www.byzcath.org Forums Faith & Christian Life Parish Life & Evangelization Steelton PA Orthodox Church Closing

Holy Annunciation Macedonian-Bulgarian Orthodox Church [blog.pennlive.com] in Steelton PA is closing after 102 years.

Prayers for the faithful and clergy of the parish. May the memory of Holy Annunciation be eternal.

Neil,

What is the history of the "Macedonian-Bulgarian" Church? It's an odd, but interesting title.

I think I remember seeing the priest in ACROD newspapers from the past.

Dn. RJB

May there someday be a special place in Heaven for Very Rev. Archpriest Michael Slovesko. According to the article he came out of retirement to try to keep the parish viable. That is the kind of love that we need throughout all Christian Churches, eastern and western.

My lineal paternal Great-Grandfather operated a restaurant in Steelton in the early 20th Century.

Steelton has been in decline since the closing of the mill about half a century ago.

I attended the Penn State campus nearby in Middletown and used to pass by this church often. It is unfortunate that so much history will be lost. May the memory of the Holy Annunciation Church be eternal.

Deacon Robert,

ACROD has 4 Belarusian parishes, but no Bulgarian ones - which doesn't preclude Father having been in attendance at some liturgical or social event, given that he's of a Church in communion. Perhaps Father David or DMD know of him.


Michael, my friend,

Historically, there was a significant ethnic Bulgarian population in Macedonia. How those persons have self-identified has changed several times over the centuries.

From doing some research for our directory entries on the Byzantine Bulgarian Catholic Church, I know that Byzantine Bulgarians were formerly well-represented in bordering areas of Macedonia, although those temples have all since been repressed. I presume that the Bulgarian Orthodox Church was also well-represented there at the time.

As to the particulars though of the terminology Macedonian-Bulgarian Orthodox Church, it doesn't represent a separate church within or outside the Orthodox communion. Instead, it's (for lack of a better way to describe it) an ethno-cultural subset of parishes within the Bulgarian Eastern Orthodox Diocese of the US, Canada, & Australia.

Other than Holy Annunciation, there are four other such parishes in the diocese: St Cyril & Methodii M-B EO Cathedral, Holy Trinity M-B EO Church, and St George M-B EO Church, all in Toronto; and, St Clement Ohridski M-B EO Church, in Dearborn, MI.

The Bulgarian Diocese of the OCA also has at least one parish that was officially incorporated under that same styling: St Ilia M-B EO Church, Akron, OH.

Holy Ghost in Youngstown, OH (OCA) uses 'Macedonian Orthodox' in its titling - without the added 'Bulgarian' descriptor. St Nicholas in Fort Wayne, IN, (OCA) was Macedonian in its inception, although I don't know that it ever was titled as such. There are other parishes in the OCA Bulgarian Diocese which reference both Bulgarians and Macedonians among their faithful, but none that seem to be predominated by the latter.

I'm not sure if any of the temples in the US-Canadian Diocese of the Macedonian Orthodox Church use the dual titling.


Amen to that, Deacon Paul.

Many years,

Neil

Cornerstone of Holy Annunciation [i45.tinypic.com]

Many years,

Neil

Fr. Michael Slovesko is a priest of ACROD. In his retirement years, he was "on loan" to a few parishes in other jurisdictions (OCA and I think Serbian). He was very active in ACROD, particularly in the realm of liturgical music. He taught chant at Christ the Saviour for many, many years.

Oh, and he is a vocation from my parish. His cousin helps light the candles in the church almost every Sunday.

Fr. David

The Steelton parish belonged to the Bulgarian Exarchate of North America and Austrailia under the omophorion of Metropolitan Joseph of the Bulgarian Patriarchate.I happen to know a young priest who was there as his first assignment a few years ago,but has since moved on to an OCA parish in Connecticut.
Perhaps 90% of the so-called Bulgarians who founded the original parishes in North America are Macedonians.Back in the 19th century,a large percentage of the Macedonian inteligentsia favored the Bulgarian nationality as opposed to being Serbophile or Hellenophile.Serbs frequently call Macedonians "South Serbs",Bulgarians refer to them as "Western Bulgarians",Greeks in general object to existance of a Slavic Macedonian nationality.
Many of today's Macedonians say,"None of the above."Its similar to the Rusyn situation,there are/were Russian,Ukrainian,Rusyn,Slovak,and even Magyar factions.

Bless, Fathers David and Al, and thank you.

This is why I delight in this site. Our members never cease to amaze nor to fail to come through - no matter how broad a topical net is thrown

Many years,

Neil