made up of 15 families and four singles, for a total of 61 souls. There was one baptism. Father Russo left the parish before the end of the year, and His Excellency Bishop Losten sent us Father Julian Osadca, also of Glen Spey. There was a balance of $357.59 in the parish treasury as of December 31, 1983.

The first parish meeting was held on January 22, 1984 and John Pompiano and Edward Negersmith were appointed trustees. Dr. George Slusarczuk was elected parish treasurer and served ably in that capacity until 1994. At this first meeting, the question of building a permanent church was raised and the first St. Andrew’s building committee was selected, consisting of William Orosz and Stephen Yablonski, Sr.

On March 8, 1984, St. Andrew’s Ukrainian Catholic Church was officially incorporated under the laws of the State of New York. And so it happens that we are officially celebrating our 20^th anniversary as a parish in 2004.

One other noteworthy event happened in 1984: we received the first donation to our St. Andrew’s Building Fund, a check for $200.

The next few years were a time of quiet growth. By the end of 1984, our treasury had grown tenfold and Father Osadca was succeeded by Father Taras Galonzka. Olga Borys and George Pawliczko took over as trustees.

The arrival of Msgr. Peter Fedorchuck a few months later in 1985 began a long period of stability that lasted until his retirement.

Msgr. Peter was known for his self-effacing and gentle sense of humor. An avid golfer, he joked that he’d made a pilgrimage to that other St. Andrew’s located in Scotland, the world’s first golf course. It is said that golf balls are still being found in the fields around the house at the cemetery where Msgr. Peter lived when he was pastor of our parish.

In 1989, Olga Borys stepped down as trustee and was succeeded by Dmytro Gawron.

During Msgr. Fedorchuck’s tenure as pastor, the principle parish organization, the Ladies Guild, took the lead in fundraising. Our primary fundraiser, the sale of coffee and cake after the Divine Liturgy, has raised thousands of dollars in the past two decades. Other principle fundraisers include our famous Christmas and Easter bazaars. In addition, His Excellency Bishop Losten allows the Ladies Guild to sell food items at the annual cemetery Proshcha in June. The male members of the parish who help the women at our fundraisers are known jokingly as the Men’s Auxiliary of the Ladies Guild.

As a result of the women’s hard work, the Ladies Guild was able to present $10,000 to the Building Fund in 2003.

A cherished parish tradition that originated during the time of Msgr. Peter is our annual parish picnic held in the summer. Originally, it served as an occasion to eat the surplus food from the Proshcha, but more recently, it has emerged as an entirely separate event. Last July, over 75 parishioners and friends of St. Andrew’s joined us under the shade trees by the rectory and feasted on the many delicacies prepared by the ladies while the men cooked hamburgers, hot dogs and chicken over the charcoal.

Msgr. Peter was succeeded as pastor by Msgr. John Squiller in September, 1992. Msgr. Squiller will always be remembered by our parishioners for his devotion to the Eucharist.

St. Andrew’s is universally recognized as the center of Ukrainian cultural life in the Mid-Hudson region. Our culture and traditions are regarded with interest and respect by our neighbors and have been reported on favorably in the local newspapers. Stories about our holiday crafts and customs, and photos of visits by Sviati Mykolai appear periodically and call attention to our pride in the gifts that we have inherited from our honored parents and grandparents. Interest in our customs is so widespread that Orange County Historian Theodore Sly invited us to exhibit Ukrainian handicrafts and cultural items at the County Historian’s Office in Goshen during the month of September, 1992. On the 26^th, a program of dancing and songs was featured under the direction of Aurelia Slusarczuk and Dr. Anna Pawliczko gave an address about the Ukrainian diaspora.

On Pentecost Sunday, May 30, 1993, our parish was honored with a Canonical Visit from His Excellency Bishop Basil Losten, who concelebrated a Pontifical Divine Liturgy with Msgr. Squiller and participated in our annual Sviachene. Due to our crowded circumstances, Sviachene had to be held in the priest’s single-car garage. In his remarks to the parishioners, Bishop Losten confirmed that it was time to seriously prepare for the building of a permanent St. Andrew’s church; it is no coincidence that his advice that we should avoid constructing a wooden church is reflected in the current plans for our church that we will build later this year, which will have all-steel framing and a brick exterior.

Encouraged by His Excellency’s interest in our growth as a parish, our desire to build a church moved to the head of our parish agenda, and from that time, we have not looked back.

Bishop Losten has always had great faith in our parish. His Excellency notified us that, effective January 1, 1994, our parish would be raised from mission parish status to a full parish. Our fundraising tempo picked up in 1994, inspired by Bishop Losten’s donation of $10,000 to our building fund. In addition, His Excellency and the Directors of Holy Spirit Ukrainian Catholic Cemetery generously offered our parish land at the cemetery be used for our church building site. Since the time of Msgr. Peter, the pastor of St. Andrew’s has also served as the Cemetery Director and many of the priest’s expenses are subsumed by the cemetery. Relieving the parish of part of its rightful financial burdens makes it possible for us to concentrate our resources on the building of our church. As Msgr. Squiller reminded our parishioners, “St. Andrew’s could not have gotten started or continued to exist without the permission of the Cemetery corporation, i.e., the Board of Directors of which the Bishop is the Chairman. The Cemetery corporation is St. Andrew’s greatest benefactor.” Truly, both Bishop Losten and St. Andrew’s parishioners share a common vision of building a church at the cemetery that will meet the needs of both the parish and visitors to the Holy Spirit Ukrainian Catholic Cemetery.

Later in 1994, Msgr. Squiller instituted a new building committee which met for the first time on October 9. In the six meetings held by this committee, we carefully evaluated each of the proposed building sites offered to the parish and determined that the site ultimately selected for the building of our church is suitable.

As there was no immediate solution to the problem of building a new church, a solution to the problem of overcrowding could no longer be postponed. Simply put, the chapel we had been using since 1983 was too small for the number of parishioners who were attending Divine Liturgy each Sunday. Some of the worshippers fortunate enough to find seating in the chapel room could not view the altar due to the configuration of the space and others were confined to an overflow room and had to listen to the liturgy with the aid of a sound system; few of those worshipers could see the altar, either. Msgr. Squiller and Bishop Losten took steps to alleviate this problem by relocating the parish to a beautiful new chapel generously offered for our use by St. Mary’s Roman Catholic Church in Washingtonville. On October 1, 1995, Msgr. Squiller offered the Divine Liturgy for the first time in these spacious new surroundings.

On July 1,1997, Msgr. Squiller was succeeded by Father Zbigniew Brzezicki. Ray Cholewka became trustee, replacing Dmytro Gawron.

Father Zbigniew experienced several personal milestones during his time with us. On October 31, 1998, he was honored by the parish on the occasion of the tenth anniversary of his ordination with a banquet held at the Officers’ Club at Stewart Airport. Msgr. Leon Mosco, Chancellor of the Eparchy, was the principal speaker. We also celebrated Father Zbigniew’s becoming a United States citizen in 1999.

Our parish’s greatest benefactor, Anna Peri, died in August, 1999, leaving a large bequest to our building fund. The Chancery notified our parish on January 14, 2001 (17/02 Ch) that we now had the Bishop’s blessing and his approval to build a church on the grounds of Holy Spirit Ukrainian Catholic Cemetery. The chosen site, which was evaluated by the building committee in 1995, is on a hill overlooking the pond and was dedicated. On August 26, 2001, Bishop Losten made his second canonical visit to St. Andrew’s. After concelebrating the Divine Liturgy, he held an informal meeting with our parishioners at which time he asked our opinion of the proposed building site and answered questions and concerns that we had.

A concept under consideration that incorporated St Andrew’s church and a hall in a metal building was eventually developed, but, for a variety of reasons, it did not go forward.

In 2002, Helen Duss succeeded George Pawliczko as trustee.

In September, 2002, Father Yaroslav Kostyk arrived in our parish along with his wife Maria and their three children. Since their arrival, our spiritual family has found new ways to come together: Our Patronal Feast, celebrated with a modest reception in 2002, evolved into a real feast in 2003. The season of Christmas has been brightened with Prosfora since Father Yaroslav’s arrival and the custom of enjoying our traditional parish picnic has been revived.

The experience of having a young married priest with a family is a new one for the parishioners of St. Andrew’s and the energy and dedication with which Father Yaroslav and Panni Maria have embraced our building project has inspired our parish to new efforts. Although we have always been a hardworking parish, we are working harder than we have ever worked before in order to raise money for our new church. It seems we are always preparing for a garage sale or bazaar, making and selling pyrohy, or planning fundraisers. Despite our small size—approximately 90 parishioners—with God’s help, our energy and imagination have been rewarded. We have achieved recognition in the local and diocesan press and our building fund has grown to the point where, thanks to parishioners and friends of St. Andrew’s, we are ready to build our church.

Father Yaroslav appointed a new building committee and by the time of our second meeting in December, 2002, we met with the architect who has designed our church, Taras Dobusz, AIA. At our parish meeting in February, 2003, the parish approved Mr. Dobusz’s concept for a beautiful Ukrainian-style church that is both modern and traditional in appearance, a church that will be a center for the spiritual life of Ukrainians of deep faith, whether they are parishioners or visitors to the grounds of Holy Spirit Ukrainian Catholic Cemetery.

Should you wish to learn more about St. Andrew’s Ukrainian Catholic Church, please feel free to contact Father Yaroslav Kostyk at 141 Sarah Wells Trail, Campbell Hall, New York 10916 or call (845) 496-4156.