Irish Melkite
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Not sure whether News is the appropriate forum for this, but it seemed to be the best choice available.
A member of the ByzCath forum spotted this piece in the local Hazleton PA newspaper and brought it to my attention, asking if I knew any more history of the church, beyond that in the article. I thought the subject might also be of interest to some here.
Sheppton Church Could See New Life
What background I know is that the church was an OCA parish under the patronage of St John the Baptist. Formed about 1891, it was actually constructed in 1894-95 (cornerstone date is 1895) and reportedly was the first (oldest) parish of what would eventually be the OCA's Diocese of Philadelphia & North East Pennsylvania.
Sometime between Sept 1895 and Sept 1896, a chapter or brotherhood of the Russian American Orthodox Mutual Aid Society (later, the Russian Orthodox Catholic Mutual Aid Society) was formed there. An early, if not it's first, pastor was a Father Miron Wolkay, of blessed memory.
A posting at OCANews suggests that the last priest assigned there was Father (now Archpriest) Joseph Martin, presently Rector of the OCA Cathedral in Wilkes-Barre. Although a listing of Father Martin's pastoral assignments at a 40th anniversary celebration of his ordination didn't include Sheppton, he could easily have served it from another parish, as all of those which he pastored are clustered at distances no more than a half-hour from Sheppton. The church was closed during the time that Metropolitan Herman was bishop of the NEPA diocese - probably in the mid to late '80s.
A follow-up to the linked article is: here.
Back in 2005, in conjunction with its early efforts to raise funds for the renovation, St John's in Mayfield had some photos of the interior and exterior on its site but, in looking just now, I couldn't locate them. However, if you start here and click to the right, you can see some 25 or so photos of the temple, mainly of the interior, taken in 2007 or 2008.
Many years,
Neil
A member of the ByzCath forum spotted this piece in the local Hazleton PA newspaper and brought it to my attention, asking if I knew any more history of the church, beyond that in the article. I thought the subject might also be of interest to some here.
Sheppton Church Could See New Life
A posting from the Indiana List on this subject was copied to ByzCath back in 2005, when St John's (ROCOR) Cathedral in Mayfield PA was soliciting funds to assist it in restoring the Sheppton church. I'm not aware that there has been much, if any, publicity about it in the years since.
What background I know is that the church was an OCA parish under the patronage of St John the Baptist. Formed about 1891, it was actually constructed in 1894-95 (cornerstone date is 1895) and reportedly was the first (oldest) parish of what would eventually be the OCA's Diocese of Philadelphia & North East Pennsylvania.
Sometime between Sept 1895 and Sept 1896, a chapter or brotherhood of the Russian American Orthodox Mutual Aid Society (later, the Russian Orthodox Catholic Mutual Aid Society) was formed there. An early, if not it's first, pastor was a Father Miron Wolkay, of blessed memory.
A posting at OCANews suggests that the last priest assigned there was Father (now Archpriest) Joseph Martin, presently Rector of the OCA Cathedral in Wilkes-Barre. Although a listing of Father Martin's pastoral assignments at a 40th anniversary celebration of his ordination didn't include Sheppton, he could easily have served it from another parish, as all of those which he pastored are clustered at distances no more than a half-hour from Sheppton. The church was closed during the time that Metropolitan Herman was bishop of the NEPA diocese - probably in the mid to late '80s.
A follow-up to the linked article is: here.
Back in 2005, in conjunction with its early efforts to raise funds for the renovation, St John's in Mayfield had some photos of the interior and exterior on its site but, in looking just now, I couldn't locate them. However, if you start here and click to the right, you can see some 25 or so photos of the temple, mainly of the interior, taken in 2007 or 2008.
Many years,
Neil
