Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
We all experience the reality that, although we belong to the one Church and have the same Lord everywhere, the circumstances of life in Ukrainian church communities in the United States of America often differ from those in Ukraine and even in Europe. This applies both to pastoral approaches and to financial matters, which in the United States are particularly demanding and strictly regulated. A distinct challenge also remains the need for clergy who are able to serve our communities in two languages. The harvest is truly great, but are there many who are ready to follow the Lord and serve Him with perseverance?
Thanks be to God, through our shared efforts a great deal has been accomplished in revitalizing parish communities throughout the entire Eparchy of St. Nicholas. It is encouraging to note that the majority of our parishes have reached a new level in their functioning and in their service to others. In particular, it is impossible to list all the sacrificial work our communities have carried out in support of Ukraine during this dreadful war.
The renewal of our parish life has been made possible by several important factors. First of all, over the past eight years, Bishop Benedict has ordained or received into the eparchy seven priests born in the United States, and has also ordained approximately fifteen deacons who are likewise native to this country. During this same period, the Eparchy of St. Nicholas has been enriched by a significant number of local clergy, while approximately ten priests have arrived from Ukraine. All of them have integrated harmoniously into the life of our parish communities.
In recent years, we have also been able to make notable improvements in the area of church facilities. A new church has been built in Palatine, Illinois, and a church building and property have been acquired in Richmond, Illinois, where a substantial number of our faithful reside nearby. New mission communities have been established in Austin, Texas; Portland, Oregon; Cody and Casper, Wyoming; and Kalispell, Montana, and our mission in Hawaii has also been restored. In these locations, our communities generally celebrate the Divine Liturgy in Roman Catholic churches.
The restoration of the more than century-old Cathedral of St. Nicholas in Chicago is currently underway, and the construction of a new church is in progress in San Diego, California, for the local parish community, which previously sold its property due to the need to relocate. All of this is a great blessing from God for all of us, as we open and establish new communities and spaces for common prayer and pastoral ministry.
At the same time, alongside these successes, as is always the case in life, there have also been objective difficulties. In particular, the eparchy was compelled to sell the property of the mission in Ukiah, California, since the local community was small and for many years showed virtually no growth. Throughout that time, the Eparchy of St. Nicholas independently covered the loan taken out to purchase this property, as the community itself was unable to meet these financial obligations. Ultimately, a solution was found: pastoral ministry was transferred to the Monastery of the Transfiguration of the Lord, located 19 miles away—a distance that, by American standards, is not considered significant.
Recently, the property of St. Michael the Archangel Parish in Chicago was also sold. For the bishop and for all of us in the curia, this was one of the most painful and difficult decisions taken in recent years. It is symbolic that after his arrival in Chicago, Bishop Benedict celebrated his first Sunday Divine Liturgy not in the cathedral, but precisely in this church.
From 2002 to 2023, this parish was served by an English-speaking priest, Father John Lucas. Over the past eight years, both the laity and the clergy of our eparchy repeatedly drew Bishop Benedict’s attention to the fact that maintaining this church no longer made practical sense given the absence of the faithful. On average, approximately ten people were present at Sunday services.
We spoke with the priest on numerous occasions regarding the condition of this community. He sincerely acknowledged that he was unable to change the situation, as people simply did not wish to come to church. Despite the priest being fully English-speaking, none of the surrounding English-speaking individuals joined the parish. The small group of regular attendees lacked the financial capacity to support the parish. For this reason, for nearly twenty years the Eparchy of St. Nicholas was obliged to provide financial support to this community and its pastor; moreover, various charitable organizations in Chicago also provided assistance on multiple occasions.
Throughout all these years, the bishop prayed, reflected, and sought possible solutions to this difficult situation. Various ideas and initiatives emerged, but none were implemented in a meaningful way, as neither lay faithful nor a priest could be found who were willing to assume responsibility and begin concrete, long-term pastoral work in these challenging circumstances.
Eventually, Father Liubomyr Mandziuk arrived in our eparchy from Ukraine and resided in the city of Grand Rapids, Michigan. At the same time, Father Lucas retired from active ministry, and Father Liubomyr expressed his readiness to serve in this parish. Together with his wife, children, and several other individuals, he courageously undertook this work.
Thanks to the shared efforts of the priest, his family, and parishioners from other communities of our eparchy, the rectory—which had remained vacant for decades—was restored, the church and the underchurch hall were renovated, and the roof was partially repaired. With full responsibility we can state that, as a Church community, we invested at least 50,000 US dollars into this property, not including the substantial amount of volunteer labor contributed by faithful from other parishes.
To this day, we do not have complete certainty that this decision was entirely the right one. Perhaps these funds could have been more appropriately directed toward assistance for Ukraine or toward the construction of new churches in places where communities are genuinely growing. We asked the few members of this parish to support Father Liubomyr. At that time, we all hoped that if the faithful had not come to an English-speaking priest, then with the arrival of a priest from Ukraine, Ukrainian-speaking parishioners—of whom there are many in Chicago and the surrounding areas—would begin to join the community.
During this period, Bishop Benedict addressed all parishes in Chicago and the surrounding area with an official letter, openly presenting the real situation of St. Michael the Archangel Parish. In this letter, it was clearly emphasized that “in the event of the continued absence of the faithful, the urgent question of closing the parish will arise, since maintaining property without a living parish community is impossible” (Pastoral Letter of 2024 regarding St. Michael the Archangel Parish).
Considerable effort was invested in restoring the church and the surrounding property. Unfortunately, because of the church’s location, even the small group of five to ten people who attended services for a period of time eventually stopped coming. In recent months, the situation reached the point where on Sundays only Father Liubomyr and his family prayed in the church. No members of the faithful came to the Divine Liturgy. If previously English-speaking faithful did not attend, later—regrettably—Ukrainian-speaking faithful also did not come.
The situation truly became a deadlock. For this reason, the bishop brought the matter of St. Michael the Archangel Parish for consideration at three levels of eparchial governance.
First, it was discussed at the College of Eparchial Consultors, consisting of six members of the curia clergy. Subsequently, the issue was presented to a broader body of clergy—the Presbyteral Council, composed of twelve members. Finally, the opinion of the Financial Council was heard; this body consists of eight members, six of whom are lay faithful. At the meetings of all these councils, the real condition of St. Michael the Archangel Parish was thoroughly analyzed. Ultimately, all three councils, independently of one another, reached the same conclusion: the parish must be closed, and the property must be sold.
Such is the reality of Church life in the United States: we often purchase churches that were dear and valuable to other communities, and at the same time, other communities purchase our churches. Why, then, are parishes closed and church properties sold in the United States? First of all, one must understand that the experience of Ukraine or Europe simply does not apply here.
The American reality is one of constant mobility. According to publicly available sources, over the course of a lifetime the average American changes their place of residence approximately eight to eleven times—moving from one neighborhood to another, from city to city, or from one state to another. Let us imagine a situation in which a Ukrainian community builds a church, and after 20–30 years most of its members, or their children, have relocated to entirely different areas.
As a result, in most parishes of our Eparchy the faithful are required to travel distances of 10 to 30 miles in order to reach their church. For example, many parishioners of St. Nicholas Cathedral or the Church of Saints Volodymyr and Olha in Chicago live a considerable distance from their churches. In Houston, Texas, the closest parishioners live at least 20–30 miles from the church. A similar situation exists in the majority of parishes of the Eparchy of St. Nicholas.
There are also circumstances in which, over time, the very neighborhood in which a church is located changes dramatically. For this reason, it is extremely important that parish communities give timely consideration to the possibility of relocating. A telling example is the Parish of the Nativity of the Most Holy Mother of God in Palos Park, which was located near the aforementioned Parish of St. Michael the Archangel. It made a difficult but farsighted decision in due time: the property was sold and the community was transferred to a new and more promising location.
In contrast, when such a decision is not made in a timely manner, the Parish of St. Michael the Archangel gradually fell into decline. Regrettably, no efforts—whether by the Eparchy, by Ukrainian charitable organizations, or by the wider Ukrainian community—produced the desired results. It was not possible to revive this community, as no one can be compelled to attend a church, and the faithful from other parishes were simply not prepared to travel regularly to this neighborhood and attend this holy temple.
As we can see, over the course of eight years we persistently sought a solution to the situation of the Parish of St. Michael the Archangel. A young and zealous priest was appointed there, who invested significant effort in both the physical restoration and the pastoral renewal of the church. It was painful for all of us to observe that, despite these considerable efforts, the church was not filled with faithful for reasons beyond our control.
This is the reality of Church life in the United States of America. At the same time, several of our other parish communities are currently engaged in a serious process of discernment regarding their future, particularly with respect to the best ways to sell existing church properties and to acquire new ones in more suitable and promising locations.
During the process of selling the parish property of St. Michael the Archangel, the Eparchy of St. Nicholas made every possible effort to preserve the church’s sacred heritage. All liturgical furnishings were removed: sacred vessels, icons, and even the iconostasis, which was transferred and installed in the recently acquired church in Richmond, Illinois. Unfortunately, it was not possible to remove the beautiful mural of the Last Supper from the wall of the sanctuary, as its removal would have inevitably
resulted in its complete destruction. A similar situation arose with the stained-glass windows: after careful technical assessment, it became clear that their removal was practically impossible without damaging both the windows themselves and the structure of the walls.
We sincerely hope that the new owners of the church—one of the Christian denominations—will preserve these important testimonies of the piety of previous generations of the faithful who prayed in this holy place for decades.
Undoubtedly, a church building itself is of great importance. However, even more important is the living ecclesial community that fills it with prayer, faith, and service. Despite the difficulties we face, our parish communities continue to grow, develop, and faithfully serve God and His Church. We are deeply grateful to all the faithful who support this growth through their prayer, their time, and their very lives.
May our Lord Jesus Christ abundantly bless you all!
Rev. Mykola Buriadnyk
Syncellus for the Office of Development and Strategic Management
Eparchy of St. Nicholas