History of the Ukrainian Catholic Church in Carteret

 

Part 1: Failed Endeavor (1880-1949)

 

 

Ukrainian Greek Catholics began to arrive in the United States in th early 1880's. Many found employment in the mines and heavy industry situated chiefly in Pennsylvania, New York, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois and New Jersey. Many intended to stay in America for as short a time as possible, and after saving some money, return home and buy land in their own village. Some were able to return- however the vast majority remained in the United States especially after the changes in Europe following World War I did not bring the political and national freedom they had yearned for.

 

The first families began to arrive to the area of New Jersey where Carteret is situated in the 1880's, settling first in Perth Amboy. They had no church of their own and therefore frequented St. Stephen's, a Polish Catholic Church. When their numbers had grown, they established St. john's Greek Catholic Church in 1897 for all the Slavic Catholics of the Byzantine Rite, including thse from Western Ukraine (Halychyna) as well as from Sub-Carpathia.

 

The ongoing immigration strengthened the number of those from Western Ukraine. Families began to settle in all the towns around Perth Amboy, including Carteret, which at the time was called Roosevelt. The newcomers were politically better uinformed than the preceeding generation. The majority of the new immigrants insisted on clearly distinguishing and separating themselves from those who continued to identify themselves as "Russian", "Little Russian" or "Carpatho-Russian" and thus the impetus for establishing a Ukrainian Catholic Church in Carteret.

 

The new immigrants in Carteret formed a loose congregation of their own in November 1909. In 1920, St. Elias Church was established for the Subcarpathian faithful, but the Ukrainians from Halychyna (approximately 30 families) did not join them. Instead, they decided on a church of their own which was erected in 1911. For securing their property according to civil law, The Ukrainians of Carteret took out a charter on May 16, 1911 for "St. Demetrius Ruthenian Greek Catholic Church of Roosevelt, NJ". The purpose of this new congregation, formed under a special law by the state of New Jersey, was clearly spelled out, namely, to "propagate the faith under the Bishop of Rome; to maintain a house of worship, a church school, etc." In 1911, Bishop Soter S. Ortynsky blessed the church. This event was preserved for posterity on the cornerstone of the church. Later, when St. Demetrius left the fold of the Catholic Church, a new cornerstone was substituted for the original one, which, as a reminder of the Catholic beginning, was then buried in the foundation of the stone cross erected in the front of St. Demetrius Church.

 

The number of Ukrainian families in Carteret swelled in the following years primarily due to the availability of work in the new local industries. In May 1925, Father Michael Lisak replaced Father Joseph Chaplinsky as pastor of the two churches in Perth Amboy and Carteret. He reported that in 1924, 52 children had been baptized, 3 couples had married, 9 persons had died and 180 families were members of the congregation.

 

In 1929, a movement of separation from the Ukrainian Catholic Church led to the decision to establish a Ukrainian non-Catholic church under the jurisdiction of the Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Constantinople. St. Demetrius thus became a Ukrainian Orthodox Church. Father Joseph Zuk became the pastor and was consecrated their bishop in 1932.

 

The separation of St. Demetrius Church from the Catholic Church was not accepted by all members with equanimity. Joseph K. Ginda had been one of the founders of the Ukrainain Catholic Church in Perth Amboy and later of St. Demetrius in Carteret. He attempted to prevent the separation- however, when he became convinced that the schism could not be prevented, he (and others) left St. Demetrius. (Fortunately, he was able to see the success of St. Mary's Church; he died in his 88th year in 1969). Some of these Catholics joined Roman Catholic parishes in Carteret and remained there. Others waited and prayed for a propitious moment.

 

In the meantime, important events had occured, namely, the Allied concession of Eastern Europe to the Communists at Yalta and the decision of the United States to receive the refugees who had escaped from the religious, ethnic and cultural persecution in the Soviet Union, of which Ukrainians numbered in the thousands. A considerable number selected Carteret as the place they would settle because many had relatives and friends who had emigrated from the same villages decades earlier and assisted their coming here. Among the new immigrants were many who were born in the United States but were raised in Ukraine when their parents had returned to their native villages. They were, by birth, citizens of the US and received passports on a prefertial basis, enabling them to arrive as early as 1946. Others soon followed. These immigrants perceived the Ukrainian Catholic Church and its priests as a leader in the fight for religious, ethnic and political selfhood from the Poles and Russians. They could not conceive of the idea of abandoning such a Church and joining another.

 

Informal discussions among those interested in starting a Ukrainian Catholic Church in Carteret were first held in the home of John L. Ginda, a building contractor, and his wife Anna. They decided to approach the Ukrainian Catholic Bishop in Philadelphia, the only one for the United States at the time. Representatives of the Ukrainaian Catholics in Carteret visited the pastor of Assumption Church in Perth Amboy, Father Jaroslav Gabro, on October 13, 1949. Paul Bamburak, Gregory Car and Michael Ivanitsky informed him of the desire of 160 persons of Carteret to begin the organization of a Ukrainian Catholic Church, now for the second time. Father Gabro wrote at once to Bishop Constantine Bohachevsky in Philadelphia who  delegated the dean of this area of New Jersey, Father Antin Lotowych, pastor of SS. Peter and Paul Church in Jersey City, to assist. The dean quickly took up the matter and reported to the bishop in a letter dated October 18, 1949 that a committee had been formed, composed of Paul Bamburak as president, Gregory Car as secretary, Stefan Yaroschak as treasurer and Michael Ivanitsky, Wolodymyr Dytyniak and Nicholas Schwailik as members. The dean also submitted a list of 140 persons who had confirmed their decisions with their signatures.

 

 

 

Next Installment: Part 2: Humble Beginnings (1949-1967)

 

 

 

 

Foreword__________________________

 

This is the first installment of a five part series which documents the history of our church in Carteret. At the end of each installment, commencing with the second, is a photo gallery where you may click on the pictures to view larger images of each. I want to thank those who previously penned our church history in the 25th and 50th anniversary books without which I could not offer you, the reader, an insight into our church's history. Thank you.

Tapac