Hubiak Ordination

Jacobs Creek, PA. - On Saturday, May 3, 2003, His Eminence, Metropolitan Nicholas, joined by Fr. Daniel Montville, pastor of St. Nicholas Church, The Very Rev. Protopresbyter David Smoley, The Very Rev. James A Gleason, Dean of the Tri-State Deanery, Fr. Michael Kabel of Barton Ohio, Protodeacon Robert Buczak and other clergy re-blessed the interior of St. Nicholas Church which was extensively damaged in a fire in January of 2001. A brunch followed the Hierarchical Divine Liturgy.

As one of the smallest of our Diocesan parishes, the faithful of St. Nicholas are grateful for the support of their sister parishes of the diocese in raising funds for this restoration. As much work as possible was volunteer labor of the parishioners, including clean-up, carpentry and various other skills. This is reminiscent of the work of many since deceased coal miners whose volunteer labor constructed the current brick building in the 1960's. Also the contract bid estimate was higher than the final payment the contractor requested. With these additional efforts, the insurance and donated funds provided all necessities.

When the local mines were active decades ago, this parish had many hundreds of members. Many members worked at the Darr mine, site of the worst coal mining disaster in PA history with 239 killed on December 19, 1907. However, giving up a day's pay, the members of the parish were attending the St. Nicholas Holy Day Liturgy when the ground shook at the time of the accident. The saving of the lives of these coal miners is represented in the Miracle of St. Nicholas icon located in the Greek Catholic Union's Carpathian wooden style chapel located in Beaver, PA.

In his remarks following the homily, His Eminence, Metropolitan Nicholas offered the following observations and congratulatory remarks:

You of this parish of St. Nicholas, YOU are an icon. Because of the fact that this is a very historical town. You belong to a very historical church. Because a long time ago back in the early 1900’s, in 1907, on December 19th, the Feast Day of St. Nicholas, a terrible mine accident took place here.

But it was the recent and new immigrants from the Old World, from Slovakia, the Carpathians, who knew that the 19th of December, or 6th of December, was the Feast of St. Nicholas. Out of all the population of the Slavs, Orthodox and non-Orthodox in this area, very few went to work, when that terrible accident took place and 239 lives were lost. And they attribute it all to St. Nicholas who protected us.

And so this church of St. Nicholas, many of them are this size in the old country throughout all the Carpathians and Slovakia. But the faith is the same, the witness is the same, the loyalty to Christ and to the church is the same, the love for the icons is the same as it here in this church today.

May St. Nicholas bless you the parishioners of this parish, bless your priest, bless the iconographer and everyone else connected with the restoration of this church by giving you strength, by encouraging you, by giving you faith and giving you hope. You are a worthy example for all of us to follow and even those in our other churches throughout the diocese.

On behalf of the diocese, on behalf of the parishes, on behalf of their faithful, I extend to you the congratulations of them all who marvel at what has taken place. And when they see the interior of your church in the church newspaper and its icons they will remember they were a part of the restoration by their prayers and by their donations. So congratulations to all of you from this parish, all who have been friends to this parish, all who are related to this parish in helping to restore this church. They were determined to see the church of St. Nicholas in Jacobs Creek be opened again.

This reminds me of His All Holiness the Ecumenical Patriarch when he took us to a village in Asia Minor which was once upon a time a Christian village. It was the 6th of December, and he said we are going there so that they (the Muslims) will not close the church. We must serve in the church once a year if we want it to be open. We gathered in a large crowd, the priests, and cantors, and singers, and we went there, and we prayed in a church about this size in that village. Why? Because it had been blessed. Why? Because the Patriarch and those before him wanted to see St. Nicholas Church in Asia Minor always open, the same reason as it is here in Jacobs Creek, you are here because you put your trust in the Saint and you want it open.

The Patriarch said to me, would you like to sing one of your hymns? I said yes. Your All Holiness already sang the Tropar and the Kondak. I will sing O kto kto Nikolaja l’ubit, He who loves Nicholas, the one our people sing over and over again. They never heard it before but they were very much amazed by its beauty and the content in English. They asked me to sing it a second time.

St. Nicholas is important to all of us. May the saints intercede for us today. May St. Nicholas always intercede for all of you who are here. May the Holy Mother of God, the Theotokas, the blessed Virgin Mary, intercede for us also. And we pray, through the prayers of the Holy Mother of God, St. Nicholas and all the saints, that He have mercy on us and save us, because He is holy always now and ever and forever. Amen.

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The refurbished church was filled with visitors from other parishes and the St. Nicholas Orthodox Church, Homestead, PA Choir members.
His Eminence was joined by Father David Smoley (former pastor of St. Nicholas for 27 years), Father James Gleason (Dean of the Tri-State Deanery), Father Deacon Robert Buczak, Father Daniel Montville, and Father Michael Kabel (St. Nicholas Church in Barton, OH).
Pastor of St. Nicholas, Father Daniel Montville thanked all who attended. His Eminence placed a copy of the icon - The Miracle of St. Nicholas -- the Saving of the Coal Miners on the Tetrapod for all to venerate as they received their final blessing. .
Iconographer Phil Zimmerman of Christ the Saviour Cathedral, Johnstown was commissioned to write new icons for the iconostasis that were smoke damaged beyond repair. The wooden iconostas itself survived the fire and was cleaned and refinished by the parish faithful. This St. Nicholas has flowered vestments as would some of the oldest icons in the Carpathians.
During His Eminence's visit to the parish shortly after the fire, he expressed his desire that the faithful find a way to save this "original" chandelier. Members of the parish disassembled the parts to their smallest pieces and cleaned them with various materials. After months of effort it was reassembled and rewired.
The members of the St. Nicholas parish family pose with His Eminence and the clergy after the conclusion of the banquet.
His Eminence poses with four generations of a family, all members of the parish, that were directly touched by The Miracle of St. Nicholas. Mildred Calderone's grandfather and Uncle Nick were both attending services on Dec. 19, 1907. Her family includes Kathy Matey, Kristen Matey, and the youngest member of the parish, Alexis Matey.
The children of the parish presented roses to His Eminence at the banquet. Brothers Michael and Kevin Bobich, sisters Christina and Rachel Rhodes, and Alexis Matey.
The Icon of The Miracle of St. Nicholas saving the coal miners which is enshrined in the chapel of the Greek Catholic Union.