Talk:List of parishes in Pennsylvania (USA)

I have broken this page down by geographic area because of the vast number of Orthodox parishes in the state. Generally speaking, the following nomenclatures apply:

1. Northwestern Pennsylvania includes all counties from Erie south to Lawrence, and west as far as Warren to Clarion and Venango.
2. Greater Pittsburgh is the counties of Allegheny, Armstrong, Butler, Beaver, Greene, Indiana, Washington, and Westmoreland.
3. Central Pennsylvania is everything between Greater Pittsburgh and the Philadelphia region except the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre area, including the Altoona-Johnstown area, Harrisburg, and York-Lancaster.
4. Northeastern Pennsylvania/Wyoming Valley is the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre area and the adjoining counties, extending into the outlying Pocono region.
5. Lehigh Valley is the counties of Northampton and Lehigh.
6. Finally, Greater Philadelphia is the Philadelphia metro area, including Chester, Berks, Bucks, Delaware, and Montgomery counties as well as the city itself.

Also, I've described parishes by precise name where such is available (generally from the parish's web page). Where it's not available, I've just referred to the generic name (i.e., "St. John"). All information has been derived from the various jurisdictions' web pages and church web pages, as well as personal knowledge and research.

- Misha 17:42, December 30, 2005 (CST)

Nice job! —Fr. Andrew ^talk contribs (THINK!) 17:47, December 30, 2005 (CST)

Thank you! I lived in Pennsylvania for most of my life and have gotten to know the ecclesiastical geography as well as the physical. I was surprised there was no Pennsylvania page here, so I decided to be bold and get it done. I think I got them all by now... - Misha 19:24, December 30, 2005 (CST)

Your listing for Mount Carmel was "St Peter and Paul's," and it linked to St Peter and Paul's church in Minersville. Maybe you were confusing Mount Carmel's Orthodox church with St Peter and Paul's Ukrainian Catholic church in Mount Carmel. The Orthodox Church is St Michael's Orthodox church, which belongs to the OCA's jurisdiction. I have corrected tyour mistake.

Why are St Clair and Minsersville's churches included in the Northeastern PA section? Those towns are near Pottsville in the middle half of the state, not far from Reading, certainly NOT near Scranton. My church, St Michael's is at least 30 miles north of Minersville, yet listed in "Central Pennsylvania." I have seen maps that break the state into thirds, and Mount Carmel is in the Eastern Section, not the Central one. So I think is Harrisburg, which many people might assume is right in the center, like State College.

My advice- drop the Central Pennsylvania category and make Eastern Pennsylvania and Western Pennsylvania. Those are the two OCA dioceses in the state. Anything close to the Susquehanna or East of it is in the Eastern PA Diocese, and the rest is in the Western PA Diocese. Rakovsky 08:06, August 31, 2006 (CDT)