First liturgical service in the USA

The parish book with the history of St. Michael’s Ukrainian Catholic Parish in Shenandoah, PA, tells us that the first service was Vespers on Wednesday evening, December 18, 1884. This information leads us to think that those Vespers were for the feast of St. Nicholas, whose day is now celebrated on December 19 according to the Julian calendar. However, we often forget one very important detail – in 1900, the Julian calendar shifted by 1 day and began to lag behind the Gregorian calendar by 13 days (from 2100, it will lag behind by 14 days). Before that, in the 19th century, the difference between the calendars was 12 days, and the feast of St. Nicholas was celebrated on December 18. Therefore, these Vespers were held on the evening of St. Nicholas Day itself and were, in a way, a traditional conclusion to the feast day at that time. If we look at the schedules of festive services in our Church in the US before the 1960s, we will see that this was a common practice in our parishes during that era. 

The next step is to learn who was present at this service, where it was held, and how people prepared for it. The Vespers were led by Father Ivan Volansky, who arrived from the Old Country to Shenandoah on December 10, 1884. Two months earlier, people from Shenandoah and the neighboring settlements of Shamokin, Hazleton, and Excelsior had been collecting money for tickets to America for Fr. Volansky and his wife, Pavlyna. During that first week, he tried to find a place to pray. After being refused by the pastor of the Polish parish, Father Joseph Lenarkiewicz, Fr. Ivan rented Kern Hall on North Main Street. Vespers were held on the 2nd floor, and the priest lived on the 3rd floor. Mykhailo Dolny was the cantor that evening. 

From the parish book, we know that in 1882, about 70 families in Shenandoah gathered together and wrote a letter to Metropolitan Sembratovych, asking him to send them a priest. So, we can imagine that all these people might have gathered in this small hall to finally worship God together “in their own way”. 

In the following days, Fr. Ivan prepared the altar and the necessary items for the chapel, dedicating it to the Immaculate Conception of the Mother of God. Already on December 25, the 

first Baptism took place there, and on January 9, the first wedding. Together, the faithful and Fr. Ivan transformed the 2nd floor of the small hall into a sacred space, praying and glorifying God in the first days of his arrival. 

So, we sincerely congratulate each of you on the anniversary of this wonderful event that gave rise to our Church in the United States of America. Perhaps, on this occasion, you will want to pray Vespers today in memory of this special event, or remember in your prayers all those who, by seeking God, built our Church here. 

We express our gratitude to the artist from Lviv, Ulyana Krekhovets, who created a commemorative graphic for this remarkable event.