SOLON and BEDFORD, Ohio — The Eparchy of Parma’s oldest parish celebrated its 125th anniversary last month. St. John the Baptist Byzantine Catholic Parish also has the distinction of being the oldest Byzantine Catholic parish in the United States established by a Hungarian community.
The parish was founded in Cleveland’s Eastside Hungarian neighborhood, with its first three churches built there. In 1983, the parish moved to its current location in Solon.
The anniversary celebration Sept. 24 began with an afternoon Hierarchical Divine Liturgy, celebrated by the eparchy’s new apostolic administrator, Bishop Milan Lach, SJ.
Current parish administrator Father Andrey Kovalenko Smith and former pastor Father Michael Huszti concelebrated, along with Bishop Emeritus John Kudrick of Parma and Fathers John Kachuba, Dennis Hrubiak and James Batcha.
Deacons William Fredrick and Gregory Loya served the liturgy, and seminarians Nathan Adams and Miron Kerul-Kmec Jr., joined local boys and young men as altar servers. St. John’s cantor, Linda Parker, together with one of the cathedral cantors, Bill Choma, led the responses.
Bishop Lach began his homily by referring to the day’s Gospel: the call of the first four.
He said a painting of that Gospel passage hung in his family’s living room and that “this image has followed me all my life.” He could imagine the faces of his family members in the gathering portrayed in the icon.
This image could follow every Christian, he said. Christians, like Peter, must stop their own agenda when they are called by Christ to follow him.
“We are all at Gennesaret, young and old; we always have this invitation,” he said.
Bishop Lach said those gathered offered thanksgiving to God for the 125 years of this parish, which spawned two vocations to the priesthood and two to the religious life. He said it is not important how many people are in the parish; Jesus was not interested in quantity — he called 12 uneducated fishermen.
“We need new priests; I invite you to pray because Jesus Christ can make new miracles in our church,” Bishop Lach concluded.
Following the Divine Liturgy, the anniversary celebration continued with a dinner in St. Eugene Parish Hall in Bedford, the other parish administered by Father Kovalenko Smith. About 100 people attended the dinner.
Father Kovalenko Smith welcomed all and asked Bishop Lach to bless the food. The Aurora High School String Quartet provided dinner music. St. John parishioner Nick Hannes played viola in the quartet.
Parishioner Loretta Nemeth served as the master of ceremonies and read letters from former pastors Fathers Thomas Loya and Joseph Repko, who were unable to attend.
Father Loya’s letter made numerous references to “St. John Hungarian Parish.” After reading the letter, Nemeth remarked that “while we honor our Hungarian heritage, the days of the ethnic parish are long gone, and we welcome any and all to join us in our Byzantine expression of the Catholic faith.”
Nemeth also said it was fitting that St. John Parish hosted the new Mariapoch icon at the afternoon liturgy because the Shrine of Our Lady of Mariapoch in Burton, Ohio, was an outreach of the parish from its beginnings in 1955, during the pastorate of Father Alexander Bobak, until Bishop Andrew Pataki assumed ownership of the shrine for the eparchy in 1983.
Father Kovalenko Smith followed with a few remarks, inviting all present to come back to St. John’s for liturgy.
Bishop Lach then spoke, again offering encouragement to the parish community. He was presented with a gift from the parish by its youngest member, Stephen Hannes.
Nemeth invited all present to come back in five years for the parish’s 130th anniversary celebration. To conclude the celebration, Father Huszti said a few words and led the benediction.
Caption 1: St. John Parish’s pastoral council greets Bishop Milan Lach, SJ, with the traditional bread, salt and key before the start of liturgy in the narthex of the church. Left to right: Bishop Milan Lach, SJ, Elizabeth Huszti, Mark Lepole, Matilda Sauvinsky, Loretta Nemeth, Daryl Hannes and Laureen Nemeth. Deacon Gregory Loya looks on in the background, by the church doors. (Photo: Jenifer Nemeth)
As published in Horizons, Oct. 22, 2017.