Since the nearest
Orthodox Church for the people of Olyphant was in either Old Forge or
Mayfield, John Chichilla led a group of Russian immigrants, most of who
came from Galicia, Austria-Hungary Empire, to found a brotherhood and
build a parish church. The following men agreed to help in organizing a
parish and in finding new members: Nekita Beckish, Onufer Bubniak, Wasil
Dragon, Harry Dzjama, Joseph Fetchina, Wasil Glowatz, Trifon Havirlak,
Andrew Hovansky, Benedict Kowalchik, Artemi Krett, Michael Kurilla, Joseph
Musho, Harry Pasterchik, Simon Podhisky, Andrew Pronko, Jacob Repella,
John Rotko, Theodore Skritnansky, Jacob Smolley, Alex Tomaskevitch,
Anthony Witiak, and John Woytovich. Later Constantine Kurilla, who greatly
assisted in the construction, joined the parish. The first gathering was
held in the home of John Chichilla and a committee was selected to travel
to Old Forge and approach Fr Elias Klopotovsky for his assistance. The
first religious service was also held in the Chichilla home. The V. Rev
Klopotovsky, pastor of St Michael's Church in Old Forge, participated in
the service and delivered such an inspiring sermon that those present
organized a committee to purchase a piece of land from the Hull Estate for
the purpose of building a new church. The lot was purchased for $? at the
corner of E Lackawanna and Gravity Ave (then known as Hill St and Gravity
Rd) the latter name came from the fact that rails of the Gravity Railroad
ran in what is now the street until the railroad was abandoned in the
1890s. Fr Klopotovsky kept Archbishop Tikhon informed of the efforts of
the church committee and with the Archbishop's blessing, plans were drawn
up, ground was broken in March 1904, and the building project began. St
Nicholas would become the third Orthodox Church in Lackawanna County.
Pleased with the progress, Fr Klopotovsky requested that Fr John Olshevsky
(Mayfield congregation) assist him in providing services for the new
congregation. Since more space was needed than provided by the home of
either John Chichilla or Joseph Fetchina, accommodations were arranged
with the Olyphant School Board to hold services in Washington School,
located directly across the street from the newly purchased lot.
On December 19, 1904 (St Nicholas Day on the old calendar), Archbishop
Tikhon and local clergy gathered to consecrate the newly founded church
and named it in honor of St Nicholas of Myra. Fr Alexis Bohovslowsky,
pastor of St Basil's Church in Simpson was instructed by the Archbishop to
alternate services between Simpson and Olyphant. Through the efforts of
the parishioners, a cemetery was obtained on Scott Rd in Blakely shortly
after the church was dedicated. St Tikhon was the original owner of the
plot of ground used for a cemetery. The fact that his name was on the deed
when it was purchased indicates that the Czar may have contributed to the
original building of the parish. With the increase of emigrants from White
Russia, the parish grew and in 1908 Fr Thomas Poznansky was named the
first resident pastor. Through his effort a rectory was built at the cost
of $489 and completed in the next year.
In 1914, icons were added to the interior of the church and a choir loft
was constructed through the efforts of the choir.
In 1923, the exterior of the church was remodeled. New cupolas with mirror
reflecting crosses were added and blessed by Metropolitan Platon in the
same year.
Although space is always available on Sunday mornings, the church has
always been very full on Pascha, the Feast of the Nativity or when it
hosts the Deanery Missions. In the early thirties pews were added to the
church; the pews gave the church a modern appearance but reduced the
number of people who could attend the services. The church and rectory
were given asbestos siding in 1935 and the interior of the rectory was
remodeled in 1937. A new Iconostas, Altar of Oblation, Lord's Grave, and
Golgotha, Crucifixion of Christ were dedicated by Archbishop Adam on
October 31, 1937. At the dedication, he installed relics of St Nicholas in
the new altar. In December 1940, a Table of Oblation (Zertvenick) with an
Icon of Christ praying before the chalice was installed as a memorial to
the deceased members of the Fetchina family by Vladimir Fetchina.
Archbishop Arseny blessed the new Altar on December 19, 1940. In 1942, St
Mary's Women's Club put inlaid linoleum in the church and the Olyphant "R"
Club purchased rugs for the altar. A modern heating plant was added the
same year. During World War II, ninety parishioners served in the armed
forces. Ignatius Glowatz, a parishioner, was the first Olyphant soldier to
die in North Africa on February 14, 1943. In 1944, a flag pole was erected
as memorial to the men and women who served in World Wars I and II. Later
the Korean and Vietnam wars were added to the memorial. During the war
years, evergreen trees were planted along Gravity and Lackawanna Ave but
these became too large. They caused damage to the church 35 years later
and were removed in 1980. A new stone entrance was added to the church
along with sidewalks to the rectory in 1944. Bishop Sawa, Assistant to the
Metropolitan of Poland visited the church for Divine Liturgy and Vespers
on December 18 and 19, 1944. Twice the church suffered cave-ins or mine
subsidence. The first occurred in 1932 when a cave-in occurred in the
vicinity of the church and mildly damaged the structure. The Hudson Coal
Company brought canvas to cover the damaged church and paid for its
repair. At the same time the walls and ceiling were covered with icons
painted on canvas and modeled after those in St Vladimir's Cathedral in
Kiev. They were painted by the talented Russian artist Photius Bodasiuk;
his son Sergei painted the rest of the icons in the Church in early 1970s.
On November 5, 1933, Bishop Benjamin of the Pittsburgh Diocese and a
native of Olyphant rededicated the Church. In the 1930s, the church's
picnics ran for a week and yielded about $500; in contrast, in 1986, the
last year the parish held a picnic, $9000 was raised in two days. In 1944
a fortieth anniversary was held on November 19. Metropolitan Theophilus
celebrated the Divine Liturgy. The Anniversary committee was chaired by Fr
Anzieferoff and Vladimir Fetchina. William Witiak was secretary and Andrew
Telep treasurer. Other members were W Evanina, M Kapica, E Pronko, A
Skritnansky, J Kurilla, D Krett, P Ewanus, M Glovach, J Hotz, J Fetchina,
J Burinsky, O Fetchina, M Repsky, O Kuzmich, F Mushnick, D Murowsky, I
Kuzmich, J Kapica, and the wives of Fr Anziferoff, W Witiak, D Krett, J
Burinsky and M Barran. Professor Samuel Fetchina was the speaker.
In 1948, the parish purchased the building and lot just south of the
church. The house was converted into a parish house and extensively
modified throughout the years so that it now can accommodate more than 100
persons at a sit-down dinner. During Fr Pelesh's pastorate the second
floor was remodeled into an apartment which is currently occupied by Fr
Howanetz and family. Extensive repairs and a new roof were installed in
the church in 1954. A men's club, St Nicholas Russian-American Home
Association, was organized in 1954. In the previous year, two large
chandeliers were installed in the choir loft and the Sunday School donated
the stained glass window over the entrance to the church. A cemetery annex
was also obtained in the fifties. In 1954, the fiftieth anniversary was
observed on October 10. Metropolitan Leonty officiated at the Hierarchical
Divine Liturgy. A banquet attended by more than 75 people followed the
Divine Liturgy. Vladimir Fetchina was the anniversary chairman.
A second cave-in occurred in 1955. The damage was restricted to the
basement of the church. Again the Hudson Coal Company repaired the church
and put the tie rods in the walls in order to prevent the walls from
collapsing if another subsidence occurs.
In 1955, the borough of Olyphant combined its elementary schools and
abandoned Washington School directly opposite the church on Lackawanna
Ave. The parish paid $1400 for Washington School but recovered most of the
money by salvaging and selling much material from the school. The parish
demolished the building and built the 45 car parking lot which currently
stands there.
Through the years, the rectory deteriorated due to mine subsidence in the
neighborhood. Fr Pelesh, the rector at the time, and his family moved into
the apartment above the parish hall when the rectory needed serious
repair. In September 1959, while the rectory was empty and the parish
council was investigating means of replacing it, it caught fire. The
building was gutted by the fire and was totally demolished. A new rectory
was built in 1961 at a cost of $25,000 and was blessed on October 28 by
Archbishop Dimitri. In 1961, Fr Pelesh's two sons Gregory and Eugene
received the Alpha-Omega awards, the EOCS Church awards for Scouts of the
Orthodox Faith. Edward Oles was the boys' scoutmaster. Fr Pelesh died in
1964 while serving the parish. He was an energetic person having started a
number of new enterprises including a band which he called the Sputniks
after the first Russian space satellite. The band provided music at parish
and FROC functions including the dance when the new rectory was blessed.
He served as spiritual advisor to the district FROC for 12 years. On
October 30, 1965, new stained glass windows and carillon bells were
dedicated as a memorial to Fr Pelesh.
In 1965, on the Feast of the Translation of the relics of St Nicholas of
Myra, Fr Daniel Donlick was appointed rector by Archbishop Kiprian. It was
his first assignment after being ordained a priest and he remained the
rector for six full years.
The first full English Liturgy was sung by Fr Donlick in 1969 but English
had been introduced into the services on a limited basis for some years
prior to becoming the language of the church. During Fr Pelesh's tenure
English frequently was used for both Vespers and Matins.
In 1968, aluminum siding was put on the church. A Byzantine chandelier
from Greece as well as three new cupolas (replicas of the old cupolas),
symbolic of the Holy Trinity, were added to the church in 1972. According
to Baut Studios, Swoyersville, the process for making the new cupolas of
anodixed aluminum, which looked like gold, took about eight weeks. On May
6, Archbishop Kiprian rededicated the newly remodeled interior and
exterior of the church.
In 1974, a seventieth anniversary was held. His Grace, Bishop Herman
celebrated the Liturgy, and an addition to the cemetery was blessed
immediately after the service. Dr David Witiak was the banquet speaker and
J Chichilla was the anniversary chairman.
In 1977 Archbishop Kiprian ordained Stephen Howanetz to the Diaconate.
Since Dn Stephen wished to work in the secular society, he rented the
apartment above the parish hall for himself and his family. Through his
enthusiasm and religious devotion, he has contributed much to the life of
the parish including serving as deacon at Divine Liturgies and other
services even though he is officially attached to St Tikhon's Monastery
Church.
A seventy five year anniversary was held in October 1979, when new stained
glass doors were installed in the church. An anniversary booklet and
history was prepared by Joan Pelesh Lengel. She also arranged the designs
and pictures found in the booklet. Letters of congratulations were
received from President Jimmy Carter, His Beatitude Metropolitan
Theodosius, Governor Dick Thornburgh and His Eminence, Archbishop Kiprian.
Congratulations were read into the minutes of the State Legislature and
the Borough of Olyphant. A Hierarchical Divine Liturgy was celebrated by
Metropolitan Theodosius and a banquet was later held. The anniversary
committee consisted of Julie Ann Cesari, Richard Cesari, John Chichilla,
Josie Chichilla, Nicholas Demian, John Evanina, Marie Evanina, Anna
Evanina, William Evanina (chairman), Kyra Fetchina, Dorothy Fetchina,
Joseph Fetchina, Fr Fetcho, Jennie Grabania, Michael Grabania, Andrew
Kurechka, Joan Lengel, Dolores Rebar, Stephen Rebar, James Thomashefsky,
Helen Thomashefsky, Helen Witiak, Peter Witiak, and William Witiak. In
1982 the parish adopted the New Julian Calendar when it became the
official calendar of the Diocese of Eastern Pennsylvania. Even though the
parish grew little throughout the 1980s and 90s, it was very active. Each
year it sponsored a dinner on the last Saturday of October. Originally the
dinner was designed to help pay the fuel bills following the Arab oil
embargo in 1973; however, the theme became a parish joke and when the
money was no longer required for that purpose the name was changed to
minimize the laughter when the subject came up.
The church sponsors Lenten Missions every two years. The church is
physically too small to sponsor many Diocesan affairs and when events like
the Bicentennial Choir performs the latter was held at St Patrick's Church
on Delaware Ave. In the mid 1980s the parish began sponsoring a breakfast
on Bright Saturday. They have become a tradition and many parishioners and
priests from the Olyphant (All Saints), Jermyn and Simpson parishes join
St Nicholas on that day.
In December 1992, St Nicholas became part of the historic Lackawanna
County architecture tour. The architect leading the tour commented on how
the parish had taken the basic American country frame church and turned it
into a beautiful Orthodox church. About 40 people made up the tour.
In 1987, the parish council, realizing that there were many parishioners
which either had no family or were unable to visit with their families on
Thanksgiving Day, instituted a Thanksgiving dinner for all who wish to
attend. The parish, through the collection of green stamps, provided the
turkeys and each attendee brought some dish for the dinner. The Holiday
began with a Molieben and continued in the parish hall with a gala dinner.
The dinners have become a parish tradition, attended by not only
parishioners but others, including foreign students from the University of
Scranton.
In 1990, Mrs. J Lengel began to teach English at St Tikhon's Seminary. The
following year, Fr Fetcho and Dr L Sherman joined the part time faculty
teachings Liturgics and Science respectively. Although Mrs. Lengel and Dr
Sherman only taught for one year (Fr Fetcho continues to the present), the
addition of St Nicholas parishioners to the staff of St Tikhons have
brought the parish and seminary closer together. In 1991, Bishop Herman
appointed Dr Sherman to the Eastern Orthodox Committee on Scouting, and he
has received the Prophet Elias Award, the EOCS adult award in 1996. He was
elected to the national executive board in 1993. With the appointment, he
began to set up an information table at the St Tikhon's Memorial Day
Pilgrimage, which presented the opportunity to acquaint many members of
the church with the opportunities and purposes of the scouting movement.
In 1992, the exterior of the church was remodeled, new siding was put on
the exterior of the church and the entrance was covered to give protection
to those who were coming out and going in the church. These renovations
were blessed by Bishop Herman on September, 1992.
On October 29-30, 1994, the parishioners of St Nicholas Church celebrated
the 90th anniversary of the founding of the parish. The church had
undergone some extensive interior remodeling for this occasion. A fresh
coat of paint, a new carpet, and new lighting are to name a few projects
undertaken at this time. The iconostasis was restored to its original
white color. On Saturday evening, a vespers service was held.
Afterwards, a reception was held in the church hall as a reunion for past
and present church members. On Sunday, a Hierarchical Divine Liturgy was
celebrated by His Grace, Bishop Herman. Responses were sung beautifully by
the parish choir. A banquet followed at the Lakeview Lounge in Jermyn,
PA.
In 1998, a decision
was made to replace the old Schulmerich carillon bell system since it had
been malfunctioning occasionally. Since technology had drastically
changed since 1965, replacement parts were expensive and becoming
difficult if not impossible to find. A bell fund was established to help
cover the costs and a new, state of the art Y2K compatible digital
carillon was purchased from Schulmerich to ensure that we will continue
to ring out to the community for many years to come. A dedication plaque
for the carillon honoring all parishioners, both living and departed, was
erected in the church vestibule. The new carillon was blessed by
Archbishop Herman on the Feast of St. Nicholas in December 1998.
The year is now 2003
and we are now planning for our 100th year of service to the Lord. Plans
are now being made for a full celebration of our centennial which will be
held on September 4-5, 2004. This website is one of the ways in which
our parish is planning for the future.