St. Mary's Orthodox Church Suffern New York

At the beginning of 1995, few concerned members from St. John’s Orthodox Church of New City and St. Peter’s and St. Paul’s Orthodox Church of Sparkill Churches got together and discussed whether we needed two Orthodox churches in Rockland County. It was pointed out that only a single Church of ours in Rockland County would have a great potential to grow as the most affluent Indian Orthodox Church in the world. Our children can enjoy a well-run Sunday school, well-organized Students Movement and Women’s Group, etc. Thus, we unanimously decided and were determined to stand together strong and pass our faith, heritage and culture to our children. The majority of the members who came to the meeting welcomed the idea of a merger of the two churches. That led to several meetings of representatives from both churches. There were several telephone calls and at least eight official and unofficial meetings were held at different places to discuss about the possible merger. Although the majority of the members were agreeable to a merger, due to some administrative problems the merger did not take place at that time. Although the merger did not take place in 1995, concerned members of both churches maintained close contact, having anticipated the future merger.

First there were two; now there is one … The St. Mary’s Indian Orthodox Church of Rockland has a unique and rich heritage, from the union of two former parishes.

In August 1998, the two Churches met again and decided to merge. Accordingly, we informed the Metropolitan of our interest and he sent a Kalpana (No. K 77/98) on August 27th 1998, to both churches for a Joint Managing Committee and Board of Trustees meeting. The joint meeting was held on Monday, September 7th 1998 at the Aramana Conference hall. Fifteen members from St. John’s Church and eleven members from St. Peter’s & St. Paul’s Church attended the meeting. The meeting was blessed by the presence of Very Rev. Yuhanon Ramban, Rev. Fr. Paulose Adai and Rev. Fr. K.K. Kuriakose. After consultations, coordinators from both churches unanimously agreed to an unconditional merger. The Metropolitan made ten proposals for a smooth merger and the members unanimously agreed. Accordingly, the joint committee decided to have a combined Holy Qurbana on Sunday, September 27th 1998 at St. Peter’s and St. Paul’s Church, Sparkill. Thus, the long cherished wish of the members of St. Peter’s & St. Paul’s Church of Sparkill and St. John’s Church of New City became a reality with the unconditional merger as St. Mary’s Indian Orthodox Church of Rockland on September 27th 1998, by order No. K. No.80/98 of the Metropolitan, H.G. Mathews Mar Barnabas.

It was not only a great accomplishment and achievement for the Orthodox Christians but for all the Christian communities, when two churches in Rockland Country unconditionally merged on September 27, 1998. This merger turned around the history trend and it should set an example to the Christian communities here and in India.