St. John the Baptist Byzantine Catholic Cathedral is the mother church of

Byzantine Catholic Metropolitan Church of Pittsburgh The Byzantine Catholic Metropolis of Pittsburgh ( la, Pittsburgensis ritus byzantini) is a metropolitan province for Eastern Catholics of the Byzantine Rite in the United States of America, with specific jurisdiction over several communities th ...

, the

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

branch of the

Ruthenian Catholic Church Ruthenian Catholic Church may refer to: * Ruthenian Uniate Church, a historical Eastern Catholic jurisdiction during the early modern period * Belarusian Greek Catholic Church, representing modern branch of the Ruthenian Uniate Church, in Belarus ...

. It is located at 210 Greentree Road in

Munhall, Pennsylvania Munhall is a borough in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, on the west bank of the Monongahela River, south of the confluence of the Monongahela and the Allegheny rivers where the Ohio River begins. It abuts the borough of Homestead. ...

, a suburb of

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

in the

Monongahela River The Monongahela River ( , )—often referred to locally as the Mon ()—is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed August 15, 2011 river on the Allegheny Plateau in North Cen ...

valley.

History

Beginning in the 1880s, tens of thousands of

Rusyns Rusyns (), also known as Carpatho-Rusyns (), or Rusnaks (), are an East Slavs, East Slavic ethnic group from the Carpathian Rus', Eastern Carpathians in Central Europe. They speak Rusyn language, Rusyn, an East Slavic languages, East Slavi ...

from the

Carpathian Mountains The Carpathian Mountains or Carpathians () are a range of mountains forming an arc across Central Europe. Roughly long, it is the third-longest European mountain range after the Urals at and the Scandinavian Mountains at . The range stretches ...

flocked to Pittsburgh to work in its steel industry, especially

Andrew Carnegie Andrew Carnegie (, ; November 25, 1835August 11, 1919) was a Scottish-American industrialist and philanthropist. Carnegie led the expansion of the American steel industry in the late 19th century and became one of the richest Americans i ...

's large

steel mill A steel mill or steelworks is an industrial plant for the manufacture of steel. It may be an integrated steel works carrying out all steps of steelmaking from smelting iron ore to rolled product, but may also be a plant where steel semi-finish ...

at Homestead, Pennsylvania. In 1894—two years after the infamous and bloody Homestead Strike—the large Rusyn community of Homestead met to discuss the formation of a church. In January 1897 the new church was officially chartered and dedicated as St. John the Baptist Greek Catholic Church.

The first cathedral, 1903

In need of a larger church, in the summer of 1902 two lots were acquired on the corner of Tenth and Dicksons Streets in the newly created (from Homestead)

borough A borough is an administrative division in various English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History In the Middle Ag ...

of Munhall. It was designed by the Hungarian-born

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

Titus de Bobula Titus de Bobula (1878–1961) was a Hungarian-American architect. He was born in Hungary to János Bobula, Sr. (1844–1903), a Budapest architect and politician, and he studied at Budapest University of Technology and Economics, along with ...

, and patterned after the Rusyn Greek Catholic Cathedral of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross in Uzhhorod,

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

. The church's twin towers, which rise , are composed of white brick in a Greek cruciform pattern set into sandstone. They rise . The church was dedicated on December 27, 1903 under Co-Adjutor Bishop

Regis Canevin John Francis Regis Canevin (June 5, 1853 – March 22, 1927) was an American prelate of the Catholic Church. He served as bishop of the Diocese of Pittsburgh in Pennsylvania from 1904 to 1921. Biography Early life Regis Canevin was born at ...

of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh, which then had jurisdiction over Greek Catholics in its region. The congregation grew to more than 700 families in the 1920s. In 1929 it was chosen as the cathedral for the newly created Ruthenian Greek Catholic Exarchate in America. The historic structure was the first cathedral in America exclusively for Carpatho-Rusyns. In the 1950s the parish began the task of renovating and modernizing the Cathedral. While the renovation progressed,

Divine Liturgy Divine Liturgy ( grc-gre, Θεία Λειτουργία, Theia Leitourgia) or Holy Liturgy is the Eucharistic service of the Byzantine Rite, developed from the Antiochene Rite of Christian liturgy which is that of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of C ...

was held in the school auditorium. Msgr. John Gernat, who served as rector from 1959 to 1963, completed the renovation.

The second cathedral, 1993

Msgr. Judson Procyk became the rector of the Cathedral parish on July 18, 1973. As rector, Msgr. Procyk led a plan to relocate the parish and build a brand new Cathedral. In 1978, the parish acquired of property off Greentree Road in Munhall and built the current Cathedral, which was completed in 1993. In 2004, the 1903 Cathedral was sold to the

Carpatho-Rusyn Society The Carpatho-Rusyn Society (C-RS; rue, Карпато-Русинськоє Общество) is a non-profit cultural organization located in the United States dedicated to promoting Carpatho-Rusyn culture and history. It was established in Pitts ...

, which uses it for its headquarters and as a cultural center.

References

* * *

External links

Official Cathedral Site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint John the Baptist Byzantine Catholic Cathedral, Pittsburgh Byzantine Catholic Metropolia of Pittsburgh Ruthenian Catholic cathedrals in the United States Eastern Catholic churches in Pennsylvania Roman Catholic churches in Pennsylvania Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation Historic Landmarks Churches in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania Rusyn-American culture in Pennsylvania Rusyn-American history Cathedrals in Pittsburgh Eastern Catholic cathedrals in Pennsylvania Church buildings with domes Churches completed in 1903 Churches completed in 1993

History

The first cathedral, 1903

The second cathedral, 1993

See also

References

External links