Rising from the ashes: Arnold’s St. Vladimir to hold 1st services since 2021 fire

Susan Podolski of New Kensington, who has been a parish member for more than seven decades, said she has missed the church and will be happy to celebrate its reopening Sept. 14-15 after it was damaged in a fire on Dec. 4, 2021.

The Rev. Yaroslav Koval, pastor at St. Vladimir Ukrainian Catholic Church in Arnold, poses for a photo inside the church on Sept. 12, 2024.

Susan Podolski of New Kensington, who has been a parish member for more than seven decades, helps get St. Vladimir Ukrainian Catholic Church in Arnold ready for the reopening celebration Sept. 14-15, 2024.

Joe Fedusa, a parish member from Frazer, walks inside the nave Thursday, Sept. 12, 2024. The two original icons in the photo were restored after a fire at St. Vladimir Ukrainian Catholic Church in Arnold.

The Rev. Yaroslav Koval of St. Vladimir Ukrainian Catholic Church in Arnold looks at one of the icons inside the church on Sept. 12, 2024.

Flames rise through the roof Dec. 4, 2021, at St. Vladimir Ukrainian Catholic Church in Arnold. The church will reopen this weekend. Flames rise through the roof of St. Vladimir Catholic Church in Arnold on Saturday, Dec. 4, 2021.

The Rev. Yaroslov Koval enters the construction site last December at St. Vladimir Ukrainian Catholic Church in Arnold as work continues to rebuild after a devastating fire in 2021. The church will reopen this weekend.

Flames rise through the roof Dec. 4, 2021, at St. Vladimir Ukrainian Catholic Church in Arnold. The church will reopen this weekend.

Reconstruction work is seen Dec. 1 at St. Vladimir Ukrainian Catholic Church in Arnold. The church will reopen this weekend.

A statute of Jesus and the Blessed Mary are salvaged from inside St. Vladimir Catholic Church in Arnold on Dec. 4, 2021. The church will reopen this weekend.