www.byzcath.org Forums Faith & Christian Life Parish Life & Evangelization St. John the Baptist ROCOR Parish, Mayfield, Pa.- YouTube

The origin of the rather unusual tomb, and the custom of the Procession with the Holy Gifts on Pascha, is probably obscured by the mists of time. However, the Austro-Hungarian authorities certainly liked it and encouraged it (Catholicism in Austria-Hungary tended toward the baroque anyway) and it persisted for a long time in parishes of vaguely Austro-Hungarian derivation in the USA. In larger churches one could find some interesting, even bizarre, phenomena associated with it - an electric waterfall was often a prominent feature, as were "paramilitary" guards wearing most elaborate uniforms. Donald Attwater reported finding cages of live birds on such tombs in a few cases.

Fr. Serge

This message is to Deacon Robert Behrens and John K. regarding St. John's in Mayfield and OCA/ROCOR status. St. John's in Mayfield actually left ROCOR in 1951 for OCA and in 1982 returned home to the ROCOR. This info can be found in orthodoxwiki.org/rocor_and_oca.

ROCOR & OCA Community Transfers
Year Community From To
1951 St. John the Baptist Cathedral (Mayfield, PA) ROCOR OCA
1964 Protection of the Holy Virgin (Ottawa, Canada) ROCOR OCA
1970 Protection of the Holy Virgin (Ottawa, Canada) OCA ROCOR
1971 St. Nicholas Church (Bankstown, New South Wales, Australia) ROCOR OCA
1972 Holy Ghost Church (Bridgeport, CT) OCA ROCOR
1976 Bp. Kyrill and the Bulgarian Diocese:

* St. Nicholas Church (Fort Wayne, IN)
* St. Nicholas Church (Burton, MI)
* St. Paul Cathedral (Dearborn Heights, MI)
* St. Elia the Prophet Church (Akron, OH)
* Ss. Cyril and Methodius Church (Lorain, OH)
* St. George Cathedral (Rossford, OH)
* Holy Ghost Church (Youngstown, OH)
* St. John Rilski Church (Niagara Falls, ON)
* St. George Church (Toronto, ON)

ROCOR OCA
1977 Holy Ghost Church (Bridgeport, CT) ROCOR OCA
1982 St. John the Baptist Cathedral (Mayfield, PA) OCA ROCOR
1982 St. Basil the Great (Simpson, PA) OCA ROCOR
1982 St. Stephen (Old Forge, PA) OCA ROCOR
1997 Monastery of the Glorious Ascension (Resaca, GA) OCA ROCOR

Dear Anya,

I had checked up on the parish history. Mayfield is right next to my town, Jermyn. There is a plaque on the wall in the vestibule of the church signed by Met. Vitaly of Blessed Memory. If memory serves me correctly, it states that the parish was originally "uniate", but returned to Orthodoxy. I remember reading in the parish history that they affiliated with ROCOR in the aftermath of the Bolshevik Revolution, but then when over to the "Russian Metropolia" (i.e. the Russian Orthodox Greek Catholic Church-now OCA) in 1951. The left OCA in 1982, because, from what I am told, of the adoption of the new calendar for fixed feast days. I know of at least one family in that parish that originally belonged to my parish, Holy Ghost Byzantine Catholic Church (Carpatho-Rusyn)in Jessup, and left us when the Julian calendar was abandoned. They went over to the local UGCC parish (Sts. Cyril & Methodius, Olyphant), but then left there when UGCC switched to the new calendar, ending up in Mayfield. No doubt if Mayfield stayed in OCA, they may have gone to the ROCOR parish in Simpson (St. Basil's), the Patriarchal Russian church in Scranton (Sts. Peter & Paul), or the Ukrainian Orthodox parish in Scranton (St. Michael's). There is a lot of possibilities in my area for those attached to the Julian Calendar!

In Christ,
Dn. Robert

Dear Anya,

I actually grew up in Fords, Woodbridge Twp., N.J. Our house was in front of a cemetery of a Russian Orthodox church-St. Spiridon's of Perth Amboy, N.J. All during the time I lived there, St. Spiridon's was a ROCOR parish. I have been out of N.J. since 2000. My friends back home tell me that St. Spiridon's is now OCA-affiliated. I am wondering why it's not on the above list?

In Christ,
Dn. Robert