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Romanian Orthodox Parish Celebrates 120 Years in Pennsylvania
Abp. Nathaniel joined clergy and parishioners in Hermitage for a weekend marking the parish’s history since its founding in 1906.
HERMITAGE, PA — Holy Cross Parish in Hermitage, Pennsylvania, marked its 120th anniversary on Oct. 24-25 with services led by Abp. Nathaniel of Detroit and the Romanian Orthodox Episcopate of America.
The anniversary weekend began Oct. 24 with a memorial service and Great Vespers celebrated by the parish’s rector, Rev. Fr. Spyridon Ickes, in the presence of Abp. Nathaniel, alongside clergy from the Great Lakes Deanery.
On Oct. 25, the Archbishop celebrated the Divine Liturgy, assisted by Rev. Fr. Spyridon Ickes and Rev. Hdn. Benedict Oancea of Vatra Românească in Grass Lake, Michigan. The parish was founded in 1906 in Farrell, Pennsylvania, where its first church was built in 1910. The parish later established its present church in 1962. Abp. Valerian Trifa consecrated the building.
Following the Divine Liturgy, parishioners gathered for a communal meal, during which the parish president presented a history of the congregation.
The anniversary commemorated more than a century of Romanian Orthodox life in the region and the generations of clergy and parishioners who have sustained the community.
Previously, the UOJ reported that the Romanian Orthodox Episcopate marked 97 years in America.
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