St. George Serbian Orthodox Church (Niagara Falls)

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St. George Serbian Orthodox Church (Niagara Falls) is a parish of the Serbian Orthodox Eparchy of Canada. It is located at 6085 Montrose Road South in Niagara Falls, Ontario, where Vidovdan celebration is held annually since 1946.

History

The earliest arrivals to Niagara Falls were Serbian entrepreneurs and businessmen who moved from Quebec, Ontario, and the United States at the turn of the 20th century. As time passed, these businessmen opened restaurants, motels, and eventually hotels and casinos. Among the earliest Serbian settlers was Pane Jerić, better known by the spelling Yerich who came to Niagara Falls via the United States in 1912. The most prominent Serbian entrepreneurs of the next generation were George Yerich and John Gruyich who bought the Skylon Tower, Niagara Falls's landmark.

Another older but equally impressive landmark is the development of alternating current as witnessed by the pioneer station at Niagara Falls in 1896, the project of George Westinghouse in partnership with Nikola Tesla. Today, Nikola Tesla monuments overlook the Falls on both the Canadian and American sides of the border.

According to 2016 Canadian Statistics, Niagara Falls is the largest Serbian colony (per capita) in the country, ahead of Hamilton and Windsor Serbian statistics by the late Milan Karlo are proportionately even with Federal statistics both in Canada and the United States that claim a conservative population of 900,000-1,000,000 million Serbs in North America. It was in Niagara Falls that a tradition began with annual picnics being held each year during Vidovdan.

In the beginning, there were not enough Serbian families in Niagara Falls to support a Church School Congregation and a priest. Niagara Falls worshipers belonged to the Hamilton parish, two hours away by train (84 kilometers). After World War II, the Serbian immigrants in Niagara Falls and surrounding areas increased sizably in population, thanks to the Chetnik immigration that settled in the Dominion of Canada, including the United States, and Commonwealth countries in the large Pacific Islands (Australia and New Zealand) and Africa. Until the establishment of the Serbian Orthodox Church School Congregation in Niagara Falls, faithful Serbs from the Niagara Peninsula commuted to Hamilton. The priest in Hamilton at that time was Father Djura Vukelić (from December of 1948) who was visiting Serbian families in Niagara Falls, performed all sacraments and offered prayers for their well being. According to testimonies of those who remember those times, some Serbians from Niagara at times invited Father Miodrag Djurić from Lakawana, New York to perform those ceremonies. During 1953, priests Sava Miković and Nikanor Paljić provided services.

At the meeting held on 8 March 1953, the Church School Congregation was organized. The elected first president of the Church Council was Pane Yerich (1894-1965). The main goal was the construction of a new church in Niagara Falls bearing the name of St. George the Great Martyr. On the recommendation of Bishop Nikolai (Velimirović, Bishop Dionisije appointed Rev. Nikola Stojsavljević as the parish priest in Niagara. During his time the congregation bought a property for $5,000 which was sold in 1957 and a new site with much more acreage was purchased for $21,000. In June 1958, Bishop Dionisije blessed the grounds on which the Church Hall was built in 1959. With the split in the Church, the progress in the new parish was halted.

Early Days: 1954

Finally, the St. George Serbian Orthodox Church was established by the Serbian community of Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada in 1954.

Immediately upon establishment of the Serbian Orthodox Church School Congregation in Niagara Falls, people, knowing that there is no church life without a priest, began to talk about appointing a priest in the newly-formed parish. A letter was sent to his grace Bishop Dionisije to inform him of the establishment of the parish and of the urgent need of a priest.

Regretfully, the copy of that letter is not available, but the minutes record from the meeting of the church congregation held on 29 March 1953 in the Serbian Hall on 1967 Main Street, testify to that fact. The minutes record shows that in addition to the letter to his grace Bishop Dionisije, a letter was also sent to his grace Bishop Nikolaj Velimirović, inviting him to officiate the first Holy Liturgy in the new Niagara Parish.

Here is an excerpt from the minutes record: "The president asked brother George Bulat, the secretary, to read the copy of the letter that was sent to his Grace Bishop Dionisije, requesting a priest. The letter- reply from his grace Dionisus- was read as well, in which he expressed his good wishes and congratulations to the new Church-School Congregation. Secretary Mr. Bulat read the copy of a letter sent to Father Djuro Vokelic to let him know that we established a Church-School Congregation in Niagara Falls, and that we wish to get a priest who will be able to serve the people of this area so that Father Djuro won't need to travel from Hamilton any longer. A letter sent to his Grace Bishop Nikolai in which he was invited to officiate the first Holy Liturgy and partake in celebrating the establishment of our new Church School Congregation was read."

1963

The parish was divided into two groups, one backed the defrocked Bishop Dionisije (Milivojević) while the other remained loyal to the Mother Church. Rev. Ljubo Stojanović and his followers broke away from the Serbian Patriarchate and formed a new Church School Congregation of St. Archangel Michael in 1964. They also bought a building at 4992 Huron Street in 1965 and adapted it for church services and named it St. Archangel Michael Free Serbian Orthodox Church. The Vidovdan Circle of Serbian Sisters was organized in the parish. Since the parish could not provide for a permanent priest, the services were held periodically.

The church split in 1963 had caused a setback in the progressive Church School Congregation of St. George. The plan to have a new church built was halted but not abandoned. The grounds for the new church were blessed on 4 March 1967. Bishop Sava (Vuković) blessed the foundation for the new church on 17 September 1970. The rite of consecration was performed by Bishop Sava and Bishop Firmilijan. The Church was built in the shape of a cross with flat arches and a central dome covered in copper. The facade was built from baked brick. The iconostasis made in Belgrade was a gift from Evica Vujaklija. The St. George Church in Niagara Fallscarries the name Studenica because it was designed according to the Serbo-Byzantine architecture of the time. The name was suggested by Bishop Stefan (Lastavica), following the tradition of replicating churches in the Old Country like Windsor's copy of the 14th century Gračanica in the Province of Kosovo and Detroit's replica of Lazarica Church in Kruševac. The Circle of Serbian Sisters donated large sums and undertook the work of furnishing the church with chandeliers, and all the paraphernalia for the altar and the mechanism for the church bells.

In 1992 the two churches united in spirit and continued to flourish. In the years that followed as the Serbian population in Niagara Falls continued to grow even more, and another Church School Congregation was organized -- St. Elijah Serbian Orthodox Church at 5906 Sylvia Place. V. Rev. Stavrophor Lazar Vukojev was the administrator in 2013.

Sources

• "Canadian Serbs: A History of Their Social and Cultural Traditions (1856-2002)" by Vladislav A. Tomović, 2002, pages 172, 190, 286, 332, 439 cite Niagara Falls and its earliest beginnings
• "Diaspora Serbs: A Cultural Analysis", edited by Earle Waugh and Milan V. Dimić, M. V. Dimić Research Institute, University of Alberta, pages 138-140;
• "Serbs In Ontario: A Socio-cultural Description" by Sofija Škorić and George Vid Tomashevich, Serbian Heritage Academy of Canada, 1987, pages 111 and 138
• "Early Days: Serbian Settlers in America, Their Life and Time" by Milan Karlo, 1984, page 228 and 254

References

• From the St. George Serbian Orthodox Church (Niagara Falls) website: https://www.stgeorgeniagara.com/parish-clergy and newspaper clippings of the period in question.

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