The history of our Parish began here in Bethlehem when Michael Yosko and 18 other Byzantine Catholics founded the Saints Peter and Paul Society, Branch No. 429, of the Greek Catholic Union in November of 1906. It was not until 1916, when enough money was raised to purchase lots at East Fifth and Edwards Streets in South Bethlehem where a temporary 20’ x 20’ structure was built for the congregants
to call their own. On November 14, 1917 the members of the parish, most of whom were coal miners and steelworkers, gained the full title to their new parish named, St. Paul Greek Catholic Union Church of South Bethlehem, PA. By the spring of 1918 architectural plans were being drawn for a new and grand church, however the cost was out of reach at the time. Instead, a basement church was to be built with heavy stone walls in order to later build a full sized church above it. This first basement church expended all of the parish’s funds which left nothing to buy furnishings. Several parishioners were skilled craftsmen however, and put their trades to use to build the necessary furnishings. The first church along with it’s small bell tower, was built by its parishioners and was dedicated in 1924. Many struggled through the Great Depression which left the dream of a full church simply as that, however things would soon change. One of the parish’s most devoted members, Alexander Kish, passed away on January 31, 1935, leaving more than $8,000 of his estate to the church. With this, the parish weathered the remainder of the depression and were inspired to realize their dream. Serious talks wouldn’t begin on a full church until 1940, but by early 1941 Architect George Yundt was contracted and all construction documents were ready for bids in short order. In July of 1941 the construction contract was awarded to Arthur Houser, general contractor, but work would be slow as World War II began around the world and later involved the United States. On March 8, 1942, a temporary dedication was carried out on the standing structure to allow services to begin. In the meantime, all unfinished work was swiftly completed and the grounds were readied for the solemn dedication of the upper church on Independence Day, July 4, 1942. The interior of the church would wait to be fully furnished until after the war when it was rededicated on July 17, 1949. Our parish enjoyed many years of expansion and celebrations in the decade to come. In September of 1958, Father Paul Firczak was named as the pastor of the church. Under his tenure, the parish celebrated our Golden Jubilee in 1967 with over 400 guests attending. At this time, most of the parishioners lived in “Northampton Heights” which was tucked inside Bethlehem Steel’s Saucon Plant. Bethlehem Steel then began a massive buyout of the residences of this area in order to enable a massive expansion of the plant. Many of the parishioners then moved to Hellertown with the majority moving north of the Lehigh River and to Bethlehem Township. Father Firczak recognized this dispersion, and while he expanded the church’s property in South Bethlehem he also began to plan ahead. In May of 1978 he championed the purchase of a 13 acre lot of land off Macada Road in Bethlehem with a view to the relocation of the parish. Many factors led to this with the primary one being the dispersion of much of the parish. The parish held the highest bid for the land on Macada road, purchasing it from the Bethlehem Area School District. The parish now owned one of the last large plots of land within the City of Bethlehem. Father Firczak would continue to renovate the interior of the church in 1982, and would serve as our Pastor until his death in 1988. On November 8, 1990, our new Pastor, Rev. Robert Slesinski, better known to many of us as “Father Bob”, held his first liturgy at the Edwards Street Church. At this time however, conditions around the church were poor, as the rectory was in need of a major renovation. On November 13, 1990, the first meeting between the parish trustees and Fr. Bob took place outlining an engineering report showing the considerable cost of the rectory repairs. It was here that the possibility of relocation came to be as many potential avenues were to be explored. After discussing the possibilities, the decision was made to proceed with the plans to relocate the parish. On January 10, 1991, another meeting took place, this time with the 50 members of the parish building committee and proposed Architect Dennis R. Connell of Form Space Design. The next few months were exciting, with local newspapers catching on to the plans. Before the end of September all contracts would be signed, with the ground-breaking ceremony for the new complex taking place on October 1, 1991. The ground-breaking event was full of energy, with local news stations covering it on television. Guests from other churches, politicians, and local residents filled the grounds as the Honorable Kenneth R. Smith, Mayor of Bethlehem, spoke on behalf of the city. Nobody may have been more excited than Susanna Yosko Fetsko who attended the first ground-breaking in 1917. Everyone was eager to turn a shovelful of the fertile soil which marked where the new Church would soon stand. The original date for the Solemn Blessing of the Church was planned for June of 1993, however things were moving beautifully which kept construction on time. July 26, 1992 was set for the Solemn Blessing, coinciding with the end of the Parish’s Diamond Jubilee Year. The old bells had been removed from the Edwards Street church and installed in December of 1992, alongside a crowd of excited parishioners. The dome from the old church was also transported to the new church. It was found to be in decent condition, which led Fr. Bob to make the decision on the spot to make a grove shrine out of it in the future. On Holy Thursday, April 16, 1992, the new domes arrived from Tennessee and were separately blessed before being hoisted to their mounts. The old church and properties were sold on July 31, 1992, but not before one final ceremony could take place. The last Divine Liturgy to be celebrated on Edwards Street was the first Feast Day Liturgy for the Holy Apostles, Saints Peter and Paul, on June 29, 1992. At the conclusion, the Rite Benediction to the Blessed Sacrament began and, then, was followed by a caravan-procession by car to accompany the transport of the Blessed Sacrament to the new church. Upon entrance to the new church, the Rite Benediction was brought to its conclusion with the Blessed Sacrament now finding a new home. The new church would continue to enjoy its parish community and would become home to our annual Fall Festival and Bazaar. Here, visitors from across the Lehigh Valley are able to gather with our parishioners to enjoy traditional food, baked goods, and can try their luck in our basket prize raffles. The event makes use of one of features of the new church, the large kitchen and hall. The kitchen itself was designed to be as efficient as possible for the parishioners who make pierogies as well as other baked goods there. It would be business as usual for the Parish until 2014, when parishioner Nicholas Chismar, a Boy Scout of Troop 362 in Bethlehem, began drafting plans for the old church dome which had been sitting since it arrived in 1992. After a few months of planning with former Pastor, Fr. Peter Hosak, the project was presented to his scout leaders as a part of Nick’s Eagle Service Project. It received approval on October 9, 2014, with work beginning in the Spring of 2015. On April 25, 2015, seventeen volunteers descended on the grounds of the church to refresh the landscaping and clean courtyard walls. A team was put together to begin the project for the dome. Over the next several days, a concrete and steel reinforced pedestal was built for the dome. The dome was then moved by crane to its new home, just beyond the back doors of the church’s main entrance. More than 220 hours were put into the project which finally realized Fr. Bob’s plan to incorporate the old dome on the church grounds. On July 1, 2018, the parish celebrated its 100th Anniversary. Hundreds of guests gathered as Bishop Kurt Burnette led the parish during Divine Liturgy. Afterwards, many gathered in the hall as Mr. Edward Berezny, a representative of the parish, welcomed our distinguished guests before dinner. The invocation was given by Reverend Edward Higgins, Protopresbyter, with the toast following soon after. The 100th Anniversary cakes, a pair which had been decorated with both the Edwards Street and New Church on them, were then cut by Bishop Kurt and the children of the parish. Remarks were given during the dinner by Reverend William Gore, OSFS, Very Reverend Peter J. Hosak, Pastor at the time, and Reverend Robert Slesinski, PHD. The celebration packed the church hall leaving many parking their cars on the church driveway. It was an incredibly joyous day, celebrating something that began over 100 years ago, as a handful of Byzantine Catholics dreamt of their own house of worship. In March of 2020, many churches closed their doors to help combat and slow the spread of the pandemic. Saints Peter and Paul began Live Streaming Divine Liturgies in early April of 2020 leading into our Easter Celebrations. Although there would be no crowds, many parishioners and guests were able to be together through these means. On Saturday June 13, 2020, Saints Peter and Paul welcomed parishioners and guests back into the Church with new and strict sanitary and safety precautions in place. Since then our church has continued to Live Stream Divine Liturgies for those who are still unable to attend.
