Our Parish

Beginnings. . . The Holy Resurrection Church in Lebanon is the Serbian Orthodox Church’s second oldest in the United States. It was consecrated on October 19, 1916 built by the local Serbian community that emigrated here from Serbian lands in the early 1900s in hopes of finding a better life. They were attracted to Lebanon and other central Pennsylvania towns at the turn of the 20th Century, not only because of the jobs in the steel and coal industry but because the rolling hills and rivers reminded them of their homeland. With faith playing a central role in their lives, the congregation decided in the spring of 1915 to build a place of worship, and 18 months later, the close-knit community had its own church, social hall and parish house. Many families had to take out mortgages on their homes, so all three buildings could be built at the same time. The unpretentious church – renovated with a red brick facade in 1954 – may look ordinary from the outside, but inside it is literally a priceless work of art. Its’ walls and ceiling are adorned with frescoes painted in 1918 by Serbian artist Svetozar Popovic, whose works hang in the Louvre in Paris and other museums. In October, 2016 the Lebanon Parish celebrated its gala centenary.