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Faithful gather for 100th birthday of Msgr. Stephen Hrynuck
The church bells rang out at precisely 9 a.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 27, at Ss. Cyril and Methodius Ukrainian Catholic Church for a celebration a century in the making.
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Congregants of Ss. Cyril and Methodius Ukrainian Catholic Church gather to celebrate the 100th birthday of Msgr. Stephen Hrynuck, center, on Tuesday, Dec. 27.
CHRISTOPHER J. HUGHES PHOTO
Congregants filled the church at 135 River St., Olyphant, to honor the 100th birthday of their longtime astor,p the Very Rev. Mitred Arch-Priest Msgr. Stephen Hrynuck.
Born Dec. 27, 1911 to Michael and Anastasia (Chesak) Hrynuck, the monsignor was inspired to become a priest following the ordination of his brother, John. In April 1938, Hrynuck was ordained by the late Bishop Alexander Yevreinow.
He served parishes in Minneapolis, Minn.; Stratford, N.Y.; Chester, Pa.; New York, N.Y.; Stamford, Conn.; and Washington, D.C., before arriving in Olyphant in 1952, where he has since served the faithful. He served as pastor for 57 years until his retirement and the appointment of the Rev. Nestor Iwasiw in 2009.
“One hundred years God has given me,” Hrynuck said. “I’ll be grateful until the end of this life that 100 years ago God called me to this world, and 73 years ago God gave me the grace to become a priest.”
Hrynuck expressed his thanks to congregants for their constant care and compassion over the years.
“Without you, I have nothing,” he said.
Hrynuck first organized services to the “Mother of Perpetual Help” in 1952 that he continues to lead each Wednesday.
Iwasiw, 46, said that Hrynuck was the only priest many parishioners had known until his recent appointment as pastor. In working with the monsignor, Iwasiw said he has learned more about the importance of faith and to love the people who are called to worship.
Diocese of Scranton Bishop Joseph Bambera joined Tuesday’s celebration. Bambera served “in tandem” with Hrynuck in the Mid Valley as the previous pastor of both the Church of St. Thomas Aquinas in Archbald and the Church of St. Mary of Czestochowa in Eynon that now make up Christ the King Parish.
“One of the things that has most struck me about him… was the incredible joy that emanates in and through his life,” Bambera, 55, said. “It’s a joy that comes because of his priesthood and a joy that’s rooted in the life of God.”
Much has changed in the world since 1911, but Hrynuck said there is one constant in his life: “To try to be a faithful priest to the Lord.
“When I was ordained as a priest, I promised that to the end of my life I would share the glory of God for the good of the people. God has given me his grace for 100 years,” he said.
Hrynuck said he never thought he would reach his 100th birthday and that he is the only priest still living of the nine ordained with him in 1938.
“Why? Nobody knows. Only God knows,” he said.
A celebration of the monsignor’s life continued at a special dinner Tuesday night at Fiorelli’s in Peckville.