Many thanks are given from "The Way" to "The Ukrainian Weekly" for providing the article below about the Consecration of St. John the Baptist Ukrainian Catholic Church in Whippany, NJ.
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| (Click on photo to make larger). Photo by Andrij Lysiak. |
New St. John the Baptist Church is consecrated in Whippany, N.J.
The Ukrainian Weekly
WHIPPANY,
N.J. – The solemn consecration of the new St. John the Baptist Ukrainian
Catholic Church took place here on Saturday, September 21, with hundreds of
parishioners and clergy in attendance.
Officiating
at the consecration was Archbishop Stefan Soroka, metropolitan for Ukrainian
Catholics in the United States. Also participating were Bishops Paul Chomnycky
and Basil Losten (emeritus) of the Stamford Eparchy, as well as the Rt. Rev. Mitred
Protopresbyter Roman Mirchuk, pastor of St. John’s, and visiting clergy.
The
occasion was marked by three days of services and ceremonies with the faithful
attending en masse in their Ukrainian embroidered finery. Also present at
various times during the celebrations were a number of elected officials, among
them U.S. Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen, Hanover Township Mayor Ronald F. Francioli
and Township Committee Members John L. Ferramosca and George Coppola.
On
Friday evening, September 20, the new church’s cornerstone was blessed after a
vesper service next door, in the temporary church housed in the Ukrainian
American Cultural Center of New Jersey. The new church’s consecration and a
gala banquet at the UACCNJ took place the next day. On Sunday, a pontifical
divine liturgy was celebrated in the new church and was followed by a community
banquet at the cultural center.
The
consecration of the new St. John the Baptist Church took place nearly seven years
after the grand opening on November 10-12, 2006, of the UACCNJ, which is
affiliated with St. John’s Parish; indeed, it housed the congregation’s
temporary church when the parish moved from its old church on the corner of
Route 10 and South Jefferson Road to the center on North Jefferson Road.
The
three-day event in 2006 encompassed the blessing of the parish rectory, the
dedication of the cultural center followed by a grand opening banquet, and the blessing
of the temporary church and the first liturgy there.
The
continuity of parish life is perhaps best symbolized by the iconostasis, the
work of Christine Dochwat, that was moved from the old church to the temporary
church and now into the new St. John the Baptist Church.
The
new church, designed by architect Taras Dobusz of Bridgewater, N.J., stands on
land between the UACCNJ and the rectory. It is a contemporary design with
features of the traditional Hutsul style seen in Ukraine’s Carpathian Mountains.
On consecration day, two of the church’s golden domes were in place;
three were yet to be erected. Nonetheless, the new church, both its exterior and
its spacious interior, won high praise from parishioners and guests alike.
On
the day of the consecration, Saturday, September 21, the church hierarchs,
clergy and faithful processed from the temporary church to the new church,
circling it thrice. Metropolitan Soroka blessed the church’s exterior.
Once
inside, the consecration rites continued in the sanctuary, as the altar was established,
washed and consecrated, and relics of saints were placed inside its four corners.
The faithful were able to see these unique proceedings as they took place
behind the iconostasis on two large TV screens inside the church.
The
foundation charter of the new church was then read in the Ukrainian and English
languages.
Some
370 people attended the grand banquet that evening which featured a photographic
history of the 92-year-old parish; performances by the Iskra Ukrainian Dance
Ensemble – including an original dance choreographed for the occasion by
Natalia Ejova; pianist Laryssa Krupa Slobodyanik; baritone Oleh Chmyr; and a
song by children of the parish. The Rev. Mirchuk spoke to thank all who had
made the day of the church’s consecration possible.
Sunday’s
afternoon banquet – held after the first liturgy to be celebrated in the
new St. John the Baptist Ukrainian Catholic Church – featured Iskra, pianist Ms.
Krupa Slobodyanik and violinist Andriy Gavrysh (who performed individually and
as a duo), the Buniak Trio of singers, the parish choir directed by cantor
Oksana Telepko, as well Ms. Telepko accompanied by children of the parish in a
vocal performance. Also part of the program were videotaped reflections of St. John’s
parishioners.
The story above is reprinted with
permission from The Ukrainian Weekly (www.ukrweekly.com). It appeared in that
newspaper’s September 29 issue.
