Mount Saint Macrina is the site of the largest
pilgrimage
A pilgrimage is a journey, often into an unknown or foreign place, where a person goes in search of new or expanded meaning about their self, others, nature, or a higher good, through the experience. It can lead to a personal transformation, aft ...
among
Ruthenian Byzantine Catholic The term Greek Catholic Church can refer to a number of Eastern Catholic Churches following the Byzantine (Greek) liturgy, considered collectively or individually.
The terms Greek Catholic, Greek Catholic church or Byzantine Catholic, Byzantine Ca ...
s in
North America
North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...
. It is also home to the
monastery
A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer which ...
of Byzantine Catholic Order of Sisters of St. Basil.
History
Established in 1933 by Mother
Macrina Melnychuk (1879-1948) near
Uniontown, Pennsylvania
Uniontown is a city in Fayette County, Pennsylvania, United States, southeast of Pittsburgh and part of the Greater Pittsburgh Region. The population was 10,372 at the 2010 census, down from 12,422 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat and ...
, the pilgrimage takes place each
Labor Day
Labor Day is a federal holiday in the United States celebrated on the first Monday in September to honor and recognize the American labor movement and the works and contributions of laborers to the development and achievements of the United St ...
weekend on the grounds of the Basilian monastery there, drawing more than 30,000. Mount Saint Macrina, named for
Saint Basil
Basil of Caesarea, also called Saint Basil the Great ( grc, Ἅγιος Βασίλειος ὁ Μέγας, ''Hágios Basíleios ho Mégas''; cop, Ⲡⲓⲁⲅⲓⲟⲥ Ⲃⲁⲥⲓⲗⲓⲟⲥ; 330 – January 1 or 2, 379), was a bishop of Ca ...
's sister,
Saint Macrina, was formally dedicated in 1934.
Once named Oak Hill, it was the estate (more than 1,000 acres) of coal baron J.V. Thompson (Josiah Van Kirk Thompson), a leading figure in the great
coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen.
Coal is formed when dea ...
and
coke boom of the late 19th century. Financial misfortune forced him into bankruptcy, and in 1933 the Byzantine Catholic Order of Sisters of St. Basil acquired the property. The Thompson mansion, visible from
U.S. Route 40
U.S. Route 40 or U.S. Highway 40 (US 40), also known as the Main Street of America, is a major east–west United States Highway traveling across the United States from the Mountain States to the Mid-Atlantic States. As with most routes wh ...
, is now the Sisters' retreat center.
The monastery for the community of sisters is a five-story yellow brick building at the north end of the property. An international Order, other groups of the Sisters of St. Basil are spread throughout the world. The newest building on the property is Mount Macrina Manor Nursing Home, dedicated in 1971. Today, the Thompson Mansion serves as a retreat center.
Brothers of Prayers previously held their weekly prayer gathering on the Mount Saint Macrina grounds originally in the Trinity Center and eventually the House of Prayer chapel. The Brothers have moved to St. Thérèse de Lisieux Church, 61 Mill Street, Uniontown, PA. Tuesday evenings from 7:00 to 8:15 PM EST.
In 1999, the Department of the Interior named Mount Saint Macrina to the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...
under its old name of "Oak Hill Estate."
Burials
*
Basil Takach, in the
cemetery
A cemetery, burial ground, gravesite or graveyard is a place where the remains of dead people are buried or otherwise interred. The word ''cemetery'' (from Greek , "sleeping place") implies that the land is specifically designated as a buri ...
of Mount Saint Macrina Monastery
*
Stephen Kocisko
Stephen John Kocisko (June 11, 1915 – March 7, 1995) was the first Metropolitan Archbishop of the Byzantine Catholic Metropolitan Church of Pittsburgh, the American branch of the Ruthenian Greek Catholic Church
Early life
Born June 11, 191 ...
, in the cemetery of Mount Saint Macrina Monastery
*
Thomas Dolinay Thomas Victor Dolinay (July 24, 1923 – April 13, 1993) was the second Metropolitan Archbishop of the Byzantine Catholic Metropolitan Church of Pittsburgh, the American branch of the Ruthenian Catholic Church.
Early life
Born July 24 to Rusy ...
, in the cemetery of Mount Saint Macrina Monastery
*
Basil Schott
Basil Myron Schott (September 21, 1939 – June 10, 2010) was the Archbishop of the Byzantine Catholic Archeparchy of Pittsburgh from 2002 until his death.
The youngest son of Michael Schott and Mary Schott (née Krusko), Basil Schott was born i ...
*
George Kuzma
George Martin Kuzma (July 24, 1925 – December 7, 2008) was an American bishop of the Ruthenian Greek Catholic Church.
At the age of 29, Kuzma was ordained as a priest. He was appointed auxiliary bishop of Passaic in New Jersey on November 11, ...
Albert N Skomra - who lived nearby and loved to go for a run on the grounds- is now buried there
References
Further reading
*
External links
Reverend Mother M. Macrina Melnychuk, O.S.B.M. - The Carpathian ConnectionMount Saint Macrina websiteByzantine Catholic Archeparchy of Pittsburgh website
{{National Register of Historic Places
Christianity in Pittsburgh
Eastern Catholicism in Pennsylvania
Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Pennsylvania
Neoclassical architecture in Pennsylvania
Houses in Fayette County, Pennsylvania
National Register of Historic Places in Fayette County, Pennsylvania