Vasyliw – Ss. Constantine and Helena (closed)

Vasyliw church of SS. Constantine and Helena constructed 1906, 6 miles south of Buchanan; R.M. 274.

VASYLIW — The church of SS. Constantine and Helena is the first church of the parish.

The church is one of the oldest and smallest in size churches of the Eparchy. It was constructed m 1906 on a level two acre site six miles south of Buchanan. Bishop Nicetas Budka blessed the church in 1913, Archbishop Basil Ladyka visited the parish in 1935. On September 21, 1960, Bishop Andrew Roborecki celebrated a solemn Divine Liturgy in the church and, together with the parishioners, marked the 50th anniversary of the church construction.

The log constructed rectangular church, 24 x 16 feet, is finished with painted siding and has a shingled gable roof with a small central cupola-tower. In the interior the sanctuary and main altar are separated from the nave by an iconostas; the nave contains wooden pews seating approx. 40 persons; a small choir loft extends over the nave. Lighting is by candles and heating is by a wood burning heater. The church was constructed at a total cost of $500, and through the voluntary labour of the parishioners under the direction of A. Hrynkiw. The iconostas was constructed in 1921 by Tymchyshyn.

A wooden cross near the church commemorates the Holy Mission of 1918. In 1954 a wooden belfry was constructed; the bell was purchased by the parishioners for $400. The parish hall nearby was constructed in 1947 and enlarged in 1954. Also on parish property, a short distance from the church, is the parish cemetery. The combined church and cemetery site, prairie land surrounded by distant forests, was purchased by the parishioners in 1905 for $30.

Ukrainian settlers arrived in this area in 1905, predominantly from the Borshchiv county. The founding members of this parish, together with Rev. Achille Delaere, CSSR, were: N. Vasyliw (Wasyliw), Mykh. Secundiak (Secondiak) and M. Kostyshyn. In 1941, the parish consisted of 12 members with 25 children (Prop. Knyha); in 1961 there were 28 souls (Directory); in 1967, there were approx. 50 persons (questionnaire); in 1975, 14 families and 6 single members registered to the parish in a radius of ten to fifteen miles. In 1976 the parish was under the directorship of Rev. Peter Hardy-bala, pastor, John Wojcichowsky, Eugene Secondiak and Joseph Dziaduch.

The Ukrainian Catholic parish of SS. Constantine and Helena, Vasyliw, is under the pastoral charge of Buchanan.

The name “Vasyliw” also “kolo Vasyleva” meaning near the home of Vasyliw, comes from one of the founders of the parish.