Saint Sava Serbian Orthodox Church (Merrillville, Indiana)

The Saint Sava Serbian Orthodox Church (Serbian: Црква светог Саве, romanized: Crkva svetog Save) was originally established February 14, 1914, in Gary, Indiana, US, and is now located in Merrillville, Indiana, after the consecration of the new church building in 1991.^[1] It is the church-school congregation in which Saint Varnava, the first American-born Serbian to be proclaimed an Orthodox saint, was baptized and served as an altar boy.^[2][3]

Saint Sava Serbian Orthodox Church-School Congregation
41°27′07″N 87°18′53″W / 41.4519°N 87.3147°W / 41.4519; -87.3147
Location	9191 Mississippi Street, Merrillville, Indiana
Country	United States
Denomination	Serbian Orthodox
Website	saintsava.net
History
Former names	St. Sava Serbian Orthodox Church, Gary, Indiana
Status	Church
Founded	1914
Dedication	Saint Sava
Consecrated	May 18, 1991
Events	Former church at 13th and Connecticut Street in Gary, Indiana destroyed by fire in 1978; Current church at 9191 Mississippi Street, Merrillville, Indiana consecrated in 1991.
Architecture
Functional status	Active
Architect(s)	Milojko Perisich; Radovan Pejovic
Architectural type	Byzantine Style
Years built	1985-1991
Groundbreaking	July 31, 1985
Specifications
Capacity	Seats about 400, additional 100 standing
Length	Overall 376 feet (115 m)
Nave length	100 feet (30 m)
Nave width	60 feet (18 m)
Height	Cross on the center cupola rests 97 feet (30 m) above the ground
Number of domes	5
Materials	American steel, Indiana limestone, and Appalachian oak wood
Bells	Located in the western cupola
Administration
Diocese	Diocese of New Gracanica – Midwestern America
Clergy
Bishop(s)	Longin (Krčo)
Priest(s)	Stavrofor Marko Matic
Laity
Music group(s)	Karageorge Choir, Children's Choir of St. Sava Church

It is recognized as being among "10 Beautiful Region Cathedrals and Churches" in Northwest Indiana^[4] and one of the Midwest's oldest parishes,^[5] founded by early Serbian settlers in the United States seeking to establish their local community with the building of a church to help maintain their traditional customs.^{[6][7][8][9][10]}

Through its religious and nationalistic endeavors, it earned the renowned name of "Srpska Gera".^{[11][1][12][13]} It is now among the churches in the Northwest Indiana region that enjoy the status of institutional landmarks.^[14][15]

Architectural design and recognition

Design model

The architectural design of the exterior central portion of the current St. Sava church building was modeled in the Byzantine architecture style after the Oplenac, a Serbian Orthodox Church located in Topola, Serbia. The central part of the church structure shares many similarities in its physical features and likeness to the Oplenac.^{[citation needed]}

Gold Medal Award

Upon completion of construction of the main structure in 1990, the Illinois Indiana Masonry Council honored St. Sava Serbian Orthodox Church with the Gold Medal Award for Excellence in Masonry Design citing the work of Architect Radovan Pejovic and Mason Contractor Gacesa Masonry Construction.^{[citation needed]}

Physical attributes

The nave, or center of the church, is 60 by 100 feet (18 m × 30 m) with a center cupola rising more than 90 feet (27 m) high. The church can accommodate up to 500 people.^[16]

History

Early years (1912-1920)

The Saint Sava Serbian Orthodox Church-School Congregation began with a large population of Serbian people who settled in the Gary area^[17] and served an important role in maintaining the Serbian culture while also helping Serbian immigrants adapt to mainstream America.^[18]

In 1912, before any official church congregation was established, a group of Serbians in Gary founded the first Serbian School at 14th and Massachusetts Streets. The first teacher of the school was Paul Veljkov, who later became a priest and would be the second priest to serve the St. Sava Church-School Congregation after it officially formed in 1914.^{[citation needed]}

The Serbian Orthodox Church-School Congregation of St. Sava was established February 15, 1914, and incorporated on April 16, 1914.^{[citation needed]}

The first church building was consecrated on June 13, 1915, at 20th and Connecticut streets in Gary.^{[citation needed]}

1920s

At the beginning of the 1920s, internal provincial divisiveness within the congregation was so great that it led to a division. A second parish, known as Holy Resurrection, was founded at 39th and Washington Streets in the Glen Park section of Gary.^[11] The parishes had reunified^[11] by the late 1930s. In 1937 the cornerstone was laid for the new church, which was consecrated November 24, 1938.^[19]

By the end of the 1950s the St. Sava Serbian Orthodox Church-School Congregation the largest Eastern Orthodox Church in Gary.^[20]

In the beginning of the 1960s, a portion of the membership separated itself from the congregation at St. Sava to form the Macedonian Orthodox Church and a religious and cultural center was established in Crown Point, Indiana.^[11]

In 1963, a schism at the highest levels of the Serbian Orthodox Church resulted in the defrocking of Bishop Dionisije and a division in the Serbian Orthodox diaspora. A bitter conflict ensued with attendant lawsuits in civil courts for nearly three decades. Locally, this schism also resulted in a portion of the membership separating from the St. Sava Church-School Congregation and forming the new congregation of St. Elijah, which established a church and cultural center in Crown Point.^[11]

Also in the early 1960s, the parish priest of St. Sava Church, Hieromonk Petar Bankerovic, later Bishop of Australia-New Zealand, was attacked and beaten outside the church, which left him with permanent physical impairments.^[11][21][22]

The second building of the congregation, dedicated in 1939, was destroyed by a fire in the late afternoon and early evening of February 16, 1978.^[23]

In the weeks following the fire a small hall was used as a chapel^[23] until the consecration of the new church building in 1991 in Merrillville, Indiana.

In 1982, the membership of the congregation approved a building program on Mississippi Street.^[19] for a new church whose construction began in 1985.^[19] and which was consecrated on May 18, 1991.^{[citation needed]}

References

1. Marich, Marina (2015-08-31). Serbs in Chicagoland. Arcadia Publishing. p. 57. ISBN 9781439652985.
2. Glass, Thomas E. (1974-01-01). Crisis in Urban Schools: A Book of Readings for the Beginning Urban Teacher. Ardent Media. p. 34. ISBN 9780842202985.
3. Dorson, Richard M. (1970-01-01). "Is There a Folk in the City?". The Journal of American Folklore. 83 (328): 185–216. doi:10.2307/539108. JSTOR 539108.
4. "10 beautiful Region cathedrals and churches". nwitimes.com. January 7, 2017. Retrieved 2017-01-09.
5. "Congressional Record - Extensions of Remarks" (PDF). United States Government Printing Office. 2009-11-03. Retrieved 2016-02-17.
6. Zimmerman, Zora D. (1985-01-01). "Tradition and Change in a Ritual Feast: The Serbian Krsna Slava in America". The Great Lakes Review. 11 (2): 21–36. doi:10.2307/20172781. JSTOR 20172781.
7. Barkan, Elliott Robert (2013-01-01). Immigrants in American History: Arrival, Adaptation, and Integration. ABC-CLIO. p. 599. ISBN 9781598842197.
8. "Serbs". www.encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org. Retrieved 2016-02-26.
9. Malden, Karl (1998-11-01). When Do I Start?: A Memoir. Hal Leonard Corporation. p. 25. ISBN 9780879102722.
10. Indiana Historical Collections. The Commission. 1959. p. 362.
11. Todorovich, Jovan (1991). "Greetings from Very Rev. Jovan Todorovich". Oplenac Consecration. Saint Sava Serbian Orthodox Church - Merrillville, Indiana. p. 21.
12. "The Path of Orthodoxy Winter 2015 Feature: St. Sava Church in Merrillville Celebrates 100th Anniversary". Saint Sava Serbian Orthodox Church - Merrillville, Indiana. 2015-02-12. Retrieved 2017-01-08.
13. "Remembering "Father Peter"". Saint Sava Serbian Orthodox Church - Merrillville, Indiana. 2015-10-14. Retrieved 2017-01-08.
14. Dorson, Richard Mercer (1981-01-01). Land of the Millrats. Harvard University Press. pp. 121–123. ISBN 9780674508552. st.%20sava%20gary.
15. Lane, James B.; Escobar, Edward J. (1987). Forging a Community: The Latino Experience in Northwest Indiana, 1919-1975. Indiana University Press. p. 278. ISBN 978-0-253-21213-9.
16. Calderone Jostes, Diane. "New St. Sava Serbian church a 'work of love'". nwitimes.com. Retrieved 2016-03-17.
17. The Calumet Region: Indiana's Last Frontier. Indiana Historical Bureau. 1959-01-01. p. 362.
18. Gorn, Elliott J. (2008-01-01). Sports in Chicago. University of Illinois Press. pp. 118–119. ISBN 9780252075230.
19. "St. Sava Serbian Orthodox Church - Merrillville, Indiana". www.facebook.com/saintsavachurch/ (Official St. Sava Serbian Orthodox Church - Merrillville, Indiana Facebook Page Timeline Event Milestone). Retrieved 2016-04-06.
20. Indiana Historical Collections. The Commission. 1959-01-01. p. 362.
21. Lane, James B. (1978). City of the Century: A History of Gary, Indiana. Indiana University Press. p. 294. ISBN 978-0-253-11187-6.
22. Lane, James B. (1978-10-22). City of the Century: A History of Gary, Indiana. Indiana University Press. ISBN 978-0-253-11187-6.
23. "The Parish of St. Sava: 1978-1991". Oplenac Consecration. Saint Sava Serbian Orthodox Church - Merrillville, Indiana. 1991. pp. 30–36.

External links

• Official website