Church History

One hundred and 20 years ago the first individuals emigrated from Western Ukraine to New Britain.  At the end of the nineteenth century, New Britain bustled with industry as the world’s Hardware Capital.  Booming hardware, tool and metal implement factories required hundreds of workers to staff their second and third shifts around the clock.  These job opportunities served as a boon to unskilled, non-English speaking immigrants who were eager to leave war-weary Austria Hungary as the Empire provided few options for education or advancement.

With an established Polish community already in place, New Britain, Connecticut served as a prime location for chain migration, a term referring to settlement patterns in which people gravitate to areas where their culture, language and identity are similar.  Those first Western Ukrainians (known as the First Wave of Ukrainian Immigration) first prayed with the Poles at Sacred Heart Church in the late 19th century, then with the Hungarians at Holy Trinity Church on Beaver Street and eventually founded their own Ukrainian (or in the language of the time, Ruthenian) church at our present location at 54 Winter Street.  Laying the foundation in 1910, they prayed in the finished basement for 7 years until funds were raised to complete the upper portion of the church in 1917. 

By this time, immigration had increased while a new generation of parishioners was growing up.  St. Mary’s represented the physical center of the Ukrainian community at that time, at the cross roads of Winter and Clark Streets.  By 1920, Ukrainian stores, shops and taverns established themselves up and down North Street and its connecting roads.  The Ukrainian print shop on Union Street, mutual benefit societies such as Sts. Peter & Paul and St. Volodymyr provided insurance coverage and support networks, a Ukrainian-language school was established  — all of these groups provided the social and service background to the daily prayer life centered around the church.

The successive “Second Wave” of immigration, between the two world wars, was much smaller but by this time the children of those first-wavers were growing to adulthood and had established a beach-head of sorts in the neighborhood, living in the tenements, three-family and single-family homes.  Again, St. Mary’s served as the geographic center of the Ukrainian community.  It was during the 1920s and 30s that St. Mary’s produced concerts and participated in regional conventions with the YUAP.  The parish cemetery was established on Osgood Avenue.  Picnics at Schutzen Park became a summer tradition in addition to social dances at the Ukrainian Club on Erwin Place.  It was at this time that St. Mary’s joined the growing national Orthodox Church and assumed its present name. 

World War Two saw the peak in New Britain’s economy as many hardware factories transitioned to war production work.  Dozens of parishioners joined the war effort: men serving on the front lines; women joining in factory work and service organizations; and families praying unceasingly for them.  The veteran’s organization, the Private Andrew Prestash Post, and the church’s monument to honor the fallen were established shortly afterwards. 

Also after the war came the Third Wave of Ukrainian immigration, those displaced persons and refugees seeking safe harbor.  By this time, the parish still was growing, but many people had moved out of the North Street area to other parts of New Britain or its closest suburbs, thanks in part to better transportation, better education and job opportunities elsewhere.  St. Mary’s continued to serve as the center of prayer life, even though the Ukrainian-American community was moving farther out.  During the post-war decades, the Church School was founded, a scholarship fund was established, parishioners now attended national conventions for church organizations and they were instrumental in building the new, larger Ukrainian Club on Oak Street.

Towards the close of the twentieth century, many parishioners were located even farther from New Britain, but St. Mary’s continued to adjust to changing times and changing needs.  Following a major fire in 1972, the church rebuilt and reconsecrated its altar, later installing its iconostas in 1977.  St. Olga’s Sisterhood continued to lead the charge in fundraising for the parish in addition to the popular parish-wide festivals and bread-baking.  Hosting conventions as well as attending them, parishioners strived to raise the parish’s national profile.  Revivals in Ukrainian dance began in the 1980s and continue today. 

Following the fall of communism in 1991, the “Fourth Wave” of Ukrainian immigration brought new blood to the parish and communication and aid to Europe increased.  Participation in service organizations, outreach and stewardship became the focus of the last 20 years.  The Bundles for Ukraine program has sent thousands of packages of food, clothing and needed supplies to poorer parishes and orphanages overseas.  Through the Youth Ministry office, the children of St. Mary’s produce cards and crafts for parish shut-ins several times a year and donate their “Pennies from Heaven” collected during Great Lent to support the Bundles program.  Young people attend mission trips overseas and in just this Centennial year, parishioners have “adopted” teenagers at Fontanka orphanage.

It is impossible to condense one hundred years of history into a ten minute talk.  But through these highlights, accompanied by this sampling of scrolling photographs, one can grasp the community bonds that have centered St. Mary’s for this first century of its growth.  In that word “community” one can hear the word “commune” –meaning both discussing and engaging with one another as well as receiving the gifts of Christ through Holy Communion.  Several families within St. Mary’s have received these sacraments here for five generations and eagerly welcome new members to share in this unique community.  As we enjoy the faces and events scrolling by, several passages from the holy services come to mind, such as “they will be remembered from generation to generation,” and “may you live to see your children’s children” and “we are members of one another.”  Serving and celebrating Christ for 100 years, thank you St. Mary’s.”