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The 102-Year Old congregation of Holy Annunciation Macedonian-Bulgarian Eastern Orthodox Church in Steelton (Harrisburg), PA. Has Closed. This was a MACEDONIAN congregation founded primarily by immigrants from Prilep, Macedonia. They were affiliated with the Bulgarian Church because no Macedonian Church existed at the time.
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Last edited by boyphenom666; 06-17-2012, 06:28 PM. -
Closing church ‘like losing your family’
Published: Friday, June 08, 2012, 3:43 PM
By MARY KLAUS, The Patriot-News
For 102 years, midstaters of Macedonian-Bulgarian heritage marked the passages of their life in the Holy Annunciation Macedonian-Bulgarian Orthodox Church in Steelton.
They were baptized there, attended weekly services there, were married there and buried their family there. For many, it was the only church they ever knew.
Holy Annunciation, which for years has been facing declining membership and income, recently closed.
“This was the second-oldest Macedonian-Bulgarian Orthodox church in the country,” said Cathy Fagan, congregation president.
“I grew up in this church. I was married here. I buried my whole family from here. My daughter and granddaughter were baptized in that baptismal font. This is so hard. It’s tearing me apart.”
Holy Annunciation was founded by and for people who came to Steelton from Macedonia, a former Yugoslav republic, and Bulgaria in southeast Europe. Most were immigrants who left their native land to seek their fortune in the New World.
Many came to Steelton without jobs and unable to speak English. They went to work in the then-Bethlehem Steel plant. By 1909, they decided they needed a church.
The immigrants donated money for the project, got land, and, after working hard in the steel mill or factories all day, spent their evenings excavating and building. Soon, they had a church.
In 1927, parishioners built the church community hall, which they enlarged and remodeled in the 1970s.
Tropical Storm Agnes flooded the church basement in 1972. Three years later, a suspicious fire extensively damaged the church sanctuary while smoke damaged the icons. After learning that it would cost more to fix the church than to build a new one, parishioners decided to build anew.
Holy Annunciation had unique traditions from its earliest days when its services were held in Macedonian.
Every January, from 1912 to 1939, the church sponsored a “diving for the cross” ceremony in which a priest would hurl a handmade wooden cross into the frigid Susquehanna River.
Men in their late teens and early 20s would dive in to retrieve the cross. Participants were treated like heroes by Steelton residents, who gave them a special dinner.
The ceremony ended after 1939, when Steelton’s young men went off to World War II and there was no one left to carry on the tradition.
Up until it closed, the congregation held a special Orthodox Easter vigil that included songs, Scripture and scarlet-tinted eggs after a pre-midnight candlelight procession around the church.
Altar boys and church leaders led the procession, marching with censors, crosses, round pictures of angels in gold sunbursts and icons. At midnight, the priest called out “Christ is risen,” then the church bells began ringing. The priest would knock on the door lightly with a cross, and it opened from within for the Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom.
In its heyday, Holy Annunciation had 200 members.
At the end, it had nine who faithfully attended services. Ironically, 125 came to the final service, which felt like part family reunion and part funeral.
The displaced members will attend other area Orthodox churches, including St. Nicholas Serbian Orthodox Church in Oberlin.
“It’s like losing your family,” the Very Rev. Archpriest Michael Slovesko of Ephrata, church pastor, said of the closing. “I’ve been a priest for 54 years, and this is the first time I’ve closed a church. I couldn’t build it up.”
Slovesko, who had retired seven years ago, plans to go back into retirement.
The Holy Annunciation baptismal font went to an Orthodox cathedral in New York City. The altar relics went to the Bulgarian Orthodox Diocese of the USA, Canada and Australia.
The altar and icons went to a new Orthodox monastery in Warwick, Mass. Fagan said that some Holy Annunciation members plan to make a pilgrimage to the monastery to see their icons.
The Holy Annunciation complex, which includes a 3,600-square-foot, two-story assembly hall and a 2,780-square-foot, single-story church building, is on the market for $255,000. Money from its sale will be given to charity.
“The Orthodox people are of one faith,” Slovesko said, watching the dismantling of the church he grew to love. “Just the language and culture is different.” -
They probably had the opportunity to join the Macedonian Orthodox Church at one point but they declined. This should be a wake up call to all the "Macedono-Bulgarian" churches of North America, and the MPO...Comment
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Very similar to what you said about the young people in Toronto. Without an influx of new blood, you either have to do what American churches do and cater to intermarriages or you will wither away and die.Originally posted by Niko777 View PostComment
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I have also talked to Bishop Metodij about bringing them into the fold, and I got the sense that he is reluctant to step on the toes of other jurisdictions. It's probably a smart move. It probably makes sense to not make enemies with other churches, but I am sad to see the history wither away.Originally posted by Niko777 View Post
This parish should be preserved and turned into a shrine!Last edited by boyphenom666; 06-17-2012, 08:02 PM.Comment
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