The History of Saint Demetrius Church

My story begins in the year 1909. Journeying across the Atlantic Ocean, cramped in the lowest of accomodations, leaving their homeland to look for a better life, they ventured to the United States like many others in search of the American Dream. Ukraine, under the rule of czarist Russia, was as underdeveloped as most of Russia at the time, and thousands if not millions fled this land in turmoil and on the brink of war. Several of my ancestors had made the difficult trip from Ukraine and had decided to congregate at the home of Catherine and Michael Orange, located at 8th Street and Clay Avenue in Jeannette, Pennsylvania to hold their Byzantine Catholic Church services. They gathered together like other clusters of immigrants, looking to preserve their culture and traditions in their new nation.

Western Pennsylvania served as a wonderful location for a church due to the glass and steel mills always looking for workers found all around. Wasyl Senchyshyn found a fantastic candidate for a church of their own--it was formerly the 2nd Baptist Church of Jeannette until the German speaking assemblage merged with the 1st Baptist Church. Saint Demetrius would be located at 1015 Gaskill Avenue (where it stands today); it was a small building with a wooden frame, lap siding, and on stilts. There was no basement except for a tiny portion reserved for a bathroom. They paid $2500.00 for their new church, and Father Miron Danilovich held the first service on January 6, 1910 (which happened to be Christmas Eve due to the use of the old Julian calendar).

Although Saint Nicholas was the patron saint of Ukraine, the faithful Ukrainians decided on the name Saint Demetrius (from Macedonia) for their parish. The purpose of naming a church after a saint is to provide an example for us--saints have acted as God wanted us to act. We should imitate their exemplary behavior. They have made it in the world before us, and we can too.

It was truly the decade of firsts: Julia Skybyk (daughter of Nicholas and Maria Migielicz Skybyk) and Nicholas Opar (son of the late Constantine and Pazia Mulick Opar) were the first people married in the church on June 25, 1910; the parish's first Holy Gospel was purchased by Mr. George Jupena for $50.00; the first baptism (of John Opar) was held on April 25, 1911; members of Saint Demetrius went to Philadelphia to talk to Bishop Soter Ortynsky (the first bishop of the Ukrainians in the United States) about getting their own priest; and in 1916, the congregation purchased their own iconostasis from Saint John the Baptist Church on the South Side of Pittsburgh, PA.

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In September 1921, Michael Hyrowich joined the parish and proved to be a valuable asset and a very important member of the church. He served as cantor for services, teacher, choir conductor, producer and director or plays, and was a general Mr. Fix-it. Saint Demetrius was unfortunate to lose him on July 9, 1970.

The parish became involved in various activities starting in the 1930s. A baseball team was formed, there was choir practice at home and in South Side, plays, and picnics at West View park. The Ukrainian community in Jeannette was tightly knit, but as times progressed, people began to meet and marry Ukrainians from other towns. An unfortunate occurrence took place in 1935--the church became divided due to politics and many left to establish Saint Michael's on 13th Street. There was a temporary blessing after World War II: the baby boom. Having the church loaded with children was wonderful, but then with the desire to further education, many children would move away to go to school and to find jobs.

In 1948, the wooden floor was covered with tile and the building covered with insulbrick siding. There were also new pews added to promote the beauty of God's House. Six years later, Saint Demetrius was encased in stone and a new dome was added for $15,000.00. Beautiful stained glass windows were also added. Taking such pride in their church and always seeking to improve it, the iconostas was reconditioned in 1973 and a year later new rugs were added.

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The senses are very important in the Byzantine Catholic churches: beautiful icons and stained glass windows allow people to visualize the intense beauty of God and his church; the incense and burning candles stimulate the sense of smell; the Eucharist (bread mixed with wine to become the Body and Blood of Christ) and blessed bread enables the sense of taste; singing and hearing the bell ringing at the beginning of mass provides the sense of sound; and getting annointed, making the sign of the cross on ones upper body, and kissing the cross qualifies the sense of touch. All of these examples are meant to stimulate the mind--to show that the church is meant to be heaven on earth.

Nevertheless, the population of Saint Demetrius and Jeannette alike has been declining. A long time provider of thousands of jobs, Jeannette Glass, has since shut it's doors, and Jeannette is becoming somewhat of a ghost town. Within the parish, many of the members are getting up in years, and the younger families aren't having as many kids. In the never ending quest to beautify our church, a mosaic depicting Saint Demetrius was installed over the entrance in 1982, dedicated to my great grandmother Julia Skybyk Opar. The dome was gilded two years later in benediction to Catherine and Michael Orange from their granddaughter Diane Gaich. In 1990, Saint Demetrius celebrated it's 80th anniversary. The rectory was remodled and renovated along with the inside of the church which has made it even more beautiful. The stone was cleaned on the outside of the church, and a gift shop and parking lot added in the past few years. Trying to preserve not only our religious beliefs but our culture, we have monthly fundisers. Having picnics, making perogies and nutrolls, holding dinners, and other activities help pay the bills facing Saint Demetrius every month. We have a small but strong congregation, willing to help out to make our church prosperous.

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