Saint Alexander Nevsky Orthodox Cathedral - Pittsburgh 01

Saint Alexander Nevsky Cathedral is a parish of the Diocese of Western Pennsylvania of the

Orthodox Church in America The Orthodox Church in America (OCA) is an Eastern Orthodox Christian church based in North America. The OCA consists of more than 700 parishes, missions, communities, monasteries and institutions in the United States, Canada and Mexico. In ...

. It was founded in the Woods Run section of Pittsburgh's North Side in 1891. It was the first Russian Orthodox community in the Pittsburgh area. The first pastor of Saint Alexander Nevsky parish was Fr. Victor Toth, brother of St.

Alexis Toth Alexis Georgievich Toth (also Alexis of Wilkes-Barre; March 14, 1853 – May 7, 1909) was a Russian Orthodox church leader in the Midwestern United States who, having resigned his position as a Byzantine Catholic priest in the Ruthenian Catho ...

, who was canonized by the

in 1994. When the

Urban Redevelopment Authority of Pittsburgh The Urban Redevelopment Authority of Pittsburgh (URA) is the City of Pittsburgh's economic development enterprise, committed to building a prosperous and equitable economy for the City. The URA helps bridge public and private interests to invest ...

took over the

Woods Run Marshall-Shadeland is a neighborhood on Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania's North Side. It has a zip codes of both 15212 and 15214, and has representation on Pittsburgh City Council by the council member for District 1 (North Neighborhoods). The neigh ...

area in the late 1960s, the parish relocated to Allison Park, in Pittsburgh's North Hills. The new Church edifice was designed by architect Sergey Padyukov and was consecrated in 1972 by Bishop Theodosius. The

iconostasis In Eastern Christianity, an iconostasis () is a wall of icons and religious paintings, separating the nave from the sanctuary in a Church (building), church. ''Iconostasis'' also refers to a portable icon stand that can be placed anywhere withi ...

, designed by parishioner Vladimir Drobashevsky, and adorned with major icons and feast day icons, was constructed in 1978. The second phase of beautification took place in 1984, and the final phase took place in 1996. Fr. Alexander Jasiukowicz of Chicago and Florida was the icon painter for the church. The Saint

Alexander Nevsky Alexander Yaroslavich Nevsky (; ; monastic name: ''Aleksiy''; 13 May 1221 – 14 November 1263) was Prince of Novgorod (1236–1240; 1241–1256; 1258–1259), Grand Prince of Kiev (1249–1263), and Grand Prince of Vladimir (1252–1263). ...

icon located on the confessional table contains relics of Saint Alexander inside. In 1981 Bishop Kyrill designated the Saint Alexander Nevsky parish to become the Archdiocesan Cathedral. The 100th anniversary of the community was celebrated in 1991. At the turn of the millennium, the Cathedral underwent a major expansion to provide greater school facilities, handicapped access, increased kitchen space, offices, and a theological library. A new set of Russian bells was donated in 1999. Bishop Melchisedek was in office. The community was led by Archpriest Michael Senyo, who arrived in September 2010 upon the retirement of long-time rector Archpriest Paul Suda. The Cathedral choir was led by Larice Nescott. The parish school was supervised by Matushka Susanne Senyo. Adult education was supervised by Father Michael, assisted by Paul Graycar. A large complement of Altar Servers and Readers assisted at divine services. There was a Women's Association.

External links

Cathedral Website

References

Churches in Pittsburgh Orthodox Church in America cathedrals Eastern Orthodox cathedrals in the United States Christian organizations established in 1891 19th-century Eastern Orthodox church buildings Russian-American culture in Pennsylvania 1891 establishments in Pennsylvania

Allison Park Allison Park is a census-designated place in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is a suburb of Pittsburgh and is located within Hampton, McCandless, Shaler, Indiana and West Deer townships. It had a population of 21,864 at th ...

Eastern Orthodoxy in Pennsylvania Cathedrals in Pittsburgh {{US-EO-church-stub