Trenton church celebrates 100 years of serving the community

Holy Trinity Church

The Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Holy Trinity in Trenton celebrates 100th anniversary.

The Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Holy Trinity in Trenton marked its 100th anniversary this weekend.

“Being here for so long is great because it shows that you’ve had different groups and different generation and has been able to survive for 100 years without moving away from its core values, teachings and the liturgy” said David Dubnanski, communications director and church member.

The church was founded on Oct. 13, 1919, and was formally incorporated Nov. 20, 1919. Shortly after, a building was purchased on Woodland Street in the Chambersburg neighborhood as the main center for worship and a residence for the pastor. In 1939, a church hall, residence and garage were built on Adeline Street in Trenton and would be rebuilt in 1952.

Dubnanski said the church has been a sanctuary for Ukrainian immigrants and has provided teachings and history for those of Ukrainian descent.

“It’s like comfort food for a lot of folks who came to the country over the last couple of years," said Dubnanski. "They get to hear things in their native tongue. Also for Americans like myself, you get to understand what a lot of different immigrants went through when they got here.”

Membership, however, began to decline, starting in the 80s, Dubnanski said, because families were moving out of the area. One idea was to bring in clergy from Ukraine.

During that time the church brought in priests from Ukraine because they brought “authentic teachings” being sought by recent immigrants.

Today, the church has about 100 families. “What we found over the last decade now is that there has been another wave of Ukrainian immigrants in the area and it’s helped bolster our membership base and sort of rejuvenated us,” he said.

The church held an open house Saturday followed by a history exhibition. On Sunday, the church planned an anniversary liturgy in the morning and a celebratory banquet later.

India Duke can be reached at iduke@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @Inja_NJ.

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