At your baptism in the Jordan, O Lord, worship of the Trinity was revealed; for the Father's voice bore witness to you, calling you his beloved Son, and the Spirit in the form of a dove confirmed the truth of these words.
O Christ God, you appeared and enlightened the world. Glory to you!
Troparion of Theophany
The beginning of Holy Trinity Byzantine Catholic Church in Sykesville can be traced back to 1906 with the organizational efforts of Fr. Anthony Mhley, who was pastor of Ss. Peter and Paul Byzantine Catholic Church in Punxsutawney, PA, from 1901–1913. Significant progress toward the new church began on May 16, 1907, when Nicholas and Tekla Dobrosky of Sykesville purchased and donated to the church organizers the two lots of land on Shaffer Street on which the church and rectory now stand. On July 3, 1907, the contract for the construction of the church was made with A. L. Lukehart of Falls Creek, PA. The contract stated that the building would be completed by October 1, 1907. Fr. Myron Danilovitch was assigned as the first pastor by Bishop Soter Ortinsky, OSBM, in the fall of 1907. At that time, Bishop Ortinsky was in charge of all Greek Catholics in the United States originating from Austrian Galicia and Hungary.
Membership grew steadily. In order to accomodate the increasing number of parishioners, the church building was expanded to twice its size during the pastorate of Fr. Joseph Shakaley (1918–1925). It was also during this period that the parish came under the jurisdiction of Bishop Basil Takach, head of the newly established Byzantine-Ruthenian Metropolitan Church of Pittsburgh, PA.
In 1926, a social hall was constructed. Years later in 1968, the social hall's significance and potential became apparent. Remodeling began, a parking lot prepared, and additional surrounding properties were purchased. New social and fundraising activities began and continued until the social hall burned down due to arson in 1976. In May of 1979, a new rectory was completed adjoining the church. The construction of the rectory initiated the consolidation of church properties and facilites since the new rectory extended the church basement and added an additional upper floor for future expansion, resulting in a new social hall below the rectory and classrooms above the rectory.
The late 1980s witnessed a complete restoration of the church interior. The icon screen was restored by the hand of the late Fr. George Mihalke, and a refurbishing of the interior according to Eastern Christian liturgical traditions was made possible by the generosity and hard work of the parishioners. In 1993, unused properties owned by the parish were sold. Improvements continued with the completion of the social hall in 1994 and classrooms for religious education in 1995. Once again, the faith and hard work of the parishioners led the parish to provide the proper setting for the religious education of its youth and for social activities.
We pray that the Holy Spirit will continue to inspire and motivate the parishioners of Holy Trinity Church for many years to come.
The following is a list of the parish priests who have served Holy Trinity throughout the years: