Anyone visiting Centralia, Pennsylvania will notice some unusual crosses around the town. The crosses appear a bit spooky at first. They have an two extra horizontal pieces. The lower of these slants up to the left and down to the right.
The crosses can be seen in a number of locations within Centralia PA, including at Saints Peter and Paul Orthodox Cemetery as well as at the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary Church. Both of these sites are affiliated with the Ukrainian Greek Catholic denomination.
Herein lies the answer to the question of unusual crosses. Ukrainian Greek Catholics worship using the Orthodox cross. This cross is a variant of the standard Christian cross and is also known as the Byzantine cross, Russian Orthodox, or Suppedaneum cross.
The Orthodox cross uniquely represents the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. The topmost horizontal piece stands for the board inscribed with INRI, the middle one is the traditional crossbeam which Jesus’s arms were nailed to, and the bottom symbolizes a footrest. The footrest tilts upward to the left and points toward St. Dismas. It slants downward to the right in the direction of Gestas. Both were crucified alongside Jesus.
Before the town was razed, there were a number of practicing Ukrainian Greek Catholics in Centralia, Pennsylvania. Saints Peter and Paul Church was located on East Park Street within the borough. It closed in 1985 and was demolished due to the advancing mine fire. Only the cemetery serves as a reminder that it once existed.
The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary Church is still standing, as it happens to be outside of the mine fire burn zone. It is located on Center Street on the hill to the north which overlooks Centralia, PA. You can find Orthodox crosses here and at SS Peter and Paul Orthodox Cemetery.
Um…St. Peter and Paul Church was an ORTHODOX church. Assumption of the BVM (the one that is still open) is a CATHOLIC church. There is a big difference, even if they both use similar-looking crosses. Orthodox Churches are separate from Catholicism and generally do not consider Catholics to be members of their church. That is why there were 2 different churches in the first place (St. Peter and Paul for the Orthodox and Assumption of the BVM for the Ukrainian Catholics…plus St. Ignatius for the Roman Catholics).
the assumption of bvm is probably byzantine catholic. basically orthodox but “acknowledge” the pope, in so many words
For anyone here by Google: ABV is Ukrainian Greek Catholic, also called Byzantine Rite Catholics or Eastern Rite Catholics. Technically Catholic, but not Roman Catholic and while they recognize the Pope the rites are different and the authority structure is not quite the same.
Whether the Orthodox or Catholic lines are the “true” original Church is a point of debate, but both are much more closely related and direct descent from original Christianity than other churches (Coptic/Syrian excepted.) They do not view each other the same way as Protestant sects, all of which are modern (post-15th century) breakaway sects, not splits from the original Church being in the Eastern and Western Roman Empires.
I have found that my father’s family house was at 245 West Park Street in Centralia. I still have some faint memories of the place from when I was a child. I have an old water company map of Centralia from I think the 1920s but it cuts off Park at 226 so cannot determine where the property was located so I’m looking for old maps of the town that would show where the property was located so that next time I visit there I can go to the old address just for old times sake. If anyone has one that lists it I would be grateful. Thanks, have a great day!