Father Daniel Gurovich fell asleep in the Lord

The funeral will be Tuesday, March 8th at St. Josaphat Church (1826 Kenmore Ave., Bethlehem, PA 18018). He will be brought to the church and viewing will be from 9:00-11:00 AM. Priest Parastas will be celebrated at 11:00AM. Please bring a raisa/cassock and dark vestments. Internment will be at the parish cemetery and a luncheon will be served after in the church hall in the church basement.

From Rev. Paul J. Makar

St. John Climacus, whose work THE LADDER OF DIVINE ASCENT is read during the days of the Great and Holy Fast, mentions the importance of keeping one’s own mortality in mind if one seeks to grow in the spiritual life and find salvation in God. The loss of a very well known and beloved cleric of the Archeparchy of Philadelphia, Very Rev. Archpriest Daniel Gurovich, is one that cannot help but touch the hearts of many. This is because he helped so many out in their own climb on the ladder of spiritual ascent. He truly was a spiritual father in its truest sense.

A native of Cleveland, Ohio, Father Dan (or “Danny” as he was affectionately called by many close to him) served in the Byzantine Catholic Church before finally coming to the Archeparchy of Philadelphia in the 1980s. Initially brought on by Metropolitan Steven (Sulyk) of blessed memory to help with the Archeparchial Tribunal for a short term, he was assigned to St. Josaphat’s Ukrainian Catholic Church in Bethlehem, PA, where he faithfully served the people in that area of the Lehigh Valley for nearly forty years. He was well known by many clergy in the Ukrainian and Byzantine Catholic Churches especially for his dry and and sometimes biting sense of humor.

May God grant rest to the soul of his faithful servant, Presbyter Dan, and may his memory be eternal – вічная пам’ять!