Screengrab of St. Vladimir Church after fire from TribLive Image: Louis B. Ruediger
CV NEWS FEED // Two years after a fire ravaged St. Vladimir’s Ukrainian Catholic Church in Arnold, Pennsylvania, the parish has restored the sanctuary in a $2.2 million project, and more importantly, has reenergized the Ukrainian Catholics in the area.
The fire destroyed Arnold’s only Catholic church on December 4, 2021, causing more than $4 million in damage to the 74-year-old building. The congregation had only 35 members.
“We rebuild our church, but we also are rebuilding connections within our greater community and rebuilding even ourselves, with joy, happiness and hope,” Fr. Yaroslav Koval, the pastor, told local news station TRIB Live.
In October, the parish began rebuilding using parts of the original structure and restoring the original altar. The church will now be connected to a new courtyard, while the Belgian stained-glass windows that survived the fire are repurposed in alcoves in the outdoor space. An old bell tower and the narthex, or entryway, also survived the fire.
After the fire, Koval promptly hosted a liturgy in the hall nearby and promised to rebuild.
The disaster led to support from the community and even those who once attended returned.
An Orthodox Church nearby, which broke off from St. Vladmir’s in the 1930s, is donating many sacred items following its own closure. From local and out-of-state donations to parishioners selling pierogies, the parish raised enough money to fulfill Koval’s promise, and rebuild.
The new church will be significantly smaller, accommodating 100 people rather than 700 with standing room only, as it once did. Koval says that he wants to emphasize that “church is not a building, it is the people. We are our faith.”
The first project is to restore or replace icons saved from the altar. During the fire, volunteers rescued statues, baptismal fonts, a pulpit, and some paintings. The courtyard will be the longest part of the project, and may take years.
“It [the fire] has offered some beautiful moments for our parish,” he said. “We are not only the building — we as Christians are temples of the Holy Spirit.”