ST. JOHN'S PARISH - MAYFIELD, PENNSYLVANIA

St. John the Baptist Church in Mayfield was in the process of being organized during this earliest period (1870-1900) of Greek Catholic expansion in the anthracite region. Father John Volyansky was visiting priest in the Lackawanna County area at this time. He organized the Olyphant Parish, the first in Lackawanna County, which was the nearest parish to Mayfield (about eight miles away). Also, in this period, the Russins of Mayfield arranged for Father John to conduct the first religious services in Mayfield in the local Baptist church, which they rented for the occasion. As more Russins arrived, plans to build a church were initiated, led by the Brotherhood of St. John the Baptist, which was organized in 1888. Also in this same period, a "Cooperative store" was organized, patterned after stores that were organized in other Russin communities - In Olyphant and Minneapolis. These soon became the source of much contention and misunderstanding. Nevertheless, one can only admire the enterprise of these immigrant pioneers, such as Joseph Simeanovich and Alexis Shlanta, the organizers of the cooperative store in Mayfield. In a short time, the store, an ever-increasing source of contention and misunderstanding in the community, was closed. The community had more important concerns and interests, and its energy was being sapped by the cooperative store until it passed into private hands.

Many of the first families of Russins are prominent in Mayfield to this day. A partial list contains many family names in the valley today. Adamiak, Andrush, Brudsky, Buranich, Chaykovsky, Chulik, Demchak, Dzvonchik, Elchak, Evanik, Fek, Gambal, Grapchak, Halchak, Hanchak, Homiak, Hubiak, Jubinsky, Kanya, Kelechawa, Kitick, Konstankevich, Korba, Kuzmich, Kayduch, O'Buck, Pawliak, Petsushek, Pochatek, Rak, Sabat, Semeonovich, Shlanta, Smey, Sweda, Telep, Wachna and Yurkowsky. These names are found in the lists of charter members of the Brotherhood, the societies, as well as the parish.

The first church was built by 1891. The community wanted desperately to have their own house of worship, built for Orthodox worship. They felt completely estranged from the unfamiliar services, rites and language of the Latin Church, which some attended. The occasional service of Father John Volyansky and later Father Theophan Obushkevich accelerated their plans for a new church. It was built according to the style of churches in Lemkivschina, with a large four-sided cupola over a tall bell tower at the front entrance of the church. The tower was topped by a three-bar cross of the Galician style. The first pastor and organizer of the church was Father Theophan Obushkevich, who came to America at the age of fifty years, having been a successful pastor in the area of Grebow in Lemkivschina. Father Theophan was a very successful organizer, a Galician patriot, and an accomplished musician. He organized the first choir and parish band in Lemkivschina, which was known throughout Galicia. He was the builder and pastor of the Greek Catholic church in Olyphant, but as a result of a bitter dispute, left that parish to organize and build St. John the Baptist Church in Mayfield. Although a Uniate priest all his life, except for a brief period of one year (1916-1917) as an Orthodox priest, he was an active worker for Orthodoxy. When the parishioners of St. John's expressed an interest in Orthodoxy, he encouraged them. During his pastorate, he organized the Mayfield Church Choir, which has remained throughout the entire history of the parish an outstanding church choir. He organized a parish orchestra and established an excellent church school and a library for the Society of Michael Kachkovsky. The parishioners of St. John's were well instructed in their religious and cultural heritage under the leadership of the outstanding Russin pastors of this period. The Society operated their library and reading room, and also organized lectures. It produced and presented theatrical plays and conducted regular choral and orchestral programs. Regular evening classes were held for adults who did not have the opportunity to study in the old country. Although, according to the official statistics of the Immigration Department, the Russins who emigrated here from Austria-Hungary were 65% literate. The evening classes also offered courses in the English language and American citizenship. Thus, in a relatively short time, many recent immigrants were prepared to receive American citizenship. The parish had a membership of around six hundred in its early years, and grew to a membership of 1,200.

The Russin communities were born in the midst of religious and ethnical strife. The original indifference of their Latin brothers turned to animosity and often to open warfare against Greek Catholics. But their numbers increased and organized communities began to spring up throughout the anthracite region. The attitude of the hierarchy in particular changed noticeably. Attempts were made to get the Greek Catholic communities to sign their churches over to the Roman Catholic bishops. The subject of property ownership was a matter of great contention among the Roman Catholics. Many of the national groups resisted loss of the control of their properties, which they had acquired on their own without assistance of church authorities. It was this same dispute that resulted in the organization of the Polish National Catholic Church, with headquarters in Scranton. The intensity of this primal dispute is testified to by many court trials of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century throughout Pennsylvania.

The Parishioners of St. John's resisted all efforts made to have them accept a new charter for their parish, to sign it over to the Ordinary. Father Theophan encouraged his parishioners to resist. He refused personally to break his vow as a Uniate priest, but promised to find a priest who would take them into the Orthodox Church. In 1902, he left the parish and Father John Olshavsky, his immediate successor, immediately petitioned Bishop Tikhon to receive him and his parish into the Orthodox Church.

Alexis Shlanta, one of the leading parishioners who was better versed in the laws of this country than most, arranged for a simple transition of the church property. The old charter was sold for a minimal sum of one dollar, and a new charter was acquired under the name of Russian Orthodox Greek Catholic Church of St. John the Baptist. There was the addition of one new word, "Orthodox," which was not found in the original charter, even though the "Russins" considered themselves always as Orthodox - i.e., "Pravoslavny."

Since there was no opposition, the transfer of church and parishioners occurred without any incident or court trial. There were sixteen signatures on the new charter: Alexis Shlanta, Konstantin Konstankevich, Michael Kitik, Jacob Adamiak, Ozim Dzvonchik, Theodore Wachna, Kitkita Grapchak, Anthony Demchak, Peter Korba, Theodore Jubinsky, Alias Chulik, Peter Sabat, Paul Pawliak, Lem Hubiak, Julius Yurkovsky, Michael Pochatek, Simeon Kuzmich, Nicholas Telep, Luke Chaykovsky, John O'Buck, Gregory Smey and Andrew Evanik.

The formal reception of the parish together with its pastor Father John Olshevsky took place on November 21, 1901. The service was conducted by Father Alexis Toth and Father John Hotovitsky according to the established rite of the Orthodox Church. In the evening, the All-Night Vigil was celebrated, and the parishioners of St. John's participated in an Orthodox celebration of the service for the first time. The congregation knelt during the singing of "Glory to God in the Highest" in which all participated. After the Matins, the clergy heard the confession of the faithful.

The congregation left for their homes concerned and apprehensive because of the incidents that had happened in other parishes at the time of their entrance into the Orthodox Church. But Mayfield fortunately had no incident. It was a quiet night. The next day many visitors arrived from the Orthodox parishes in the anthracite region. Representatives of many societies were present for the historical event, and many arrived in full uniform. More confessions were heard. There was a Blessing of Water and the church was blessed. An Orthodox antimins was placed on the altar.

The Divine Liturgy was begun by the Orthodox clergy, Father John, fully vested, stood with the congregation outside the sanctuary until the time of the reading of the Gospel. Having read the Gospel, Father Alexis Toth addressed the congregation. In words full of emotion, he described the triumph of Reunion. He briefly sketched the history of the Unia, which was forced upon the Russins. "Three hundred and sixty years have passed since the appearance of the Unia, but even now it remains as it was from its introduction . . . a deception!" The sermon was a long one, delivered with great fervor and conviction. And when at its end, the parishioners were asked, "Do you reject the papacy and its false teachings?" they answered with one voice. And when asked, "Do you promise to the end of your life to remain in the Orthodox Faith?" they all answered "Yes!" with great fervor.

All stood on their knees as the prayer of absolution was read. A participant in this event, then a young boy, Peter Smey, remembers this event as the time he and the people in the church stayed on their knees for a very long time. When they arose the formal announcement was made: "By the will and blessings of the Holy Synod and love of the Archpastor of the Church in America, you (the parishioners of St. John's Parish) together with your pastor are received into communion with the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church."

The visiting clergy exchanged the kiss of peace with the newly received Father John, with the words "Christ is in our midst. He is and shall be." Father John joined the clergy at the altar and the Divine Liturgy continued. The new Orthodox congregation all received the Sacrament of Holy Communion, and with this their reunion with the Holy Orthodox Catholic and Apostolic Church was sealed in the Body and Blood of Christ the Son of God. It was a long and glorious day, one that was long remembered by all who participated.