Fr. Constantine Berdar
With the death of Fr. Ortynsky, Fr. Constantine Berdar, Assistant Pastor since July 1947, became Administrator of the Parish and then later Pastor. Under Fr. Berdar’s direction, Fr. Ortynsky’s dream for a full-time parochial school had its beginning when in 1948 St. Cyril’s Parochial School opened its doors for the first time under the administration of the good Sisters of the Order of St. Basil the Great.
For the most part, however, Fr. Berdar’s energies were directed towards seeing the internal jurisdiction dispute through the litigation process. Upon or near the completion of that process, he was transferred from the parish. While Fr. Berdar had come to Olyphant as the first Assistant Pastor, it was during his three-year tenure as Administrator-Pastor (1948-1951) that St. Cyril’s began to enjoy the service of Assistants to the Pastor, a real necessity in such a large parish. For almost 25 years thereafter St. Cyril’s had at least two priests serving its needs. In addition to Fr. Berdar, who started as an assistant, at least 22 others served for different periods of time from 1947 to 1975.