One Hundred Years of Faith: Saints Peter & Paul celebrates its hundredth anniversary

Our parish was founded on October 7, 1911, and we just celebrated our hundredth anniversary weekend, October 8-9, 2011. Hundreds came to share in our joy. Please visit our photo gallery.

We gathered with bishops, neighboring parishes, and friends for Great Vespers on Saturday, with a procession blessing the church, followed by a reception, as well as a special meeting of college students with His Beatitude, Jonah, Archbishop of Washington, Metropolitan of All America and Canada, who presided over the weekend at the invitation of our own bishop, His Grace, Nikon, Bishop of Boston, New England, and the Albanian Archdiocese. His Grace, Melchizedek, Bishop of Pittsburgh and Western Pennsylvania (and formerly the pastor of our parish), also attended, along with Fr. John Kreta (chancellor of the Diocese of New England), Fr. David Koles (Dean of Connecticut), former pastor Fr. Gregory DuDash and honored guest Fr. James Mason - as well as hundreds of family and friends from as far as Florida and Oregon. Many priests of the Connecticut Deanery came Saturday to join in the festivities.

On Sunday, we celebrated a Hierarchical Divine Liturgy with our three bishops (though His Grace, our bishop Nikon was not able to serve), Protodeacon Joseph Matusiak (who serves with Metropolitan Jonah) and Protodeacon Paul Nimchek (of SS. Cyril & Methodius Church, Terryville) and our guest clergy. Even more of the faithful packed into the church to participate in this landmark in our parish life.

Metropolitan Jonah preached on the providential joining of our anniversary with the feast of St. Tikhon, Confessor Patriarch of Moscow who previously had been Bishop of North America and had established a missionary vision that led to the founding of a multitude of churches, including SS. Peter & Paul. Metropolitan Jonah called us to renew that vision in our own lives, to build up our worship, our spiritual lives, and our whole community.

Afterward, we enjoyed a banquet where Bishop Nikon awarded the Brotherhood of SS. Peter & Paul a Gramota honoring their more than one hundred years of service to the Orthodox Church. Metropolitan Jonah and Bishop Melchizedek also congratulated the parish and hoped to return soon to celebrate new joys in our life together. State Senator Len Suzio personally delivered an acknowledgement from the legislature, while our neighbor, Mt. Hebron Baptist Church sent a representative to express their best wishes and the hope that we can cooperate further in the building up of the City Park neighborhood. The day ended with a beautiful slideshow summarizing our first hundred years. You can view it yourself here on our website.

The days were full of thanksgiving and joy (and lots of excellent food and fellowship). Our parish is overwhelmed by the outpouring of love and encouragement from all our friends. We are humbled by the example of devoted service from those who built and grew this parish over the generations, and we thank our Heavenly Father for all his gifts. May He lead us to serve His Kingdom for another hundred years.