Magyar News, 1993. szeptember-1994. augusztus (4. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)

1994-06-01 / 10. szám

A CENTURY OF FAITHFUL SERVICE IN OUR COMMUNITY

Thus, on hundred years ago, on July 4, 1894, the Spirit of God called a group of eighteen men in Bridgeport, Connecticut, who were already united by their common Hungarian descent, to band themselves together to found a fraternal organization. They soon recognized the need for a chapel to be the center of their lives and work, and on October 14,1894, they gathered $80.88 and used it to furnish a chapel in the home of Karoly Lomniczer.

And God saw that it was good, and He blessed this small beginning of the Holy Trinity Byzantine Hungarian Catholic Church.

The number of Hungarians in Bridgeport who were of the Byzantine rite continued to grow. In 1895, the church officers purchased a plot of land on Bostwick Avenue in the city’s “Little Hungary” section of the West End. Two years later, a modest frame church constructed for $1500 was dedicated in May. During the period of construction, the church, which now had its own pastor, Reverend Mihály Balogh, continued to meet in the basement chapel of the Lomniczer home. It was a joyous day indeed when the first liturgy was celebrated in their own church building.

The Early Church

Reverend Mihály Balogh served Holy Trinity Parish until 1899. During his pastorate the first Youth Circle (Ifjúsági Kör) was formed in 1898.

After the Reverend Mihály Balogh the following pastors served the parish: Reverend Demeter Gebe 1899 - Reverend Michael Jackovics - 1901 Reverend Eugene Volkay 1901-1903 Reverend Elek Dudinsky 1903-1904 Reverend Elias Gojdics 1904-1906 Reverend Balint Gorzo 1906-1908 Reverend John Lukacs 1908-1914

Y ears of growth enabled the parish under Father Gojdics to purchase property on Spruce Street for $2500 in 1905. In 1906, it bought the property on the corner of Bostwick Avenue and Cherry Street for $2400. This piece of land was subsequently resold in 1909. Growing membership during the pastorate of Father Lukacs demanded an enlargement of the church building. This took the form of new additions and mainbuilding renovations which were dedicated on April 14,1910, another milestone in the growth of the church. In 1912, the house next to the ch urch, owned by Joseph Haydu, was purchased. The house was then moved to allow for the construction of a new rectory. A religious and Hungarian language school was begun that year in the basement of the church.

In 1915 the Reverend Orestes Chomack acted as church administrator until the Re(continued on page 2)

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