About St. John the Baptist [Ukrainian] · Kenmore, New York
St. John the Baptist is a Ukrainian Catholic (Byzantine Rite) parish in Kenmore, a northern suburb of Buffalo, New York, that traces its roots to the late 19th-century wave of Ukrainian immigration into the Black Rock neighborhood of Buffalo. Established in 1902 and currently administered by Rev. Mykola Drofych, the parish belongs to the Ukrainian Catholic Diocese (Eparchy) of Stamford and today serves descendants of early Ukrainian families, post-WWII immigrants and their children, recent newcomers, and Catholics drawn to the Byzantine style of Divine Liturgy. The parish moved from its original Germain Street location in Black Rock to a new church and rectory on Elmwood Avenue in 1981, and it remains an active center of Ukrainian Catholic worship, music, pyrohy sales, and community gatherings in Western New York.
- Established
- 1902
- Patron
- St. John the Baptist
- Rector
- Rev. Mykola Drofych
- Diocese
- Ukrainian Catholic Diocese (Eparchy) of Stamford
Why belong here
St. John the Baptist offers a rare Byzantine-Rite Catholic home in Western New York where Ukrainian heritage, English, and faith meet every week. Parishioners worship at two Sunday Divine Liturgies (9:00 a.m. in English and 10:30 a.m. in Ukrainian), gather for the parish's famous homemade pyrohy, the Christmas and Easter Bazaars, monthly coffee klatches, the spring Chicken Barbecue, and the well-attended Ukrainian Festival each September. With a pastor supported by an active Parish Council, Ladies Guild, and pyrohy workers, plus one of the finest church halls in the region, the parish blends deep immigrant-rooted tradition with a warm welcome to new arrivals and Catholics seeking Byzantine-style worship.
Mass times at St. John the Baptist [Ukrainian]
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- By appointment only
- 15 minutes prior to Divine Liturgy
- 15 minutes after Divine Liturgy
History of St. John the Baptist Ukrainian Catholic Church
The parish traces its beginnings to the late 1800s with the arrival in Buffalo of immigrants like Mychajlo Kotelec and Anna Skrobala Olear (Olijar) from Lemkivshchyna, who settled in the Black Rock neighborhood. On April 11, 1897 they organized the Brotherhood of St. John the Baptist, led by Mykola Seredynsky, to found a Ukrainian Catholic parish. The parish was officially established in 1902 with the help of Canadian priest Rev. Nestor Dmytriw, who celebrated Divine Liturgy in rented quarters on Amherst Street and then at Dory's Hall on Grant Street; about 25 families belonged at founding, and sacramental records go back to 1900.
- 1903 — Rev. Basil Hrywnak assigned as first rector; property purchased on Germain Street
- 1907 — Rev. John Velyhorsky assigned; first wood-framed church built by Andrew Konkevich
- 1908 — Bishop Soter Ortynsky (first U.S. Ukrainian Catholic Bishop) blesses the new church
- 1908 — Choir 'Boyan' organized (one of the first Ukrainian choirs in America)
- January 2, 1926 — Incorporated in New York State as St. John the Baptist Ruthenian Greek Catholic Church Society
- 1973 — Land purchased at Elmwood and Ferndale from Mount St. Mary Academy
- March 22, 1981 — Cornerstone of new church blessed by Bishop Basil Losten of Stamford
- April 21, 1989 — Name officially changed to St. John the Baptist Ukrainian Catholic Church
- 1991–1992 — New church hall built under Father Demetrius Laptuta, designed by Theodore Lownie
- 2002 — Centennial celebrated with Pontifical Liturgy led by Bishop Basil Losten
Building the New Church on Elmwood Avenue
As Black Rock's demographics changed, the parish decided to relocate. In 1973 it bought land at the corner of Elmwood Avenue and Ferndale Avenue in the Town of Tonawanda from Mount St. Mary Academy, and the site was dedicated July 27, 1980. The present church and adjoining rectory were constructed in 1981 by Picone Construction Company to designs by architects Harold Fenno and Frank Vacanti; the cornerstone was blessed by Bishop Basil Losten of Stamford on March 22, 1981.
- Site dedication: July 27, 1980
- General contractor: Picone Construction Company
- Architects: Harold Fenno and Frank Vacanti
- Cornerstone blessing: March 22, 1981 by Bishop Basil Losten, Eparchy of Stamford
- Building Committee: Dr. Michael Saikewicz, Jerome Szczublewski, Jaroslav Bilyj, William Berezuk, Michael Piatak, Stephen Harasym, Anna Olear, Irene Hnatyk, George Voychak
The Church Hall
Under the leadership of Father Demetrius Laptuta, groundbreaking for the parish's new social hall took place on August 11, 1991. Designed by Theodore Lownie of Hamilton, Houston, Lownie Architects LLC and completed in 1992, the hall is dedicated to the memory of Mr. Nick Ivancic, Mrs. Katherine Ivancic, and Ms. Olga Slotiuk, whose very generous contributions made construction possible. According to the parish's own history, this church hall is one of the finest in the Western New York area and serves as the gathering place for bazaars, the Ukrainian Festival, coffee klatches, and pyrohy sales.
- Groundbreaking: August 11, 1991
- Completed: 1992
- Architect: Theodore Lownie, Hamilton, Houston, Lownie Architects LLC
- Dedicated in memory of Nick Ivancic, Katherine Ivancic, and Olga Slotiuk
Sacraments
Confession is heard by appointment only, plus 15 minutes before and 15 minutes after each Divine Liturgy. For the Sacrament of the Sick, parishioners are asked to notify the rectory when a family member is hospitalized, homebound, or in a nursing home. Sacramental records (baptisms, marriages, funerals) at the parish have been kept continuously since 1900.
- Confession: by appointment, 15 minutes before Liturgy, 15 minutes after Liturgy
- Anointing of the Sick: notify the rectory for the hospitalized/homebound
- Baptism, Marriage, and Funeral records on file since 1900
Parish Ministries & Organizations
Parish life at St. John the Baptist has long been carried by a constellation of brotherhoods, sisterhoods, and lay societies. The Brotherhood of St. John the Baptist (founded 1897, now Branch 15 of the Ukrainian National Association) established the parish; the Sisterhood of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary was officially established July 26, 1921; and the Ladies Guild was organized in November 1972 with Alda Malast as its first president. Today the Ladies Guild, the pyrohy workers, the Parish Council, and the choir 'Boyan' are among the active groups sustaining parish life.
- Brotherhood of St. John the Baptist (1897)
- Sisterhood of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary (1921)
- Ladies Guild (1972) — runs bazaars, coffee klatches, pyrohy sales
- Parish Council
- Pyrohy (pirogie) Workers — parish-kitchen fundraiser (~50 years running)
- Choir 'Boyan' (founded 1908)
- Altar Boys Society
- Ukrainian Catholic Youth League
- Theatrical Group, Dance Group, Baseball Team, Bowling Teams, Young Couples Club, Sodality
Parish Fundraisers, Festivals & Traditions
Two threads of parish fundraising have run side-by-side for decades: the Christmas and Easter Bazaars organized by the Ladies Guild since 1972, and the parish-kitchen pyrohy (pirogie) sales — cheese, potato, and sauerkraut — that have helped fund renovations, improvements, and new construction across roughly 50 years. Other beloved annual traditions are the first-Sunday-of-the-month coffee klatch after Liturgy, the annual Chicken Barbecue that began in the 1980s, and the Ukrainian Festival held in early September, now well attended by family and friends from Western New York and Southern Ontario, Canada.
- Christmas Bazaar and Easter Bazaar (Ladies Guild, since 1972)
- Monthly coffee klatch (first Sunday after Liturgy)
- Pyrohy sales — cheese, potato, sauerkraut
- Annual Chicken Barbecue (since the 1980s)
- Annual Ukrainian Festival (early September)
Parish Staff & Leadership
St. John the Baptist is currently administered by Rev. Mykola Drofych. Parish lay leadership is provided through a Parish Council chaired by the pastor. The parish's temporal affairs are shepherded by elected trustees and a treasurer, with broader ministry carried out by the Ladies Guild, the pyrohy workers, and other parish organizations described in the histories and bulletins of the parish.
- Pastor/Administrator: Rev. Mykola Drofych
- Trustee: Mrs. Maria Duncan
- Trustee: Mr. Stephan Swiatkiwsky
- Treasurer: Miss Julia Hrubiak
- Parish Council (chaired by the pastor)
- Office phone/text: (716) 873-5011
Byzantine Ukrainian Catholic Identity
St. John the Baptist is part of the Ukrainian Catholic Diocese (Eparchy) of Stamford and belongs to the worldwide Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, whose Patriarch is Patriarch Sviatoslav Shevchuk in Kyiv, Ukraine. The parish's Byzantine Rite worship descends from the Christianization of the Ukrainian people in 988 under Volodymyr the Great; services preserve strong Greek and Byzantine influences, and the parish today welcomes worshippers of the Ukrainian Catholic Rite and the Byzantine Catholic Rite, descendants of original parishioners, post-WWII immigrants, recent newcomers, and anyone drawn to Byzantine-style Divine Liturgy.
- Byzantine (Greek) Catholic Rite
- Eparchy: Ukrainian Catholic Diocese of Stamford (Bishop Paul Chomnycky, OSBM, per connected Stamford sites)
- Metropolitan Archeparchy: Philadelphia
- Patriarch: Sviatoslav Shevchuk, Kyiv, Ukraine
- Welcomes Ukrainian Catholics, Byzantine Catholics, and English-speaking attendees
Visit, Contact & Directions
The parish church and rectory sit at 3275 Elmwood Avenue, Kenmore, NY 14217, on the corner of Elmwood Avenue and Ferndale Avenue in the Town of Tonawanda. Visitors and parishioners are encouraged to arrive for Divine Liturgy, to attend the monthly coffee klatch, or to stop by the church hall during bazaar and pyrohy sale days. The parish office can be reached by phone or text at (716) 873-5011 (email [email protected]), with ample parking available behind the church via a lot accessible from Ferndale Avenue.
- Address: 3275 Elmwood Avenue, Kenmore, NY 14217
- Phone/text: (716) 873-5011
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: https://www.stjohnucckenmore.org
- Parking: behind the church, lot accessed from Ferndale Avenue
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Rev. Nestor Dmytriw1902 (founding, visiting from Canada)
Celebrated Divine Liturgy in rented quarters on Amherst Street and at Dory's Hall on Grant Street for the immigrant community before formal assignment.
- Rev. Basil Hrywnak1903–
First rector assigned to Ukrainians of Buffalo; led organizational meetings and the purchase of property on Germain Street.
- Rev. John Velyhorsky1907–
Built the first wood-framed church on Germain Street with Andrew Konkevich, and the first rectory in 1909.
- Rev. John Zuck1923–1971
Longest-tenured pastor; remodeled the church in brick veneer, built the parish hall in 1924, and shepherded the parish for nearly five decades.
- Rev. Demetrius Laptuta
Oversaw the groundbreaking (August 11, 1991) and 1992 completion of the new church hall dedicated to the Ivancic and Slotiuk families.