BARTON — St. Nicholas Orthodox Church will host a visit from Bishop Milan Lach, S.J., this weekend.

Milanis a hierarch of the Byzantine Catholic Eparchy of Parma, Ohio. The bishop and members of his family have planned this visit because their ancestors and the ancestors of many church members hail from the same small town of Osturna in Slovakia. Over 100 years ago, when companies were searching for enough workers to man their mining operations, representatives were sent to Europe to recruit for the mines.

One such company went to Osturna, Slovakia, in the Carpathian region and brought back many entire families who were then resettled in Barton. These people were the very folks who founded and built the church that continues to thrive in Barton to this day.

Since that time these families have spread all over this area and the entire country. If a person is of Slovak descent in the Ohio Valley, there is a good chance his or her ancestors came from that area of Slovakia, too. St. Nicholas Orthodox Church maintains ties with St. Michael in Osturna and just recently assisted the parish in Slovakia with a building preservation need. The two churches even look like sister churches.

Milan will arrive at about 5 p.m. Saturday. He will visit the parish cemetery on Barton Road and attend vespers at 6 p.m. Following vespers there will be a meet and greet by Milan at 7 p.m. in the church fellowship hall. Refreshments will be served. The general public is invited.

This event may be of particular interest to people whose families immigrated to America from Slovakia and people who wish to renew old family ties.