About St. Nicholas [Ruthenian] · Perryopolis, Pennsylvania
St. Nicholas Byzantine Catholic Church is a Ruthenian (Carpatho-Rusyn) Catholic parish in Perryopolis, Fayette County, Pennsylvania, belonging to the Byzantine Catholic Archeparchy of Pittsburgh. It was organized in 1911 by Slavic immigrants who had walked up to 13 miles to worship at St. Stephen's in Leisenring, and it takes its name from St. Nicholas — patron of the Rusyns — in gratitude for lives saved at the 1907 Darr Mine disaster. The yellow-brick Byzantine Revival church, completed in 1918 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1997, is a small but architecturally striking landmark on the corner of Liberty and Railroad Streets. Father Oleh Seremchuk, a native of Ukraine, has served as pastor since 2016.
- Established
- 1911
- Patron
- St. Nicholas (patron of the Rusyns)
- Rector
- Father Oleh Seremchuk
- Diocese
- Byzantine Catholic Archeparchy of Pittsburgh (Ruthenian Metropolitanate sui juris); geographically within the territory of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Greensburg.
Why belong here
St. Nicholas is a small but deeply rooted Ruthenian Byzantine Catholic parish — one that still bears the memory of the Rusyn miners and immigrants who built it more than a century ago, and whose pastor (a native of Ukraine) actively keeps the parish connected to the wider Carpatho-Rusyn and Eastern Christian world, including outreach to war-affected Ukrainian communities. Worshippers join a parish with a historic Byzantine-Rite Divine Liturgy celebrated in the dignified setting of a National Register–listed church with onion domes, bronze bells, and a chandelier from the Old Country. It is an intimate, prayerful community where Confession is readily available before Liturgy and where the Great Fast is observed together.
Mass times at St. Nicholas [Ruthenian]
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Sunday 7:45 am – 8:15 am
- By appointment
History of St. Nicholas Parish
The parish traces its roots to Rusyn (Carpatho-Rusyn) and other Slavic immigrants who settled in Fayette County, Pennsylvania, at the turn of the 20th century to work the region's coal mines. Before having their own church, the faithful walked as far as 13 miles to St. Stephen's Greek Catholic Church in Leisenring, founded in 1892 by Father Alexander Dzubay — the first Greek Catholic parish west of the Allegheny Mountains. Father Dzubay began celebrating Divine Services once a month in the Star Junction public school, and in 1911 the community formally organized itself as St. Nicholas parish in Perryopolis. The parish was officially incorporated as the Greek Catholic Church of St. Nicholas on September 6, 1920.
Why the Name 'St. Nicholas'
The parish was dedicated to St. Nicholas for two intertwined reasons: St. Nicholas is the patron saint of the Slavs and especially of the Rusyns, and the disaster at the nearby Darr Mine in Jacobs Creek on December 19, 1907 (Old Calendar / Julian Feast of St. Nicholas) killed 239 coal miners. The memory was still vivid among the founders: many church members' lives were saved because they had stayed away from the mine that day to attend church. The dedication was thus both a spiritual and a memorial act of thanksgiving.
- Patron: St. Nicholas of Myra
- Feast remembered: December 19 (Old Calendar)
- Disaster commemorated: 1907 Darr Mine explosion, Jacobs Creek, PA
The Church Building
Construction of the church began in May 1917 on property at the corner of Liberty and Railroad Streets, while services continued in the parish house and then the basement. The building was completed in time for worship at Easter 1918. Designed in the Byzantine Revival style, the church is a 30-by-60-foot yellow-brick structure on a cruciform (three-bar cross) plan facing east, crowned by onion domes carrying three-bar crosses atop three towers. The main tower houses three bronze bells named St. Nicholas (1,300 lb, G#/Ab), St. John the Baptist (550 lb, C), and St. Michael (250 lb, D#/Eb); the bell is rung in unison by two people. The interior features a central crystal chandelier imported from Czechoslovakia and hand-painted murals.
- Architectural style: Byzantine Revival
- Plan: three-bar cross, facing east
- Towers: three, topped with onion domes and three-bar crosses
- Bell: rung in unison by two people
- Interior: crystal chandelier from Czechoslovakia, hand-painted murals
National Register of Historic Places
St. Nicholas Byzantine Catholic Church of Perryopolis was placed in the National Register of Historic Places on November 7, 1997 (reference No. 97001247), recognizing its historical, architectural, and cultural significance as one of the distinctive Rusyn-built Byzantine-Rite churches of southwestern Pennsylvania.
Divine Liturgy & Holy Mysteries
St. Nicholas is a Byzantine (Ruthenian) Catholic parish, so its principal Sunday service is the Divine Liturgy rather than the Roman Rite Mass. Sacramental life is administered in the Byzantine tradition, with regular opportunities for Confession before Liturgy and by appointment, and with Marriage (Crowning) and Anointing of the Sick arranged through the rectory.
Clergy & Staff
St. Nicholas is pastored by Father Oleh Seremchuk, a native of Ukraine appointed by the Byzantine Catholic Archeparchy of Pittsburgh on May 27, 2016. Effective January 1, 2017, Father Seremchuk was also named administrator of St. John the Baptist Byzantine Catholic Church in Scottdale, PA, while continuing as pastor of Perryopolis. Father Seremchuk and his family have remained active in outreach to Ukraine during the ongoing war, helping to send donated items and messages to a Catholic orphanage in western Ukraine.
- Pastor: Rev. Oleh Seremchuk (since 2016)
- Additional assignment: Administrator, St. John the Baptist Byzantine Catholic Church, Scottdale, PA
Parish Property & Grounds
The present parish property consists of the church, the rectory (built in 1965), a picnic pavilion built by the men of the parish about twenty years later, the picnic area, the parking lot, three lots behind the church, and the parish cemetery. The grounds continue to host parish social and fundraising life around the church building.
- Church (1917–1918)
- Rectory (1965)
- Picnic pavilion (c. 1985)
- Parking lot
- Three lots behind the church
- Parish cemetery
Visit, Contact & Getting Involved
Parishioners and visitors can reach the rectory by phone, email, or Facebook, and are warmly invited to attend Sunday Divine Liturgy, arrive early to take advantage of the Sunday Confession slot, and contact the pastor for Marriage or Anointing. As a small historic parish, St. Nicholas offers the chance to be part of an intimate Byzantine-Rite community with deep Rusyn roots and direct pastoral links to Ukraine.
- Rectory phone: (724) 736-4344
- Email: [email protected]
- Parish Facebook page (official link via archeparchy listing)
- Sunday Divine Liturgy at 8:30 am; Confessions 7:45–8:15 am
- Address: 102 Railroad Street, Perryopolis, PA 15473
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Father Alexander Dzubaybefore 1911–c. 1917
Served the surrounding mission faithful from St. Stephen's in Leisenring, celebrating monthly Divine Services in the Star Junction public school until St. Nicholas was organized.
- Father Julius Vojtovyčc. 1920s
Listed as the priest of St. Nicholas Greek Catholic Church, Perryopolis, in a 1921 parish-school photograph of jasličkari (Christmas carolers).
- Rev. Oleh SeremchukMay 27, 2016 – present
Appointed pastor of St. Nicholas, Perryopolis, by the Byzantine Catholic Archeparchy of Pittsburgh; native of Ukraine.