More than 100 years have passed since the first Ukrainian nuns arrived in the United States and established a community of the Sisters of St. Basil the Great. This order originated in the 4th century on the lands of modern Turkey. The first monastery of the Basilian Sisters in Ukraine appeared in the 11th century. Ukrainian Basilian Sisters came to America in 1911. They devoted themselves to caring for Ukrainian orphans, established educational institutions in areas where Ukrainians settled and provided spiritual support to them and other immigrants. They keep doing this until now. According to the website philadelphianka, the Basilians can be found in more than 10 countries around the world today.
Mother Emilia-Helena
A significant figure in the activities of the Basilian Sisters in Philadelphia was Helena Langevych, also known as Olena Langevych. She was born in 1881 in Ukraine, specifically in the town of Zhovkva in the Lviv region. This Ukrainian Basilian nun and teacher was destined to become the founder and first abbess of the monastery of the Basilian Sisters in Philadelphia.
Photo: Emilia-Helena Langevych
Emilia-Helena (this is the nun’s Christian name) was the daughter of Polish parents Michal Langevych and Katarzyna Dashkevych, who lived in Ukraine. In 1897, Olena joined the Greek-Catholic monastery of the Basilian Sisters in Yavoriv in the Lviv region. She spent her probation period, like all local Basilian nuns, in the village of Slovita in the Lviv region. After a year, having taken her initial vow, she returned to Yavoriv and became a teacher at the monastery’s girls’ school. In 1902, Olena Langevych officially made her final vows and from then worked on an important advisory body known as the Chapter, which was convened in Slovita by the head of the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church, Metropolitan Andrey Sheptytsky. That same year, Langevych headed a girls’ boarding school and became the assistant to one of the superiors in Przemyśl. From 1904, Emilia-Helena taught at the school in Yavoriv and contributed to the opening of a teacher’s seminary in the city.
However, 1911 was a turning point in this woman’s life. Emilia-Helena, along with several sisters, went to the United States to work in Philadelphia for the benefit of Ukrainian immigrants. They did it at the request of the first bishop of the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church in the United States, Soter Ortynsky. The bishop was primarily concerned about the fate of Ukrainian orphans in Philadelphia (the Basilian sisters took care of them immediately after their arrival).
Mother Emilia-Helena established and was the first to head the Basilian monastery in Philadelphia in 1911, the Motherhouse of the Sisters of St. Basil the Great. Her most important goal was to address the educational needs of the newly arrived Ukrainian-American immigrants. Her achievements include the creation of an orphanage, a Sunday school (which she established just a few weeks after arriving in Philadelphia. There, she taught the Ukrainian language, fundamentals of religion for children and youth and liturgical singing), a printing house, a bookstore and a sacristy. When the sisters faced difficulties, including financial ones, Emilia-Helena put in a lot of time and effort to help them survive. However, this took a toll on her health. Having fallen ill with tuberculosis, Mother passed away at the age of 35 on May 17, 1916, in Philadelphia, leaving many hopes unfulfilled…
Daily life of the Basilian Sisters
In the building purchased by Bishop Ortynsky, the Basilian sisters established their first monastery. Later, they also opened the first orphanage there, followed by others. It is worth noting that when the family care system for orphans was introduced in the United States, the need to keep orphanages ceased. The last orphanage of St. Basil closed its doors in 1988.
In the mid-1920s, the monastery moved outside the city to a farm that had also been bought by Ortynsky. Here, the sisters ran the farm, providing food for themselves and the orphans (the children also spent the summer on the farm) and paying off heavy debts after purchasing the property. As mentioned earlier, the sisters had started a printing business that brought income, opened a sacristy where they sewed attire for the church and collected donations to develop the monastery. Over time, the Basilian sisters bought more land around the farm. From the beginning of their activities, the sisters were actively involved in organizing Sunday, evening and parish schools for members of the Ukrainian community.
Photo: The first Ukrainian Basilian sisters in America
Initially, the Basilian sisters lived in an old house that came with the farm. In the early 1930s, they managed to build a new monastery building and Saint Basil Academy (a high school for girls). In 1968, the school relocated and continues to operate today. The monastery also remains a place of traditional pilgrimage. In 2000, the sisters’ dream to further develop a spiritual center was fulfilled. The Chapel of the Holy Trinity was built here. One of the most successful institutions that emerged thanks to the Basilian sisters is Manor College, located on the grounds of the monastery.
Manor College
Among those Basilian sisters who supported Mother Emilia-Helena Liangevych in all her endeavors were Mother Josaphata Teodorovych and Mother Marie Dolczyka. These three women played a fundamental role in laying the foundation of Manor College. It is said that it initially started as a shelter, then became a boarding school and eventually turned into a college. Although the college welcomed its first students in 1947, the roots of this institution, located in the suburbs of Philadelphia and founded by Ukrainian Basilian sisters, run much deeper.
Photo: Mother Josaphata Teodorovych
The fact is that Mother Josaphata Teodorovych, after the death of Mother Helena, continued her work in the field of education. She was inspired to create a higher educational institution that would meet the educational aspirations of young Ukrainian women in the American community. Marie Dolczyka also joined this noble cause. Together, the Mothers founded Manor College (formerly known as St. Macrina College), which opened its doors to students in 1947.
Photo: Mother Marie Dolczyka
Mother Josaphata passed away in 1959. Unfortunately, she was unable to witness her dream come true because the institution was not yet accredited at that time. Today, doctors, pharmacists, lawyers, businessmen, managers, veterinarians and accountants receive education at the well-known college. Manor College is a popular institution of higher education in Philadelphia. The legal governing body of the college is the Board of Trustees, which includes, among others, the sisters of the Order of St. Basil the Great. In the college, they believe that thanks to the founders, the institution exists and has achieved much during its long history.
Photo: St. Macrina College, where the first classes of Manor College were held
In service to God and people
In 2011, a milestone centennial event dedicated to the beginning of the Basilian Sisters’ activities in the USA was celebrated with a communion service at Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception of the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church in Philadelphia. It is right at the site of the founding of the first province of the Basilian Sisters in America. Helena Langevych and her like-minded contemporaries, as well as successors, played one of the most important roles in the Ukrainian Catholic Church in the United States by serving the Ukrainian Catholics in Philadelphia. This mission continues today. For decades, new nuns arrived from Ukraine to continue the work of the Basilians, and many of the current sisters have Ukrainian roots. By teaching children faith and providing education, the Basilian sisters laid bricks in the foundation of their future. For more than 100 years on American grounds, the nuns have raised hundreds of orphans, educated thousands of children and given peace of mind to countless believers. Many students have become priests and bishops. The sisters continue to pass on their life experiences and knowledge to others. The Basilian sisters have long since extended their activities beyond the Ukrainian community. They also care for the spiritual, educational and other needs of people of different nationalities. Following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Basilian sisters from the USA offered help to Ukrainians from frontline areas, displaced persons and others in need. This assistance included medical supplies, clothing, essential items, funds and the purchase of medical transport. These women serve God and God’s people through words and deeds, striving to make the world a better place. This is exactly how they see their mission for the next hundred years.