Phone +1 732-257-5007 | Completed 1950s | |
Location 284 Whitehead AvenueSouth River, NJ 08882 Similar Saints Peter and Paul Orth, Holy Trinity Episcopal Church, Corpus Christi Roman C, Saint Euphrosy Belarusia, Tabernacle Baptist Church | ||
The St. Euphrosynia Belarusian Orthodox Church is a Belarusian Greek Orthodox church in South River, New Jersey. The archdiocese is the American Carpatho-Russian Orthodox Diocese of the U.S.A.. The head of the church is Rev. Fr. Michael Psenechnuk. It is named after Euphrosyne of Polotsk.
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History
After the end of World War II, Belarusian parishioners came together and worshiped in Displaced Person-Camps in Regensburg, Michelsdorf and Backnang, Germany. Some of the church members were able to move to the United States and moved to South River, New Jersey, where already a Belarusian community existed. In 1951 a parish council was elected, with Father Mikalaj Lapitzki selected as its first pastor. The parish celebrated their first worship in the second floor of the Conklin Methodist Church, a local church, whose Rev. G. Nelson Moore allowed to use it. The Church Council became a member of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of North and South America. In 1953 the parish bought a former Jewish Synagogue on Whitehead Avenue and converted it into an Orthodox Christian Church. In addition the Church acquired a piece of land on Hillside Avenue for use as a parish cemetery.
On a hilltop behind the St. Euphrosynia Belarusian Orthodox Church a large memorial was installed bearing the official seal of the Byelorussian Central Council (Bielaruskaja Centalnaja Rada, or BCC) reads, “glory to those who fought for freedom and independence of Byelorussia.” The stone memorial is topped by a large iron cross, which has a small double barred cross at its center, which represents the Cross of Saint Euphrosyne and is a central element of the medieval Belarusian coat of arms, Pahonia. According to some researchers, this was also the insignia of the 30th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS.