www.byzcath.org Forums Faith & Christian Life Parish Life & Evangelization Another Parish Question - St Anne Byzantine - Clymer PA

I've encountered another question while working on the directory and am hoping someone can supply an answer.

St Anne Byzantine is located in Clymer, PA - a small borough (pop. ~ 1,500) in Indiana County. According to the Catholic Directory, the 75th Anniversary Directory of the Metropolia, and the eparchial site, the temple is situated at 44 Franklin St.

According to every other reference made to the temple on the web, it's located at 360 Franklin St - about 0.5 mile away.

Usually, I can resolve these discrepancies. In most such cases, I find directory listings to be the rectory/mailing address - not the church address. (Can I mention that this practice, to my mind, flies in the face of logic? It seems to me that most folks looking up a church address are trying to find its location - not learn where Father eats dinner).

Anyway, I haven't been able to determine to my satisfaction which is the actual physical location of the temple.

44 Franklin is to the north, just after PA286 crosses Two Lick Creek, enters Clymer, and becomes Franklin St.

360 Franklin is near the center of Clymer and only a couple blocks west of St Michael's (ACROD) (a beautiful church), from which St Anne's separated back in the early 20th century.

Anyone know which address is which or what is where?

Yes, I could just rely on the directories - but I've learned that doing so is not always a wise move - trust me - or humor me, I don't care which.

Many years,

Neil

I would have to say the Franklin address is the right one. I was in Clymer a few years back and remember the Byzantine church being in the center of town. The ACROD church, if I remember right, was almost directly across a couple of streets over.

There is also the original St Annes built in the 1800's that is now abandoned. It is within a few blocks of St Annes. It is one block north of where 286 veers sharply to the left in the center of the Metropolis of Clymer. That could be the reason for 2 addresses. It has been a while since I've been there, but the next time I'll try to make note of the address.

Clymer can be a bit confusing. In a town of 4000 people one distinctly sees 4 edifices with Three barred Crosses. Old and new St Annes, St Michaels and Christ the Saviour ROCOR are all within shouting distance of each other.

Alexandr

My mother was born in Clymer and I've done a little research on the Rusyn community there. I don't know of an "old" St. Anne's from the 1800s. Clymer didn't exist in the 1800s. St. Michael's was the Greek Catholic Church and it dates from the first decade of the 20th Century, when Clymer was settled.

It joined the Carpatho-Russian Orthodox Church during the celibacy crisis of the 1930s.... As far as I know, St. Anne's was formed much, much later.

Here's St. Anne's parish info from the Archeparchy:

http://www.archeparchy.org/page/directories/parishes/clymer.htm

This is St. Michael's (now ACROD) where my mother was baptized in 1915.

http://www.stmichaelschurchclymer.org/

Here's the newest of the three: Christ Our Savior (ROCOR), which is actually several miles west of Clymer.

http://www.christoursaviororthodoxchurch.com/

--tim

I would say 360 as the Church is in the center of town.

Thanks to all (I love the diversity of replies and truly appreciate that you all bothered to respond).

Based on Deacon Lance's description of St Anne's as in the center of town, reinforced by Etnick's observation that it's a couple of blocks directly opposite St Michael's, I'm going with 360 as the location (contrary to the Eparchial site, the 75th Anniversary Directory of the Metropolia, and the Catholic Directory).

Tim is correct in saying that there was no 'old' St Anne's, altho the Metropolia dates the parish's existence from 1907 (the year in which its predecessor, now St Michael's ACROD, was erected). After the split at St Michael's (~1938), there was an interim of almost 3 decades before St Anne's was built (1966). In those years, the community worshipped at St Anthony's (Latin) Church.

Alexandr, I can't find any suggestion of a church erected in the 1800's (St Michael's was built in 1907). However, your reference to a sharp left suggests you might be thinking of PA403, which branches off PA286 and heads up to Dixonville and on which, I think, is St John's UOC - possibly the 4th cross to which you refer. (PA286 is pretty much a straightaway thru town - or as straight as roads are out in that neck of the woods.)

Again, thanks to all of you. There will be more of these one-shot "Help!" threads as time goes on.

Many years,

Neil

That 1907 date is for St. Michael's as a Greek Catholic parish. Records from St. Michael's as a G.C. church are kept at St. Peter & Paul's in Punxsutawney.

Is Christ the Saviour ROCOR the church formed by the people who left St. Michael's ACROD in the 1990's?

Yes it is. The history of the Rusyn community in Clymer is probably illustrative of the sad and often tortured route that many Rusyn families dealt with over faith(in a broad sense of the word) related issues beginning with St. Alexis (Toth) in the 1890's. No editorial comment intended here by me on their situation. I pray that the oft-divided families there have found some measure of peace and comfort.

As I was driving home this evening, I suddenly realized that Alexandr's description of a sharp left accurately describes PA286 as it enters Clymer from the south (for some reason, I had blocked his reference to that left being encountered traveling northbound). That would rule out St John's UOC as the 4th church with a three-tiered cross.

BUT ... I had another thought just now. Tim is correct, that there is no 'old' St Anne's. There might, however, be an 'old' St Michael's. The current parish website of St Michael's doesn't include a history of the parish, so I have no way of knowing if its current location on Morris St is the original one or not and the Metropolia's Anniversary Directory doesn't speak to the point.

Perhaps one of Father Lawrence Barriger's books on the history of ACROD might make reference to this. Or, DMD, currently our most visible ACROD member, or John Schweich, our resident collector of parish histories pertaining to the Ruysn churches, might know.

Anyone interested in viewing a map of the area can go to the Directory entry; scrolling the map will allow one to view a broader area than that which is displayed.

As DMD suggests, we should indeed offer prayers for the Rusyn faithful - Catholic and Orthodox - in Clymer, whose practice of their faiths has been disturbed twice in the last 100 years.

Many years,

Neil

Dear Neil,
Looking at the map, on Franklin St, either the 200 or 300 block on the Left side driving northbound on 286/403, there is an old abandoned red brick Church with no cornerstone that I have ever ascertained. I assumed that it was the Old St Annes. My curiosity is piqued, and when the weather clears, I will take a drive up and see what I can ascertain for the Forum community. A good mystery!

Alexandr

LOL Alexandr - if I don't get there ahead of you. My curiousity too is piqued and I may just have to detour out there on my next trip down to PA (heck, we may have to meet and have coffee )

I'm leaning strongly toward a theory of there being an 'old' St Michael's.

Many years,

Neil

On "Google Earth" there is a photo of a Church with a three barred cross at 360 Franklin St.

Dr Henry,

Thank you. After you kindly posted regarding Google Earth to that other thread on St Mary's in Robbinsville, I tried to d/l it - w/o success (it declines to install for some reason). Now I must try again.

Your observation goes along with Deacon Lance's decription of where the temple would be located. I did try to use street view on Google Maps and Yahoo Maps, to see and compare the structure to that pictured in the Metropolia's anniversary directory - but wasn't successful in getting a good enough resolution to even verify that there was a cross.

Take a gander, if you will, in the neighborhood of 44-46-48 Franklin St. As best I can see on street view, that's strictly residential.

Leaving us, still, with Alexandr's abandoned church and 4 crosses - so, a field trip is not yet out of the question

Many years,

Neil