Dennis: Thank you!! I had the same issues. I have even asked my local LDS center to do check and got the same...no records. Not to worry yet. I have written to the Polish State Archives to see if I can get some information that way. I am told the reply could take up to 8 weeks. By the way, the Church in Madison, IL you refer to: Nativity of the Virgin Mary, My Great Grandfather Mefthody Rydgig (Tom) helped to found. Gus (Constantine) Rydgig, another family member was also a part of the construction crew. Tom was a carpenter/wood worker and built many houses in Madison that still stand today. I have attached an excerpt from the Parish website so you can see... Parish Background..... Long before the year 1900, the seeds of the Orthodox faith were planted in the city of Madison, Illinois, by Carpatho-Russian Immigrants. In 1899, Fr Stepanov of Cleveland, OH was the first missionary priest sent to Madison. He heard confessions and celebrated the Divine Liturgy at the home of M/M Sawchuk, 1017 Madison Ave. On February 16, 1902, Archbishop Tikhon, Archbishop of the Russian Orthodox Church in America, granted Mr Meftody Rygdig permission to collect funds for the purpose of building an Orthodox Church edifice in the City of Madison, IL. A wooden structure was erected on Ewing Ave, remaining on this site, with some modifications to the physical structure, until 1964 when construction of a new Church edifice was begun. The parishioners hold in fond memory the late Patriarch (now Saint) Tikhon of Moscow. When he was Archbishop of the Orthodox Church in America, he visited Madison and donated a Holy Gospel, the Church Bell, and gave a monetary donation toward the building expenses. Financial assistance was also received from the Russian Orthodox Greek Catholic Mutual Aid Society in Wilkes-Barre, PA. The original members of the Society served as founding members of the Church. Included in this group were the late Meftody Rygdig, Luke Purdes, and Nicholas Fecurka. The first Church building of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary parish in Madison, IL was blessed by God at the hands of Fr (now Saint) John Kochuroff, pastor of the Chicago parish and builder of the present Cathedral in Chicago. The blessing was performed according to the lesser rite of consecration of a church edifice. He donated an old processional Icon of the Mother of God of Kazan which is found today in the northeast corner of the church nave. On the reverse-side of this icon is the following inscription: "In blessing to the Madison Parish from the Priest John Kochuroff". This eminent pastor returned to his homeland and in the beginning of the Russian Revolution was brutally martyred. Before the blessing of the church, an Iconostasis was built by the late Constantine Rygdig and D Waszinsky in Mr Rygdig's dining room. In 1903, Madison, and the surrounding areas, was flooded by five feet of water and the church building was moved approximately one foot. The parish has its own cemetary, eleven acres in size, located on Highway 157 at the junction of Interstate 270, and is commonly called Sunset Hill. This lot was purchased in 1924 and dedicated on May 30, 1925 (Memorial Day) by His Eminence Archbishop Leonty. Previously, the parish had a small cemetary near Wood River, IL. However, due to the distance from the Church and the added appeal of Sunset Hill, this cemetary was sold and the present one purchased. The parish was ministered by missionary priests in its early years, and beginning with 1905, permanent priests were assigned, numbering over 20. Due to the constant expansion of the Orthodox Catholic Faith in the United States, many missionary priests served our parish. The parish has had many devoted priests laboring in the Vineyard of Christ here in Madison. They served to the best of their talents and abilities. Taken in Partial from the Nativity of the Virgin Website, compliments to them. More information may be found at the following web address... http://www.nativityofthevirgin.com If I am successful in obtaining any records or film copies, I will post to my ancestry.com website for others to view for these villages: Desznia, Brzezowa and Myscowa. Thank you again! Cyndi Message: 1 Date: Wed, 30 Jul 2008 07:11:55 -0500 From: "Dennis Benarz" <benarz@hotmail.com> Subject: Re: [GALICIA] Tyrpak and Rydzik surnames To: <galicia@rootsweb.com> Message-ID: <BAY141-DAV1168706A6BE90C1700D7A2CF7D0@phx.gbl> Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed; charset="iso-8859-1"; reply-type=original Hi Cindi Re: Microfilmed Records Well, what I thought I found on Sunday could not be rediscovered Monday through today. Sorry, it appears that the records of the GC parishes of Desznica (including Brzezowa) and Myscowa have not been microfilmed. Alas, either I suffer from the onset of Oldtimer's Disease or the batteries of my crystal ball need replacing. Re: Greek Catholics Immigrants Greek Catholics did not necessarily become Russian Orthodox upon arrival in America. Because of the lack of existing Greek Catholic churches here at that time, some attended services in the Roman rite while others attended the more familiar services of Russian Orthodox churches while still others rolled up their sleeves and built Greek Catholic churches. Today, there are nine Ukrainian Greek Catholic eparchies around the world: one each in Austria, Poland, Australia-New Zealand, and the UK, two in the USA, and three in Canada. And, by the way, today you will find a Saint Mary Ukrainian Greek Catholic Parish in Madison, IL. Cheers and good luck! Dennis