November 20, 2013
Mayfield, PA: St. John the Baptist Cathedral holds 22nd Annual Christmas Bazaar

From Friday the 8th through Sunday the 10th of November, the parish of St. John the Baptist Cathedral in Mayfield, PA held its 22nd annual Christmas Bazaar. The three-day event featured over 30 booths of vendors and crafters, as well as homemade ethnic foods and desserts for the holidays.

The parish hall was transformed for the bazaar, with the its main hall and classrooms being converted into showrooms for the many guest vendors, including representatives from local businesses and even a contingent from Holy Trinity Bookstore in Jordanville, NY. Thousands of parishioners and locals from across the Lackawanna River Valley came to the bazaar over the course of three days, enjoying a chance to become better acquainted with Orthodoxy and Russian/Ukrainian/Lemko culture, as well as support the St. John’s community.

The Christmas Bazaar is the parish’s major annual fundraiser, made possible by the cooperation and dedication of St. John’s parishioners. Under the supervision and leadership of parish pastor and cathedral dean Archpriest John Sorochka, and with the help of Matushka Alexandra Sorochka and choir director Gary Brzuchalski, the men, women, and youth of St. John’s all pitch in to make this massive project a yearly reality. Planning for the weekend begins in August, and then the work begins as parishioners prepare 15,000 pierogies and countless other Slavic delicacies, including halupki, meatballs, and prepared dinners, with the dishes growing more numerous and diverse every year.

Instrumental in organizing and running this year’s bazaar were parish Protodeacon Stephen Howanetz and two "matushkas:" Presbytera Thalia Demopulos, a parishioner, and visiting Presbytera Joanna Alexson, her niece, both of whom added a Greek flavor to the festivity’s menu.

Visitors to the diocesan website are warmly invited to attend next year’s Christmas Bazaar, which will be held in November 2014!

Photos: www.stjohnsmayfield.org

Media Office of the Eastern American Diocese