60th ANNIVERSARY OF CHURCH CONSECRATION – ST. ANDREW PARISH, BOSTON MA

ST. ANDREW PARISH - BOSTON
60th ANNIVERSARY OF CHURCH CONSECRATION
40th ANNIVERSARY OF PASTOR’S PRIESTLY ORDINATION

On Sunday, December 9, 2018 His Eminence Metropolitan Antony, accompanied by Subdeacon Mykola Zomchak and seminarian Myroslav Mykytyuk, visited St. Andrew Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Boston. The occasion was the 60th Anniversary of the church edifice and the 40th anniversary of the ordination of its pastor, Very Reverend Roman Tarnavsky. His Eminence was greeted with flowers at the church door by the children of the parish and then welcomed into the church by parish president, Jane Yavarow. In her greeting she stressed that St. Andrew’s was more than just four walls, but a place to ground us, a place to come together to worship as a community, a place to rely on for spiritual health and healing, and a place for us to be the body of Christ.

Fr. Roman, along with visiting clergy Fr. Borislav Kroner, Deacon Paul Cherkas and Deacon Michael Abrahamson all from Woonsocket, RI, ushered His Eminence to the tetrapod where the Hierarchical Divine Liturgy began. St. Andrew’s choir, under the direction of Jane Yavarow offered the responses. At the end of the Liturgy, His Eminence thanked the choir for the beautiful, peaceful and at times moving melodies that they rendered.

With the Liturgy completed, there were a few awards to be given out. In July, the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the USA celebrated its 100th anniversary. In honor of the Church’s Centennial Celebration, our hierarchs created a special award of a medal bearing the image of St. Andrew and the X-shaped cross upon which he was crucified along with the Ukrainian and American flags and the centennial “100” insignia. The purpose of this special award is to honor individual parish members, nominated by their pastors and parish boards who have exemplified what it means to be a fully committed Ukrainian Orthodox Christian over a period of at least 15 years in the life of the Church. St. Andrew’s honorees, exemplifying these qualities and more, were Leonid Kondratiuk, Pearl Smith, Iryna Wavariv-Priester, George Wons and Jane Yavarow. Two “hramatas” were also awarded to more recent immigrants, Kateryna Parshikova and Michael Gregory for their dedication to the church. Finally Vladyka Antony summoned the faithful for a group photo, a panoramic view of the parishioners in the beautiful 60 year-old church.

After the Liturgy everyone moved to the church hall where they dined on a catered meal featuring lobster bisque, Waldorf salad and baked cod prepared by Chef Michael, a long-time friend of St. Andrew’s.

Along with celebrating the 60th anniversary of the church, the parishioners honored their pastor, Right Rev. Roman Tarnavsky, on the 40th anniversary of his ordination to the priesthood. Fr. Roman attended the Odessa Theological Seminary. On September 27, 1978, on the feast day of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, he was ordained a priest. In 1997, with the prospects of a better life for his two sons, Fr. Roman moved his family to the United States where he began his service in the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the USA. He was assigned to St. Andrew Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Boston in 2002. Fr. Roman was honored with gifts from the choir, sisterhood and parish. Proclamations were received from the governor of Massachusetts and the city of Boston making it Fr. Roman Tarnavsky Day in the city.

The day’s festivities continued with a concert performed by a few of the many talented members of the parish. Cellist Łukasz Pawlikowski and violinist Matt Scutchfield played two numbers followed by singing performances by Michael Hotz, Tetyana Portyankina, Olga Tymoshchuk and Eugene Moroz accompanied on piano by Oksana Oliynyk. Young altar servers Alex Levchuk and Dennis Levchuk, their father Georgiy Levchuk and friend Igor Oliynyk dedicated their rendition of Dva Koljory (Two colors) to Fr. Roman. Their performance brought tears to his eyes and to all those in the audience.

To close out the day, Metropolitan offered a few remarks congratulating the parish and encouraging its members to embrace new immigrants and nurture its children to ensure the life of St. Andrew’s for another 60 years.

60th Anniversary – More Pictures

More Pictures - 12/09/2018

(33 images)


Share This:



< PreviousNext >
You might also like:

Strategic Plan

image
image
Prayer Books
Prayer Books
Calendar 2024
Calendar 2024
Prayer Book
Prayer Book

  

Recent Galleries
Metropolia
Directories
Institutions
Organizations

Mailing Address
Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the USA
P.O. Box 495
South Bound Brook, NJ 08880

Offices:
Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the USA
Metropolia Center
135 Davidson Avenue
Somerset, NJ 08873