Guardian Angels Parish helps rebuild St. Vladimir Ukrainian Church; pastor says shared faith 'makes the church come alive'

Sifting through the charred remains at St. Vladimir Ukrainian Catholic Church in Arnold, the Rev. Yaroslav Koval spotted what he considers a miracle.

A painting of St. Michael, the patron saint of protection, clung to the wall of the sanctuary where flames burned the hottest during a 2021 blaze that caused more than $4 million in damage to the 74-year-old building.

Depicted in the unscathed painting was St. Michael cradling an image of St. Vladimir, Arnold’s only Catholic church.

“That was God’s message,” Koval said. “The material we can rebuild. We are the life of the church, not the building.”

In the months following the fire, another miracle presented itself, Koval said. Guardian Angels Parish, part of the Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh, offered to help Koval’s congregation as it faces the uphill battle of a $2 million reconstruction.

Having recently closed five churches from Harrison to Springdale, diocesan leaders opened the doors to a veritable warehouse of furniture, religious icons and other décor to help St. Vladimir save money and expedite a grand reopening.

Plans are to build a church that seats 80 people, downsizing from the fire-torn site that accommodated 700.

“They’re Catholics just like us,” Guardian Angels administrator Tom Babinsack said. “We have to be good stewards.”

With five fully functioning churches having closed last fall, the parish has an abundance of pews, podiums, statues and taber­nacles, Babinsack said. Selling sacred items to the public would require them to be deconsecrated. But, in this case, Babinsack said, “we’re just so happy that they can be used.”

Guardian Angels has two churches that remain open: Most Blessed Sacrament in Harrison and Our Lady of Victory in Springdale Township. Those sites can’t accommodate the sheer number of items available to dole out.

The Pittsburgh diocese is asking for what Babinsack called a “fair donation,” but no figures have been finalized.

Some of the items are priceless to parishioners, Babinsack said.

At the recently closed St. Alphonsus in Springdale, the one-of-a-kind altar and several lecterns were crafted from old pews when the church was remodeled in the 1970s.

At St. Ladislaus in Natrona, an oversized baptismal font was designed with two ornate statues to offer the holy water. “It’s a piece of art,” Koval said. “If it was here for 100 years, why should it be destroyed?”

Babinsack said the decision was not made lightly. Diocesan leaders recognize the sensitivity.

“We respect the sacrifices our parishioners made to build these churches,” Babinsack said. “But we also understand St. Vlad’s need.”

Items won’t be forgotten

Longtime Guardian Angels parishioner Justine Long Meyers, despite still grieving the closure of St. Ladislaus, is elated that a local church will benefit.

“For me, it is a way to feel that my church goes on,” she said. “I’m sure I will get over there to see the church, and I would like the opportunity to sit inside their quiet, holy space and feel reconnected to my church.”

Patty Babinsack, also a decades­long member at St. Ladislaus and Tom’s mother, said the outreach helps lessen some of her pain.

At nearly 80 years old, Patty Babinsack grew up attending the ornate Spruce Street church and raised her children there. Her family lives just down the street from the massive, domed church, which originally served the neighborhood’s largely Polish population.

“I go out for my paper in the morning and I see the dome and the cross, and it’s hard,” she said. “The baptismal (font) was a thing of beauty. The stations, too. I could go on and on.

“We have the most beautiful church around, and, if we can spread that beauty around the Valley, I’m glad the items aren’t going to be forgotten in some warehouse.”

‘Death and rebirth’

In recent weeks, contractors spent time plucking oak pews from their neat rows at St. Alphonsus to transport for safekeeping at St. Vladimir’s vacant elementary school.

Crews also extracted candleholders, flower stands, chairs and lecterns, bundling them for storage in Arnold until the construction of the church is completed.

A large statue of Jesus was transported in the cab of the construction truck, with workers saying it was a sign of respect to travel with the fragile piece up front.

“It’s a cycle of death and rebirth for our parishes,” said Michael Haracznak, a fourth-generation parishioner of St. Vladimir. “The same pews that people might have sat on at St. Alphonsus now have new purpose.”

He has been pleasantly surprised by how the tragedy of the fire has spurred people to unite for the rebuilding campaign.

“We both had bad things happen — them with the church closings and us with the fire — but, on the other side, we’re showing that we’re all one faith community and able to help each other,” said Haracznak, 48, who served as an altar boy and now volunteers in various roles.

In all, St. Vladimir took 18 dark-wooden pews from St. Alphonsus and some kneelers from the now-closed Holy Martyrs in Tarentum. The move potentially saved upward of $5,000, before installation, for the pews alone.

According to churchgists.com, a new church pew costs between $75 and $300, and those that are refurbished cost even more.

“When you’re talking about the cost of wood and the craftsmanship involved, that would cost significantly more than what we will have to put out,” Haracznak said.

Baptismal fonts can run into the thousands; the same is true for chalices, lecterns and religious statues.

Haracznak said they were able to take several deep freezers and other kitchen equipment for the church’s pierogi sales, when volunteers turn out 500 potato pockets each week.

“These items will really breathe life back into our church and help with our limited budget,” Haracznak said.

Koval was emotional to have gotten one specific piece: a painting of Our Lady of Perpetual Help, which is in nearly every home in Western Ukraine, he said.

“In 1912, a Ukrainian Catholic archbishop invited Redemptorists from Belgium to come to Ukraine, and they brought that icon to our people,” Koval said.

“It’s a reminder that we are Catholic, though we are Byzantine Rite. It is the most widely recognized Christian icon in the world.”

Spring groundbreaking

Since the fire, St. Vladimir’s 40 or so parishioners have adapted to an intimate liturgy space in a corner of the social hall. Services will continue there while a capital campaign continues.

The new church, designed by Oakland architect Walter Boykowycz, will mimic Roman basilicas and feature a courtyard with rose bushes and a fountain.

“Instead of a roof in the middle, we will make a little garden with trees and flowers,” Koval said. “It will be nice and simple with space to concentrate on talking to the Lord.”

Church leaders are eyeing a groundbreaking this spring, just after Easter, with hopes for an opening in July 2024. The target date is the Feast of St. Vladimir in July.

When the church opens, people will recognize some familiar relics.

On the night of the blaze, firefighters were able to rescue statues of Jesus and the Virgin Mary, the original pulpit, the Book of Gospel, several tall metal crosses and decades-old shrouds.

Gilded canvas paintings, including the one of St. Michael, were able to be peeled from the wall because of the untold amount of water poured onto the scene.

“The walls behind them were scorched black, but there was so much water on the paintings that the glue loosened,” Haracznak said.

A depiction of St. Vladimir baptizing the people of Rus-Ukraine in the year 988 also was salvaged but sustained damage.

Koval wants the icon to be the focal point in the new church, particularly given the recent struggles suffered by Ukrainians after the invasion by Russia.

The pastor met with David Korns, co-owner of New Guild Studio in Braddock, a gallery that specializes in sacred art and liturgical designs.

Korns’ firm has created custom murals, handwritten iconography and stained-glass windows across the region. It designed the bronze sculpture of St. John Baptist de La Salle, the patron saint of teachers, in the courtyard at Central Catholic High School in Oakland. The firm also was responsible for renovations at St. Agnes Parish in North Huntingdon, which included a carved crucifix and ornamental panels on the altar.

Restoring connections

“Restoration is a time-intensive process,” Korns said. “Depending on how the paintings were done and if there was something to protect the pigmentation or even allow it to be retrieved, you just don’t know until you get in there. It can take hours and hours.”

It is worth the investment, Korns said.

“If there’s some deep connection, then people are interested in seeing their piece of history back in its place,” he said.

To that end, Koval said, he hopes to keep all of the Belgian-made stained-glass windows that somehow were untouched in the wet, crumpled mess that remained after the fire. He also will reuse the red altar coverings that were singed.

“We see through these beautiful items how people love their church,” Koval said. “It’s not because it’s gold or silver but because it is dedication and love.

“Do you know what is beautiful? Guardian Angels called us and said they would be happy to share. We might have different rites and rituals, but what unites us is our faith. When we help each other, we are what makes the church come alive.”