TREVOSE, Pa. – The Rev. Dr. John Kovalchuk, a retired leader of Ukrainian Baptists in the United States, died on December 19, 2017, at the age of 78.
He was born in Argentina on June 23, 1939, and completed studies at the Ukrainian Bible Institute in South America. He immigrated to Canada with his family in 1974 and served for three years as assistant pastor of the Ukrainian Baptist Church in Winnipeg, Manitoba.
Then he was called to become pastor of the Ukrainian Evangelical Baptist Church in Crum Lynne, Pa. In 1983 he was installed as pastor of the Second Ukrainian Baptist Church in Philadelphia.
The Rev. Kovalchuk was elected president of the Ukrainian Evangelical Baptist Convention in the U.S.A. twice to three-year terms (1999-2005). From 1995 to 2010, he served first as vice-president and then as president of the All-Ukrainian Evangelical Baptist Fellowship (diaspora).
He became editor of The Messenger of Truth (Pislanets Pravdy) magazine in 1998 and then served as editor-in-chief for about two years until he suffered a stroke in 2011.
In 1989, the Rev. Kovalchuk began working with the Greater Philadelphia Baptist Association, involved with ethnic groups. In 1996, he became director of ethnic ministries with the Baptist Convention’s Pennsylvania/South Jersey district.
Pastor Kovalchuk received a Doctor of Ministry degree from Odessa International Theological Seminary in June of 1999.
The Rev. Kovalchuk had been living for the past few years in an assisted living facility with his wife near their son in the Dallas area. They were married for 53 years. The Rev. Kovalchuk is survived by his wife, Zenia; a son, Moses; a daughter, Pearl; and five grandchildren.
A celebration of his life was held on December 28, 2017, at Levine Memorial Chapel in Trevose, Pa. Interment was the next day at Lawnview Cemetery in Jenkintown, Pa.