Originally a part of St. George Byzantine Catholic Church which was founded in 1896 and served both Ruthenian and Ukranian Catholics of Byzantine Rite, SS. Peter & Paul Church was organized and incorporated in 1910 to originally serve the spiritual needs of Byzantine Ruthenian Catholics. Construction of the current church building was begun in 1911 but due to the construction delays of World War I, SS. Peter & Paul Church was not formally dedicated until September 25, 1924. Under the pastorate of Emil Nevitsky, a full-length icon screen, pulpit, and pews were eventually installed.
Upon being installed as pastor in 1940, Fr. Vladimir Kapisinky saw the need for the parish children to be properly educated in their faith and traditions. He ultimately envisioned a catering facility as a way to finance the construction of a parish school. The original Hillcrest Hall, which is still located on Desmond-Llewelyn Highway, was blessed on December 26, 1948. Through the years Hillcrest has gone through many renovations, an additional hall facility for smaller events was constructed on the lower of the church property on South Fourth Street in Minersville.
After many years of generosity and hard work by the parishioners at Hillcrest and other parish fundraisers, SS. Peter & Paul Byzantine Catholic School was blessed and opened on August 17, 1958. Served for many years by the Sisters of St. Basil the Great and lay teachers, the school was an education and spiritual center for our church and community until its closing in 1992 due to declining enrollment.
Over the last several decades, the parish has undergone major renovations. In the early 1990's, under Fr. Donald Kranak, Hillcrest was modernized, the church interior was repainted, and a breezeway was installed, connecting church and rectory. Fr. Michael Mondik continued the renovations in the late 1990's with new icons for the church and screen, new domes, a new church canopy and entrance, and a complete renovation of the rectory interior, including a new garage.
In 2010 SS. Peter & Paul Church celebrated its 100th Anniversary. Then pastor Fr. Ronald Barusefski spent his time focusing on the exteriors of the church and Hillcrest, the completing the rectory renovation, the landscaping of the parish cemetery, and most recently, the new church carpeting and expansion of the amvon area in front of the icon screen.
In 2011, our parrish welcomed back Fr Frank M. Twardzik, SDB as the pastor. He was first assigned to the parish in the early in 1970's as an assistant pastor. Fr Frank continued his ministery as pastor until his retirement in August of 2018.
August 2018 welcomed our current pastor, Father Gregory J. Noga.
As we celebrate our 112th Anniversay, may our church's history continue to be written with faith, hope, and most importantly, love – for God His Church, and each other!