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"For the glory of God and future generations" - these words, engraved on the granite stone of the Church of St. Joseph the Betrothed, testify to us the spirit and inspiration of a small group of Ukrainian Greek-Catholics who lived on the Northwest Side of Chicago more than sixty years ago. Under the leadership of Father Yosyp Shary, the faithful tried for many years to build a new Ukrainian religious institution. Their efforts were crowned with success, and their dream of building the most beautiful Ukrainian church in America was realized.
The honor of creating a new parish belongs to the then 29-year-old Father Yosyp Shariy, who on August 12, 1956 celebrated his first Liturgy in the Roman Catholic Church of St. Benedict. The organizing committee met the next evening at the house of the Zdeblyk family. At that time, the Gavalyukh, Havalyk, Marinoff, Savkiv and Kuzma families were present. The following Sunday, the number of parish families increased to more than sixty, who after the liturgy decided to name the church in honor of St. Joseph, the patron saint of the Christian family, and celebrate according to the Gregorian calendar. On the third Sunday, August 29, 1956, the parish increased so much that it was decided to hold liturgies in the premises of the high school of St. Patrick, where parish life raged until 1958.
At the end of 1957, with the collected money, the parishioners purchased four plots of land for the construction of a new church. This area covered more than 80 acres and was located at the intersection of Cumberland and Foster streets, East River Road and Argyle. Another plot was designated for the development of a new Ukrainian neighborhood. Mr. I. Podniy was responsible for the planning and distribution of land plots and property.
On April 13, 1958, the land was consecrated, and the construction of the church and religious center for the community began, which was completed on November 2, 1958. It was then that parishioners were able to pray in their own church for the first time.
In 1959, the parishioners built an iconostasis in the traditional Byzantine style, which now stands in the church chapel in honor of St. Paraskevi The last Holy Liturgy was celebrated in the old church building on March 20, 1977.
Construction of the temple
With the increase in the number of parishioners, there was a need for a new, large church. It was decided to start construction, which officially began on October 1, 1975. 32 project proposals were put forward for consideration, of which Zenon Mazurkevich's project was recognized as the best. Bishop Yaroslav Gabro approved the project and consecrated the land for construction on April 6, 1975. A year later, Patriarch Joseph the Blind visited the parish and consecrated the foundation of the new church.
Subsequently, on December 26, 1976, Bishop Gabro consecrated the two cornerstones, which, along with important documents and other valuable artifacts related to the construction, were embedded in the wall of the church. Among them are a piece of coal from Donbas and a stone from the banks of the Dnieper.
The parishioners celebrated the first Liturgy in the new church on November 1, 1976, in preparation for the Beatification of the Servant of God, Metropolitan Andrey Sheptytskyi.
The second half of the golden years brought many changes and at the same time became a period of prosperity for the parish. In 1983, the priest Rev. Dr. Andrii Chirovsky replaced the original crystal panicadillo with a traditional one in the Byzantine style. At the same time, the long but important process of painting the church began. Unfortunately, due to insurmountable circumstances, it did not end that way. In 1988, thanks to the generous donation of the Podlusky family, an iconostasis was installed in the church.
From 1985 to 1987, the pastor of the church of St. Joseph was appointed Fr. Mykhailo Kuzma. In 1988, in honor of the thousandth anniversary of the baptism of Russia-Ukraine, under the leadership of the parish priest Fr. William Bilinsky, parish of St. Joseph built a new house for parish priests to the west of the grotto. In addition, the building of the old church was transformed into office premises, school classrooms and a branch of the Samopomich credit union. The annual parish carnival continued to be popular with parishioners, as did the weekly bingo game.
In 1989, Fr. Thomas Glynn joined the parish as an associate father.
The new generation
At the beginning of the summer of 1995, changes took place. Fr. Bilinsky retired and was replaced by Fr. Pavlo Hajda, who came with his wife and two children. Annual carnivals were replaced by annual picnics. In the following years, the bare concrete walls in the church were painted and the golden baths were repainted. The annual New Year's dance was one of the most anticipated events among the parishioners; the activity of the Cyril and Methodius youth group was revived, and a large altar brotherhood was also created. In the liturgical aspect, the church began to revive traditional Divine Services, such as the Liturgy of the Preconsecrated Gifts, a memorial service instead of a funeral service. During this time, the parish had the honor of being the organizer of several events of an ecumenical nature, namely, in 2000, the annual Diocesan Conference was held here, and in 2006, a meeting of Eastern Catholic churches took place. From that time, the parish received the name "Hospitable parish" and began to celebrate religious holidays even according to the Julian calendar, in order to respond to the growing need for prayer of a new wave of emigrants from Ukraine who settled on the northwestern outskirts of the city of Chicago.
In January 2008, after the sudden tragic death of Fr. Pavlo Hajda, the parish accepted a new (current) parish priest - Fr. Mykola Buryadnyka with his wife and son. Under the leadership of Fr. Nicholas, the parish continues to grow, where only the annual number of weddings and baptisms has more than tripled. The parish picnic has turned into the annual two-day Yuktoberfest, and the process of painting the walls of the church, which began more than 25 years ago, continues. The mosaic of the grotto, which depicts the Goshiv Mother of God, was also restored and consecrated by His Beatitude Svyatoslav Shevchuk during his first visit to Chicago.
In 2009, Fr. joined the parish and began his ministry as an associate father. Volodymyr Kushnir together with his wife and daughter, who also puts a lot of effort and heart into its prosperity.
Many organizations operate within the parish, such as the Ukrainian Saturday school "Native School", the choirs "Kheruvim" and "Irmos", the theaters "Homin", "Divo", the School of Battle Hopak, the dance school "Vyshivanka", the youth society named after Cyril and Methodius, the Bible group, the "Spirit of St. Joseph" society of senior parishioners, who are devoted to the spiritual growth of the new generation and do not forget their Ukrainian roots.