South Bound Brook
Saint Andrew Memorial Church
280 Main Street, South Bound Brook, New Jersey, USA
St. Andrews Memorial Church stands on the 100 acre estate of the National Headquarters for Ukrainian Orthodox Church of America. This estate incorporates a museum, library, conference and cultural center, and a cemetery where renown clergy and famous American and Ukrainians are buried. In the middle of this complex stands St. Andrews Memorial Church dedicated to the victims of the Holodomor, and to Ukrainian martyrs who died in the struggle against Communism and for Ukrainian independence.
Mystyslav Skrypnyk, Archbishop of New York and President of the Consistory, was the visionary who spearheaded the project of building such a Memorial Church. In 1955, he commissioned Yurii (George) Kodak to be the architect, having recognized his talent for expressing the Ukrainian Baroque in many of his previous ecclesiastical works.
The design for St. Andrews, was a scaled down version of Yurii’s prize-winning design submitted in 1948 for the Holy Cross Cathedral in Winnipeg. That competition also had been initiated by Mystyslav. The design for St. Andrew’s retained the scrolled front entrance, the see-through tambours, and the Byzantium shaped cupolas. Missing, on the front sides of this structure were the bas relief sculptures envisioned by the architect.
Ground breaking began in 1955 with Saul Shaw and Co., Consulting Engineers, doing the foundation work. N. Maltese & Sons, Inc. Structural Steel fabricated the steel structure designed by George Kodak. 1958, the General Contractor’s estimate being agreed to was signed between Merrill Engineering & Construction Co, and the Consistory. Exterior construction ended in 1962. The 30th year commemoration of the Holdomor took place at the church in 1963 with 4,000 people in attendance. The church was formally consecrated finally in October 1965.
Standing 170 feet high, St. Andrew’s Memorial church is a notable and familiar landmark in the small town of South Bound Brook, Hew Jersey. It was an expensive project, and in 1960 Mystyslav had issued letters to area neighbors asking for donations for the building, stating that the monument would be an inspiration to all Christians. The locals have used these words to describe it; “elegant, tall, serene and stately, gently impressive, a balm to the soul”.
It is perhaps fitting that Vasyl Krychevsky is buried in the shadow of St. Andrew’s church-monument, a creation of one of his architectural students from the National Institute of Art.