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<p>WILKES-BARRE &#8212; Protodeacon Keith Russin, of Plains Township, remembers listening to the voices of &#8220;a magnificent choir&#8221; when he served as an altar boy.</p><p>Reader Andrew Buleza, of Wilkes-Barre, recalls the Sunday afternoons, after Divine Liturgy, when he was one of &#8220;about 55 kids jumping around and learning to dance,&#8221; Russian-style, at church.</p><p>And the Very Rev. Vladimir Petorak, pastor of Holy Resurrection Orthodox Cathedral from 1968 to 1995, recalls hearing confessions for not one, not two, but five-and-a-half hours before a holiday.</p><p>As members and friends of Holy Resurrection look forward to celebrating the parish&#8217;s 125th anniversary Oct. 28 and 29, their memories from decades ago suggest a busy, crowded place.</p><p>The church doesn&#8217;t fill up quite so often nowadays, but members hope their neighbors and anyone else who would like to get acquainted will come to a party the parish will host from 2 to 4 p.m. Oct. 28.</p><p>They&#8217;re planning simple refreshments such as hamburgers and hot dogs, music from a local band, and tours of the church &#8212; which longtime members happily explain was founded by a saint, St. Alexis Toth, who was known simply as Father Alexis or Father Toth when he started preaching in Wilkes-Barre in 1892.</p><p>&#8220;My grandparents were married by St. Alexis in 1907,&#8221; said Nancy Pieck, explaining she had been excited to discover that fact about Onufrey and Varvara Sokola, also known by the English versions of their names, Frank and Barbara Sokola, when she was looking through old church records.</p><p>&#8220;I talk (pray) to St. Alexis every day,&#8221; Buleza said, &#8220;asking him to ask almighty God to keep our cathedral open.&#8221;</p><p>The church is rich with tradition, said the Rev. Joseph Martin, who was pastor from 1995 to 2014.</p><p>At Easter time, for example, people paint eggs red to commemorate a legend about Mary Magdalene.</p><p>&#8220;According to the old story, Mary Magdalene went to see Pilate and tell him Jesus had risen,&#8221; Martin said. &#8220;She stood before Pilate with a basket of eggs because, in those days, you would take a gift when you approached someone of higher social station that yours. He told her, &#8216;I wouldn&#8217;t believe you even if those eggs turned red.&#8217;&#8221;</p><p>Miraculously, according to the story, the eggs turned red.</p><p>Other traditions are celebrated on Christmas Eve, when Orthodox believers eat a traditional meatless &#8220;holy supper.&#8221;</p><p>Martin remembers baking the bread that would be served that evening with honey and garlic to represent the sweetness and harshness of life.</p><p>St. Alexis worked as a baker at some point in his life, Martin said, and he enjoyed having that bond with the saint.</p><p>St. Alexis is credited with bringing the Orthodox faith to the East Coast of the United States, Protodeacon Sergei Kapral said. Older Orthodox parishes are more likely found in California and Alaska &#8212; closer to Russia, which, up until the Russian Revolution of 1917, considered Orthodox churches outside of Russia to be its missions and sent financial support.</p><p>When Buleza, Pieck and Russin were growing up as part of Holy Resurrection Parish, they celebrated Christmas on Jan. 7.</p><p>Ever since their church adopted a revised Julian calendar in 1970, they&#8217;ve celebrated Christmas on Dec. 25.</p><p>But in the spirit of Pieck&#8217;s family, who used to invite their mostly Italian neighbors over for a Jan. 7 Christmas celebration, she&#8217;s hoping potential new friends will come to the Oct. 28 party at the church. When it draws to a close at 4 p.m., she said, that will be just in time for Saturday evening vespers to begin, and anyone interested would be welcome to stay for that.</p><p>&#8220;It&#8217;s just beautiful,&#8221; she said.</p><p>On Oct. 29, a more formal religious celebration will take place at 9 a.m. when Bishop Mark comes from St. Tikhon&#8217;s Seminary in South Canaan Township to celebrate a Hierarchical Divine Liturgy at the Cathedral.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">From left, the Very Rev. Joseph Martin was pastor from 1995 to 2014; the Very Rev. Timothy Cremeens is the current pastor; and the Very Rev. Vladimir Petorak was pastor of Holy Resurrection Orthodox Cathedral from 1968 to 1995. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/web1_resurrection-014.jpg</photo0><caption0>From left, the Very Rev. Joseph Martin was pastor from 1995 to 2014; the Very Rev. Timothy Cremeens is the current pastor; and the Very Rev. Vladimir Petorak was pastor of Holy Resurrection Orthodox Cathedral from 1968 to 1995. </caption0><photoCredit0>Submitted photo </photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/web1_resurrection-009.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Looking forward to celebrating the 125th anniversary of the Holy Resurrection Orthodox Cathedral are members of the clergy, from left, Protodeacon Keith Russin, the Very Rev. Joseph Martin, Protodeacon Sergei Kapral, the Very. Rev. Vladimir Petorak and the Very Rev. Timothy Cremeens. Standing: Matushka Elizabeth Petorak, Nancy Pieck, Myra Tarantini, Vera Kraynanski, Marguerite Czekalski and Olga Layton. Parishioner Natalie Gripp, not shown, is coordinating the celebration. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/web1_resurrection-009.jpg</photo1><caption1>Looking forward to celebrating the 125th anniversary of the Holy Resurrection Orthodox Cathedral are members of the clergy, from left, Protodeacon Keith Russin, the Very Rev. Joseph Martin, Protodeacon Sergei Kapral, the Very. Rev. Vladimir Petorak and the Very Rev. Timothy Cremeens. Standing: Matushka Elizabeth Petorak, Nancy Pieck, Myra Tarantini, Vera Kraynanski, Marguerite Czekalski and Olga Layton. Parishioner Natalie Gripp, not shown, is coordinating the celebration. </caption1><photoCredit1>Submitted photo </photoCredit1></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/web1_russian3.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">The Glinka Folk Dancers, as seen in this 1963 photo, were a group of young people from Holy Resurrection Orthodox Cathedral who learned the art of ethnic dancing. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo2>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/web1_russian3.jpg</photo2><caption2>The Glinka Folk Dancers, as seen in this 1963 photo, were a group of young people from Holy Resurrection Orthodox Cathedral who learned the art of ethnic dancing. </caption2><photoCredit2>Submitted photo </photoCredit2></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><subheadMeta>Local parish founded by St. Alexis Toth</subheadMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p><strong>By Mary Therese Biebel</strong></p><p>mbiebel@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><factboxMeta><p><strong>IF YOU GO </strong></p><p><strong>What:</strong> 125th anniversary celebration</p><p><strong>Where: </strong>Holy Resurrection Orthodox Cathedral, 591 N. Main St., Wilkes-Barre</p><p><strong>When:</strong> party 2 to 4 p.m. Oct. 28; Hierarchical Divine Liturgy at 9 a.m. Oct. 29</p></factboxMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Mary Therese Biebel at 570-991-6109 or on Twitter @BiebelMT.</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Holy Resurrection Orthodox Cathedral in WB celebrates 125th anniversary