JOHNSTOWN, PA - Plans are underway for the Annual Altar Boy Retreat which will take place from Sunday evening, June 26th (Registration is from 6pm till 8 p.m.) until Wednesday, June 29, 2022.

The Retreat will once again take place at Christ the Savior Seminary, Cathedral and Education Center in Johnstown and at Sts. Peter and Paul Church in Windber, PA. This year's outing will be a visit to the Flight 93 Memorial where we will perform a Panachida and have lunch, before proceeding to Caddie Shak adventure park for the rest of the afternoon.. This is the time and place for our faithful Altar Servers to join other Altar Boys from all over our Diocese. Read more...

JOHNSTOWN, PA - [Diocesan Chancery] -- With profound sadness the Diocesan Chancery announces that +Archon Robert "Dal" Cosgrove, fell asleep in the Lord on Friday April 14, 2023. Prior to his retirement in Florida, he was a faithful parishioner of St. Nicholas Orthodox Church in Monongahela, PA. In retirement he attended Holy Cross Eastern Orthodox Church in Ormond Beach, FL. Born November 19, 1942, in Hazelwood, he was the son of the late Frederick E. and Mary Virginia (Tompkins) Cosgrove. Following his graduation in 1960 from Charleroi High School, Dal earned his Bachelor's degree and two Masters Degrees in Education and Science from California University of Pennsylvania. He began working as a teacher and a coach in the Elizabeth Forward School District and retired after 37 years as their assistant principal. Read more...

On this great and glorious Feast of Pascha – the Resurrection of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, our hearts are filled with tremendous joy, our souls are transformed and we bask in the Light of Truth. This year I want to share with you an excerpt from an inspiring, uplifting and brilliant homily of our Father among the Saints, Gregory of Nyssa. The reign of life has begun, the tyranny of death is ended. A new birth has taken place, a new life has come, a new order of existence has appeared, our very nature has been transformed! This birth is not brought about by human generation, by the will of man, or by the desire of the flesh, but by God. Read more...

JOHNSTOWN, PA --  Diocesan Parishes are cordially invited to submit via email up to 3 photos of  this year's Holy week and Paschal services for inclusion in a special photo gallery,  Pascha throughout the Diocese. 

It is asked that parishes avoid sending low resolution cell phone camera quality photos as they may also be included in The Church Messenger  Read more...

JOHNSTOWN, PA --  [Diocesan Chancery]   The schedule of His Eminence, Metropolitan Gregory of Nyssa  for April and May 2023 has been released by the Diocesan Chancery and is as follows: Read more...

JOHNSTOWN, PA - [Diocesan Chancery] -- With profound sadness the Diocesan Chancery announces that + Rev. Fr. John Cmur , age 90,  reposed in the Lord peacefully on Thursday, March 30, 2023 at Community Medical Center in Toms River, NJ. 

Fr. John was born and raised in Dunmore, PA. He married his wife, Mary, in 1954 and moved to Brick, NJ to raise their family. He retired to Whiting in the early ‘90’s.

Fr. John worked for many years as a plant manager for Orgo-Thermit, Inc. metal manufacturing in Manchester Township and was a member of the local Rotary Club Read more...

My beloved Faithful Clergy and Laity of our God-Protected Diocese:

As we begin Holy and Great Lent this year on March 14th, I want to share with you a few thoughts so that we may journey through this reflective period and arrive at the Great Feast of Feasts, Pascha to receive the Resurrected Christ.

We are reminded that there can be no true fast, no genuine repentance, no reconciliation with God, unless we at the same time reconcile with one another. In this holiest period of the ecclesiastical year, we should honestly examine our relationships with our families, our parish families, friends, neighbors, co-workers, and the Church in general. Read more...

Johnstown, PA - [Diocesan Chancery]  -  The 2023 Lenten Psalm Reading Guide is now available for download on the Diocesan Website which will enable the faithful to read the entire Book of Psalms during the Lenten Season.  

The Book of Psalms (Psalter) has been called the prayerbook of the Church. In the Eastern Orthodox liturgical tradition, the Psalter is divided into 20 sections called kathisma; each kathisma is divided into three sections called stasis. In monasteries, all 150 Psalms are read each week during most of the year, and twice a week during the Great Fast! Read more...

JOHNSTOWN, PA  [Diocesan Chancery] -- His Eminence Metropolitan Gregory is pleased to announce that, this year,  we will resume our Diocesan in-person regional Lenten Retreat Program.  The dates and preliminary details for  the upcoming Lenten Retreats are as follows:

Central Lenten Regional Retreat - Sat March 19, 2022  - St. Nicholas Orthodox Church in Homestead, PA.  Adult Retreat Master is Fr. Stephen Loposky. Deadline for Registration is March 12, 2022. 

Eastern Regional Lenten Retreat (co-sponsored by the Ukrainian Orthodox Youth League) - Sat April 2, 2022 - St Francis Center For Renewal, Bethlehem, PA - Adult Retreat Master is Fr. Anthony Perkins.  Theme: Jesus Remember Me When You Come Into Your Kingdom: The Services of Holy Week.  Registration Deadline: March 22, 2022.

Western Region Retreat - Sat April 2, 2022 - Chicago Deanery.  More details to follow. Read more...

JOHNSTOWN, PA – [Diocesan Chancery] – His Eminence, Metropolitan Gregory, today has issued the following appeal to all Diocesan Parishes to take up a special collection for the victims of the catastrophic earthquake in Southern Turkey and Northern Syria:   Read more...