I had a question at the website about the status of SS Peter & Paul Russian Orthodox Church in Centralia, PA.

Can anyone provide information? Especially the jurisdiction and who would keep the parish records.

The following link (from last year) suggests that it is still open? [ http://www.oscette.com/centralia.htm ]

Thanks!

I've been to Centralia. SS. Peter & Paul was Metropolia/OCA. It closed around 1986 and is long gone; the cemetery is still there and I think takes new burials.

The church in the picture is the borough's lone remaining one (on the north hill), St Mary's (Assumption) Ukrainian Catholic Church, still open and served by a priest from a nearby town.

John,

Serge is correct.

The photo at that site, of St Mary (Assumption) UGCC, is consistently mislabeled all over the web as being Ss Peter & Paul Russian Orthodox Church. (I have spent a fair amount of time e-mailing webmasters to get it correctly labeled, with some success.)

I suspect that the misidentification happens because those taking pics of it do so after seeing Ss Peter & Paul RO Cemetery and just assume that the three-barred church in the distance must be Ss Peter & Paul. Nearly every photo of St Mary's is a telephoto shot, because its physical siting makes it difficult to shoot it up close. Ironically, from my own experience, the best place from which to make that shot is from the hill on the opposite side of town - standing directly in front of Ss Peter & Paul Cemetery, which undoubtedly contributes to the mistakes in labeling the pics.

Ss Peter & Paul was located on East Park St - almost directly below the hill on which its cemetery is located. It was closed in 1985, as a result of the fire.

I believe Serge is correct as to Ss Peter & Paul Cemetery accepting burials, although I don't remember what the most recent dates were when I was last there. The cemetery is still well-maintained (as are all those in the borough).

Your correspondent may be interested in a book containing transcriptions of the tombstone inscriptions for all 4 cemeteries in Centralia (including translations of the non-English epitaths from both Ss P&P and St Mary Assumption). It is available from Schuylkill Roots for $10.50 plus S&H; scroll down to the red cover illustration.

Were the parish still open, it would belong to the OCA's Diocese of Eastern Pennsylvania. As to the sacramental records, they are almost certainly maintained at St Michael's OCA in Mt Carmel, PA. It's the nearest OCA parish and there is an icon of Ss Peter & Paul at St Michael's, commemorating the former Centralia parish.

Contact info for St Michael's:

St Michael's Orthodox Church
131 N Willow St
Mount Carmel, PA 17851-1122

V. Rev. Michael Evans, Rector
Ph: 570-339-1200
Fax: 570-339-1890

Many years,

Neil