St. Michael's Orthodox Church has stood on a corner of Old Forge, Pennsylvania, since the summer of 1891, a parish born of immigrant faith and carried forward into a third century of Orthodox life in the Wyoming Valley. The community belongs to the Orthodox Church in America, within the Diocese of Eastern Pennsylvania under His Eminence Archbishop Mark, and gathers each week around the Gospel, the chalice, and the chant of the Psalms in a temple consecrated in 1966.
From Carpathian Villages to the Wyoming Valley
The people who built St. Michael's came out of the Carpathian Mountains. Beginning in 1878, men from small villages in eastern Poland and the Austro-Hungrian Empire, places such as Wysova, Chaina, Ustia, Grichova, Leschina, Lossia, Stawisha, Klimkova, Yashkova, and Snitnicha, found work in the coal mines and factories of northeast Pennsylvania. Many were Carpatho-Russians (sometimes called Uhorschani) and Galicians (or Lemko), people known collectively as "Little Russians" or Malo-Russians, who shared an Orthodox Christian heritage and similar dialects. They came first alone, sent for their families later, and by the late 1880s enough had settled in Old Forge to seek a permanent place of worship.
On October 17, 1890, the men organized the "Society of St. Michael the Archangel," the customary first step toward founding a parish. The following summer, on July 14, 1891, St. Michael's Greek Catholic Congregation was formally established. Divine Liturgy was first celebrated in a parishioner's home on Winter Street, directly across from the present church, and from 1892 to 1895 was held in an unfinished church building. Visiting priests from St. Mary's Byzantine Catholic Church in Scranton looked after the young community in those early years: Fathers Alexander Shereghy, Nicephor Chanat, Valentine Balogh, and John Zaklynsky.
Among the names of the parish founders recorded in the 100th Anniversary Commemorative Book are Constantine Rusyn, John Kopcho, Gregory Basalyga, Philemon Gambal, Victor Krenitsky, Andrew Durniak, Jacob Korbelak, the brothers Mitrofan, Basil, and Roman Gambal, Michael Pecuch, Simeon Sorokanich, Peter Jadick, Joseph Stavisky, Harrison Krenitsky, Ignatius Stavisky, Simeon Hubiak, Thomas Dorosh, Andrew Danilo, Gregory and Onuphrey Macheska, Paul Serniak, Leon Pergrim, Constantine Sumple, John Lischinsky, Myron Petrowsky, and Gabriel and Gregory Halchak.
The Return to Holy Orthodoxy
In the old country, the Orthodox faithful of the Carpathians had been absorbed into union with Rome through the political agreements of Brest-Litovsk in 1595 and Uzhorod in 1645, creating the "Unia," or Greek Catholic identity imposed by Empress Maria Theresa. Many who came to Old Forge carried in their hearts a longing to return to the Orthodox Church of their ancestors. The decisive moment came on December 25, 1896, when Russian Orthodox Bishop Nicholas visited Old Forge and accepted St. Michael's into the Holy Orthodox Church. The Uniate faction withdrew, and in 1897 the parish was chartered as "St. Michael Russian Orthodox Greek Catholic Church." In a revealing episode, the Uniate-minded minority had called the Roman Catholic Bishop O'Hara of Scranton to intervene; on the day he arrived, there were no Uniates present, only faithful pro-Orthodox parishioners who told the Bishop that his presence was not requested.
In 1897, the parish received another holy visitor: Bishop Tikhon, the future Confessor Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, who consecrated St. Michael's first church building. That same year, the community was given a "hramota" from Metropolitan Pallady of St. Petersburg praising the parishioners' courage in refusing the Roman bishop. Fr. Alexis Toth, the missionary now called the "Father of the Orthodox Church in America," preached at St. Michael's, declaring: "His (Christ's) Holy Orthodox Faith and Church is the only one that brings salvation."
The parish's first resident pastor, Fr. Gregory Hrushka (1896 to 1901), edited two Russian newspapers, Svoboda and later Svit (The Light), during his years in Old Forge and provided much of the inspiration for the return to Orthodoxy. A cherished icon of the Mother of God, the "Zagrafskaya" icon, blessed with water from the River Jordan and containing relics of Sts. Cosmas and Damian, was given to the parish by an unknown monk of St. Panteleimon's Monastery on Mt. Athos. That icon, given to the first nineteen American parishes that returned from the Unia to Holy Orthodoxy, still hangs in the temple today.
Fire, Rebuilding, and the Temple of 1966
Tragedy struck early. The original church burned in 1903 and was rebuilt the same year under the pastorate of Fr. Elias Klopotovsky. That "old Church" stood until 1965. It housed a wooden rectory, classroom, and auditorium complex erected in 1912, a 1942 remodeling of the sanctuary with a new altar table and tabernacle crafted by parishioner Harry Witiak, and the long pastorates of Fr. Damian Krehel (1935-44) and Fr. John Kopistiansky (1944-54), each remembered by many current members.
On the night of June 23, 1952, a fire swept through the auditorium and rectory. The parish rebuilt with vigor. The current rectory was completed and dedicated on April 4, 1954, by Archbishop Benjamin of Pittsburgh, and the new auditorium and school building on May 22, 1955, at a total cost of $170,000. The debt was paid off in full on Pascha Sunday, April 9, 1961, a fact recorded during the pastorate of Fr. Daniel Donovan.
The next great project was the temple that stands today. A parish meeting on December 9, 1962, agreed that the existing church required too much repair and that a larger, more modern building was needed. Three years of study and planning followed. On February 21, 1965, plans were finalized. On May 8, 1965, Bishop Kiprian led a groundbreaking service, and Picotti Construction Co. began the work. The new church was consecrated on September 25, 1966, the 75th anniversary of the parish, with Bishop Kiprian celebrating the rite alongside Fr. Vladimir Sovyrda, who had overseen the building program. The total cost approached $400,000. The mortgage was retired in just six years, and on October 29, 1972, Archbishop Kiprian returned for a Church Mortgage Burning celebration.
The temple's exterior is of glazed brick with limestone front and trim, a slate roof with five steel cupolas, and the striking mosaic of St. Michael the Archangel above the front doors. The interior features terrazzo floors, plaster walls with marble base, and stained glass windows depicting Christ, the Theotokos, and the great saints. A newly crafted iconostasis was given to a mission parish, and new pews were installed by the Men's Club in an all-night work party in time for the consecration. The bells from the old building were preserved and put on an electronic control system. The sanctuary was further enriched in 1983 when iconographer Rolf Rohn of Pittsburgh completed the large apse icon of the Theotokos with Christ, "Our Lady of the Sign," together with the Resurrection icon behind the altar and the Holy Prophets above the iconostasis. A new altar and furnishings were crafted by Frank Cunius of Luzerne in 1990, funded by the work of the Annunciation Ladies Club.
Father Michael Shepherd and His Family
The current rector is the Rev. Michael Shepherd, assigned to St. Michael's on March 28, 2022. Fr. Michael served 22 years in the U.S. Army, both as an enlisted soldier and as an officer, with assignments in the 82nd Airborne Division, as a Drill Sergeant, and as a trainer at the Soldier Support Institute at Fort Jackson, South Carolina. He holds two Bronze Star Medals, one with "V" Device for valor, and is a graduate of Troy State University with a Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice. He was ordained to the Holy Diaconate on July 2, 2016, by His Eminence Alexander, Bishop of Dallas and the Diocese of the South, and to the Holy Priesthood on Soul Saturday, May 26, 2018, at St. Tikhon's Monastery by His Beatitude Metropolitan Tikhon. He is a 2020 Master of Divinity graduate of St. Tikhon's Orthodox Theological Seminary.
Fr. Michael and Matushka Emilia have been married for 24 years and have four children: Blaise, Maximus, Rodion, and Savina. The children serve either in the altar with their father or in the choir loft with their mother. Matushka Emilia holds a Bachelor of Science in Finance and Accounting and a Master of Arts in Early Childhood Education. Outside the temple, the Shepherd family enjoys camping, hiking, and riding bikes. In 2024, Archbishop Mark visited St. Michael's for the tonsuring of Blaise Shepherd as a reader during a pastoral visit.
Sunday in the Temple: Vespers, Hours, and Divine Liturgy
St. Michael's follows the classical Orthodox weekly cycle. On Saturday evening at 5:00 PM, Great Vespers is served, an evening prayer of psalms, hymns, scripture readings, and incense that opens the Sunday and prepares the faithful for the Eucharist. On Sunday morning, the Hours are read at 9:10 AM, followed by the Divine Liturgy at 9:30 AM. The Hours are short services appointed to specific times of day, sanctifying the day's hours and connecting the worshipper to the hours of Christ's Passion.
The Divine Liturgy, normally that of St. John Chrysostom and on certain great feasts that of St. Basil the Great, is the central act of Orthodox worship. The Eucharist consists of the Liturgy of the Word, with scripture readings, and the Liturgy of the Faithful, with the Eucharistic prayer and communion. Throughout the church year, the parish observes the full cycle of feasts and fasts: Pascha, the Twelve Great Feasts, the Elevation of the Cross, the Protection of the Theotokos on October 1, the Nativity of the Theotokos, the Entry into the Temple, the Meeting of the Lord, the Transfiguration, the Dormition, and many others. The parish bulletins, archived back to 2021, give a clear picture of the Sundays after Pentecost and the Sundays of Great Lent, and include a full Holy Week and Pascha cycle each year.
Services are conducted in English. Visitors who are Orthodox Christians in good standing and have prepared to receive Holy Communion according to their spiritual father's direction are asked to introduce themselves to Fr. Michael before the service. After informing the priest of their status, they are welcome to approach the chalice.
Children in the Nave
St. Michael's takes seriously the calling to raise children in the liturgy. The parish does not send young ones off to a separate program during the Divine Liturgy; children worship with the whole community. "If you want to raise your children in the Church, then they have to be IN THE CHURCH," the parish teaches. The spiritual culture of the Orthodox faith is necessary formation for everyone, "whether 40 days old, 40 years old, or 40 years a senior citizen."
A Cry Room is set off the narthex with a large window and a speaker, allowing parents and fussy children to remain present to the service. The entire facility is handicap accessible. For older children, parish life offers meaningful participation. The older kids can read the Epistle, the letters of the New Testament, help pass out antidoron (the small pieces of bread given after Holy Communion), and sing in the choir. Young boys can serve alongside the priest behind the altar. As the parish notes, "Unless your child is making more noise than our priest and choir, stay put." Children take part in regular youth events, including bowling days, Nerf and pizza afternoons, and a talent show where they also present hand-made displays of their patron saints.
Heavenly Hosts and the St. Tikhon's Camp
St. Michael's has a small but growing youth ministry. The Heavenly Host program, structured around the Angelic Ranks, provides age-appropriate activities for Orthodox Christian children ages 8 to 18. Children study on their own or with family and friends, and the parish periodically gathers to recognize their accomplishments and present pins. The program is initiated by the kids, monitored by the parents, and supported by the parish.
Each summer, St. Tikhon's Monastery holds a one-week sleep-away camp for Orthodox Christian children ages 7 to 17, with daily church services, religious education, and outdoor recreation. The Diocese of Eastern Pennsylvania also hosts a Winter Teen Retreat each year. Plans have been underway to restart Sunday School on Sunday mornings after the Divine Liturgy, held in the parish hall adjacent to the church.
Catechumens and the Mystery of Confession
For those inquiring into Orthodoxy, St. Michael's offers a full catechumenate. Inquirers are expected to attend Liturgy for several weeks and then to be received as catechumens by prayers on a Sunday. The catechumenate under Archbishop Mark's direction typically lasts one year. The parish has three catechists who have graduated from the St. Vladimir's Catechist program: Joseph Hart, Uriel Vo, and Maura Elko. Topics of instruction include Church history, Holy Tradition and Scripture, the Nicene Creed, the Theotokos, salvation, prayer, the Holy Mysteries, confession, and marriage and monastic life. Recommended reading includes works by Protopresbyter Thomas Hopko, Bishop Kallistos Ware, Fr. Alexander Schmemann, and others.
Confession, the Mystery of Repentance, is central to parish life. Fr. Michael's published guidance calls confession a spiritual "health check-up," not a punishment reserved for major sins alone. The 2023 OCA Clergy guidelines name monthly confession as the norm, and Fr. Michael encourages at least four confessions a year, tied to the four church fasts of Pascha, Advent, Dormition, and Ss. Peter and Paul. Confession is always available on an as-needed basis. The parish's online guide to preparing for Confession walks the inquirer through fasting, scripture reading, prayer, and a self-examination built on the Ten Commandments and the Beatitudes. The Lenten prayer of St. Ephraim of Syria is recited Monday through Friday of Great Lent, and Wednesdays and Fridays are kept as the principal fasting days of the year, when Orthodox Christians traditionally abstain from meat, dairy, and other animal products. Lenten Service Booklets are available in printable form, including the Canon of St. Andrew for the First Week, the Akathist Hymn for the Fridays of Lent, The Ladder of Divine Ascent, and the Synodikon of Orthodoxy.
Icons, the Adopted Star, and the Zagrafskaya
What a visitor sees inside St. Michael's is the inheritance of Orthodox Christianity going back to the time of the Apostles. The icons are not paintings in the naturalistic sense but "windows into heaven." The temple faces east, toward the "East from on high" of Luke 1:78, and is built on the pattern of the ancient tabernacle and the temple in Jerusalem. The narthex represents the earth, the nave represents heaven, and the altar area represents the throne of God. The iconostasis marks the unity of earth and heaven, a wall of icons built where the wall of separation once stood. The curtain, drawn back at significant points in the service, recalls the rending of the temple veil at Christ's crucifixion. The Liturgy engages all five senses: sight, in the icons and stained glass; hearing, in the chanting of the Psalms and hymns; touch, in the veneration of icons and the cross; smell, in the incense; and taste, in Holy Communion, antidoron, blessed bread, and holy water.
The ceiling of the temple is being repainted a deep blue and decorated with hundreds of stars in 24-karat gold leaf as part of the Adopt a Star beautification project, supported by donations from the parish. The Zagrafskaya icon of the Theotokos, given in thanksgiving for the parish's return to Orthodoxy, hangs in the temple as a precious witness to the 26 martyrs of Zagraf who died in 1276 rather than renounce their Orthodox Christian faith under Roman Catholic pressure.
Sibley and Minooka Cemeteries
St. Michael's maintains two Orthodox cemeteries: Sibley Cemetery and Minooka Cemetery. The parish oversees Orthodox Christian burial for its members, offering guidelines for a Christian Ending, the preparation of a body for burial without a licensed funeral director. The cost of a plot is $2,500, with a member burial fee of $1,000 and a non-member fee of $2,525. Each year after Pascha the parish visits both cemeteries for the blessing of the graves. In 2020, more than 1,500 graves were blessed between the two cemeteries. Family members are asked to contact Fr. Michael directly to arrange funeral details. The parish also provides resources for Advance Directives for Health Care and Funeral Care.
Veterans, the Food Pantry, and the Wider Community
St. Michael's reaches into the wider community of Old Forge and northeast Pennsylvania in several ways. The parish has run an annual Veterans Day Pasta Dinner since at least 2023, raising money for causes such as Camp Freedom, a nonprofit that provides outdoor adventures for disabled veterans, first responders, and Gold Star families. The parish also sponsors a Fresh Produce Giveaway and a long-running St. Michael's Orthodox Food Pantry, which receives support from the annual U.S. Postal Service food drive in May and distributes to families in Old Forge, Duryea, and Taylor.
Within the parish, the Annunciation Ladies Club has supported building projects for generations, raising $18,000 toward the 1950s building program through pirohi sales. The Men's Club installed the new pews in 1966 in an all-night work party. More recent offerings include a six-week iconography class during Great Lent taught by Susan Shiposki, women's brunches hosted at parishioners' homes, prosphora baking tutorials, a Catechumen Proskomedia class, and a yearly Blessing of the Vehicles on or near the Feast of St. Elijah in July.
A First Visit
St. Michael's welcomes visitors warmly. There is plenty of parking in the upper lot across the street at the corner of Church and Short Streets, a small lot directly across from the front entrance, and handicap parking immediately in front of the church. Street parking is also available where driveways are not blocked. Detailed driving directions are provided from I-476, I-81 northbound, and I-81 southbound, with signs mounted on telephone poles at the corner of Oak and Keyser and Oak and Church pointing visitors toward the church.
Dress is "comfortable and modest," and no special preparation is needed for a first visit. Visitors are not asked to give money; financial support is the privilege of parishioners. Children are welcome, including the youngest babies. The Cry Room in the narthex is set aside for mothers who need it. All facilities are handicap accessible. Anyone needing assistance is asked to let the parish know so that they can be of service. The parish is part of the worldwide Orthodox Church, the oldest Christian Church in the world, "a growing Christian community of people from various ethnic and social backgrounds sharing a common commitment to the Lord, each other, and the Apostolic Faith."