Old Holy Trinity church reaches deal on leadership

By Peter H. Milliken
milliken@vindy.com
YOUNGSTOWN
6/1/2012

As Saturday’s Serbian Orthodox Christmas observance approaches, the current and former officers and directors of the Old Holy Trinity Serbian Orthodox Church have reached a temporary reconciliation of their differences.

After about two hours of negotiations in the Mahoning County Courthouse, lawyers for the two factions announced the temporary out-of-court agreement Thursday.

Under that agreement, the new officers and direc- tors, who were elected Dec. 4, will retain control of the church, which is located at 420 N. Raccoon Road, for 60 days, with a church meeting with another election of permanent officers and directors to be scheduled within that time frame.

However, the old leadership will operate the church’s bingo, with the bingo proceeds going to the church.

“We want to bring everybody together, and I think that’s a big win for everybody,” said Greg Stanic, first vice president of the newly elected church board. “It is a win for the church and for the membership to be together and have a peaceful Christmas,” he added.

“It’s going to provide an orderly means of transitioning into the next year,” Atty. Robert S. Fulton, lawyer for the former church leadership, said of the agreement. “A meeting will be held, and due process will be followed,” he added.

“We sincerely hope that the Holy Spirit will descend upon everybody and bring peace and accord to the church,” Fulton said.

Stanic characterized the dispute as a property dispute, but Boris Vuksanovich, president of the former church board, said it stemmed from political and religious differences.

This is not the first time members of the local Serbian Orthodox community have been embroiled in a legal battle.

Built in 1975, the Raccoon Road church was created by a group that had split from Holy Trinity Serbian Orthodox Church on Laird Avenue after losing a six-year court battle over control of the Laird Avenue church.

The agreement reached Thursday follows issuance of a temporary restraining order Dec. 22 by Magistrate Daniel P. Dascenzo of Mahoning County Common Pleas Court, which forbids the previous officers and directors of the Raccoon Road Church from interfering with the new leadership or with the Rev. Dragan Goronjic, who is pastor of the church.

The magistrate directed the former leadership to return church property, including bank accounts, keys, passwords, safe combinations and other church books and records, and he directed PNC Bank and Home Savings and Loan to give the new leadership access to the church’s accounts.

On Wednesday, Judge Lou A. D’Apolito dismissed the banks and two other defendants from the case, because the new board said those defendants had fully cooperated with the new board “and have transferred all bank accounts and turned over all books and records” of the church in their possession.

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