About Patronage of Mother of God [Ukrainian] · Marion Heights, Pennsylvania
Patronage of the Mother of God Ukrainian Catholic Church is a Byzantine-rite (Eastern Catholic) parish serving the small borough of Marion Heights in Northumberland County, Pennsylvania, in the heart of the anthracite coal region. The parish belongs to the Ukrainian Metropolitan Archeparchy of Philadelphia and, although Eastern Catholic, sits geographically within the territory of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Harrisburg. It is one of more than two dozen Ukrainian Greek Catholic parishes that trace their roots to the great wave of Galician and Transcarpathian immigrants who came to mine coal in northeast Pennsylvania in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Today the parish is served jointly with Transfiguration Parish in nearby Shamokin by clergy of the Archeparchy's South Anthracite Deanery.
- Established
- 1911-1914
- Patron
- The Mother of God (Theotokos) — celebrated under the title of her Patronage (Pokrov / Protection)
- Rector
- Very Rev. Mark Fesniak (Dean, South Anthracite Deanery, administering the parish)
- Diocese
- Ukrainian Metropolitan Archeparchy of Philadelphia (geographically within the territory of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Harrisburg)
Why belong here
Patronage of the Mother of God offers Byzantine-rite Catholics in the southern anthracite region a place to worship in the tradition their grandparents brought from Galicia and Transcarpathia, with the Divine Liturgy celebrated in English on Sunday mornings and the Mystery of Reconciliation (Confession) available a half hour before Liturgy. As one of more than 200 Ukrainian Catholic parishes in the U.S. that trace their origin to 'Coal Country,' the parish connects today's faithful to the deep roots of Ukrainian Catholic life in America. Worship is shared with the sister Transfiguration community in Shamokin and supported by the pastoral care of Very Rev. Mark Fesniak, dean of the South Anthracite Deanery.
Mass times at Patronage of Mother of God [Ukrainian]
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Half hour before Divine Liturgy
Parish Identity and Byzantine-Rite Life
Patronage of the Mother of God Ukrainian Catholic Church is an Eastern Catholic (Byzantine-rite) parish in communion with Rome, belonging to the Ukrainian Metropolitan Archeparchy of Philadelphia. The parish is dedicated to the Mother of God under the title of her Patronage (Pokrov / Protection of the Theotokos), a feast celebrated on October 2 in the Byzantine liturgical calendar. Its worship follows the liturgical, spiritual and disciplinary patrimony of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church — most visibly in the celebration of the Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom, the use of the Byzantine liturgical calendar, and the celebration of the seven Mysteries (sacraments). Although the parish sits geographically inside the Roman Catholic Diocese of Harrisburg, as an Eastern Catholic parish it falls directly under the Archeparchy of Philadelphia.
- Byzantine-rite Ukrainian Greek Catholic parish
- Patron: The Mother of God (Pokrov / Protection)
- Feast day: October 2
- Jurisdiction: Ukrainian Metropolitan Archeparchy of Philadelphia
History and Coal-Country Roots
The parish was founded between 1911 and 1914, during the great formative era of Ukrainian Greek Catholic life in the United States that followed the appointment of Bishop Soter Ortynsky in 1907. Academic histories of the Greek Catholic Church in the U.S. specifically list Marion Heights among the new parishes created in those years, alongside Clifton Heights, Arnold, Minneapolis, Bethlehem, Hamtramck, Baltimore, and Curtis Bay. By 1913 there were roughly 152 Ukrainian parishes and about 500,000 faithful nationwide. The congregation was built by Ruthenian and Ukrainian immigrant families who had come to work the hard-coal mines of the anthracite region, joining sister communities in Shamokin, Mount Carmel, Centralia, and Shenandoah.
- Parish founded 1911–1914, during Bishop Soter Ortynsky's episcopate
- One of more than two dozen Ukrainian parishes born in Pennsylvania's anthracite region
- Heritage community of Galician and Transcarpathian coal-mining immigrants
- Saint Mary's Ukrainian Catholic Cemetery preserves the graves of the founding families
Clergy and Pastoral Care
The parish is administered within the South Anthracite Deanery of the Archeparchy of Philadelphia. Very Rev. Mark Fesniak serves as dean and oversees the administration of both Patronage of the Mother of God in Marion Heights and Transfiguration of Our Lord in Shamokin. In January 2025, Metropolitan Borys Gudziak introduced Father Volodymyr Prokipchuk as the new parochial vicar for both parishes. Father Volodymyr is a married priest — he and his wife Mariya have three sons, Pavlo, Markiyan, and Volodymyr — and brings pastoral and canonical experience from Ukraine to the Coal Country deanery. Father Paul Spotts, the previous parochial vicar, continues to serve the deanery and the parish.
- Very Rev. Mark Fesniak — Dean, South Anthracite Deanery
- Rev. Volodymyr Prokipchuk — Parochial Vicar since January 19, 2025
- Rev. Paul Spotts — Priest serving the parish and deanery
- Joint pastoral team with Transfiguration of Our Lord Parish, Shamokin
Father Volodymyr Prokipchuk
Introduced by Metropolitan Borys Gudziak at Transfiguration Parish in Shamokin on January 19, 2025, Father Volodymyr Prokipchuk is the 17th new priest ordained or assigned to the Archeparchy of Philadelphia in the past four years. Born in 1978 in Zhnibrody in the Ternopil region of Ukraine, he studied theology at the Ivano-Frankivsk Theological and Catechetical Institute and later earned a licentiate in Canon Law from the Pontifical Oriental Institute in Rome. Ordained in 2005, he previously served as administrator of St. Nicholas Parish in Stopchativ and as judicial vicar of the Kolomyia Eparchy.
- Born 1978 in Zhnibrody, Ternopil region, Ukraine
- Educated at Ivano-Frankivsk Theological and Catechetical Institute
- Licentiate in Canon Law from the Pontifical Oriental Institute
- Ordained 2005; former administrator of St. Nicholas Parish, Stopchativ, and judicial vicar of Kolomyia Eparchy
- Wife Mariya; sons Pavlo, Markiyan, and Volodymyr
Liturgical Schedule
The parish celebrates the Byzantine Divine Liturgy in English each Sunday morning. The Mystery of Reconciliation (Confession) is heard half an hour before the Divine Liturgy. Because the parish is jointly pastored with Transfiguration of Our Lord in Shamokin, the two communities share clergy and many of the same liturgical and pastoral events of the South Anthracite Deanery.
- Sunday Divine Liturgy — 8:00 AM (English)
- Confessions — half hour before Divine Liturgy
- Byzantine liturgical tradition (Eastern Catholic, Ukrainian rite)
Worship and the Mysteries (Sacraments)
As a Byzantine-rite parish, Patronage of the Mother of God celebrates the seven Mysteries of the Eastern Christian tradition — Baptism, Chrismation (Confirmation), the Eucharist (in the form of the Divine Liturgy and Holy Communion), Confession, Holy Anointing, Holy Orders, and Marriage — together with the Funeral and other liturgical rites proper to the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church. Sunday worship centers on the Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom, and the Mystery of Reconciliation is offered in the half-hour before Liturgy.
- Divine Liturgy and Holy Communion (Sunday)
- Mystery of Reconciliation (Confession)
- Other Mysteries available through the parish or South Anthracite Deanery clergy
Saint Mary's Ukrainian Catholic Cemetery
Saint Mary's Ukrainian Catholic Cemetery in Marion Heights (Find a Grave ID 2441072, Northumberland County) is associated with the parish and serves as the historic resting place of the Ruthenian and Ukrainian families who founded and built the community. It is also known by the alternate name 'Patronage Mother of God.'
- Cemetery of record for the parish's founding families
- Northumberland County, Pennsylvania
- Alternate name: Patronage Mother of God
Connection to the South Anthracite Deanery and the Archeparchy
Patronage of the Mother of God belongs to the South Anthracite Deanery of the Ukrainian Metropolitan Archeparchy of Philadelphia, the mother eparchy of Ukrainian Greek Catholics in the United States. The deanery brings together the Ukrainian Catholic parishes of the southern coal country — including Transfiguration of Our Lord in Shamokin, Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Centralia, parishes in Mount Carmel, and others — for shared pastoral coordination, clergy support, and deanery events. The Archeparchy traces its origins to the first Ukrainian Catholic priest in America, Father Ivan Voliansky, who arrived in Shamokin in 1884–1885, and now numbers more than 200 parishes across the United States.
- South Anthracite Deanery of the Archeparchy of Philadelphia
- Sister parishes include Transfiguration of Our Lord (Shamokin) and Assumption BVM (Centralia)
- The Archeparchy's roots go back to Father Ivan Voliansky's arrival in Shamokin in 1884
- Archeparchy now includes more than 200 Ukrainian Catholic parishes in the U.S.
Visiting and Contact
Parishioners and visitors can reach the parish office through the shared phone line with Transfiguration Parish in Shamokin (570-648-5932) and by email at [email protected]. The mailing address is 145 Melrose St., Marion Heights, PA 17832. Sunday Divine Liturgy is celebrated at 8:00 AM in English, and Confessions are heard a half hour before Liturgy. For deanery-level pastoral matters, the dean, Very Rev. Mark Fesniak, can be reached through the Archeparchy's Mount Carmel office at 131 North Beech Street, Mount Carmel, PA 17851 (570-339-0650).
- Address: 145 Melrose St., Marion Heights, PA 17832
- Phone: 570-648-5932
- Email: [email protected]
- Dean: Very Rev. Mark Fesniak — 131 North Beech St., Mount Carmel, PA 17851 — 570-339-0650
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Rev. Paul Spottsthrough 2025 (transitions to deanery-wide role)
Previously parochial vicar of Transfiguration (Shamokin) and Patronage of the Mother of God (Marion Heights); described by Metropolitan Borys Gudziak in January 2025 as 'a bedrock for the deanery' whose generosity, kindness, and joy would continue to be shared across the South Anthracite Deanery.
- Rev. Volodymyr ProkipchukJanuary 2025 – present
Introduced by Metropolitan Borys Gudziak on January 19, 2025 as the new parochial vicar for both Transfiguration Parish in Shamokin and Patronage of the Mother of God in Marion Heights. Born 1978 in Zhnibrody, Ternopil region; studied at the Ivano-Frankivsk Theological and Catechetical Institute and earned a licentiate in Canon Law from the Pontifical Oriental Institute; ordained 2005; previously administrator of St. Nicholas Parish in Stopchativ and judicial vicar of the Kolomyia Eparchy. He and his wife Mariya have three sons — Pavlo, Markiyan, and Volodymyr.