Saint Sava Serbian Orthodox Church (Merrillville, Indiana)

The Saint Sava Serbian Orthodox Church ( sr, Црква светог Саве, 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. It is the church-school congregation in which Saint Varnava, the first American-born Serbian to be proclaimed an Orthodox saint, was baptized, served as altar boy, and was first recognized as a youthful prodigy in reciting Serbian folklore and old ballads.

It is recognized as being among "10 Beautiful Region Cathedrals and Churches" in Northwest Indiana and one of the Midwest's oldest parishes, 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.

Through its religious and nationalistic endeavors, it earned the renowned name of "Srpska Gera". It is now among the churches in the Northwest Indiana region that enjoy the status of institutional landmarks.

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.

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.

Physical attributes

The nave, or center of the church, is with a center cupola rising more than high. The church can accommodate as many as 500 people.

The steel beams that form the skeleton of the building structure enable the expansive central part of the church to exist open and barrier free. The steel beams were made in two Lake County, Indiana, steel plants, Inland Steel and U.S. Steel.

The north wing of the building complex holds administrative offices, a custodian's apartment, and originally a library which was intended at the time of the church consecration and has since been converted into a museum organized by the St. Sava Historical Society. The lower level of the north wing houses the Sunday School classrooms. The south wing was originally designed to house classrooms with movable partitions when the church was built, but has since been converted into a small hall with built-in kitchen and bar facilities available for rental known as the South Wing Social Center.

The exterior facade of the building is Indiana limestone from Bedford, Indiana, and the interior of the church is mainly constructed from Appalachian red wood.

The giant chandelier in the center of the church and several others are of German crystal designed and custom-made in a New York plant. The largest is across and tall and weighs .

Interior iconography

All the original iconography lining the walls are the work of Orthodox priest Theodore Jurewicz.

Jurewicz painted the Virgin Mary and the Christ child over the center altar in 1991 over a period of two months. He later returned and painted “The Nativity of Christ” icon on the north wall, taking two weeks to compete it in March 1993. It was consecrated May 30, 1993.

Later that year, Jurewicz painted “The Resurrection of Christ and Descent into Hades” icon on the south wall, taking two weeks to complete it in May 1993. It was consecrated March 27, 1994.

Jurewicz also painted the icon mural in the choir loft on the west concave apse of the church where the Serbian Singing Society Karageorge sings during services. The mural depicts twelve saints that are important to the Orthodox faith, intertwined with a history rich with religious and political significance. The choir loft mural was painted by Jurewicz in November 1993. This icon was consecrated December 12, 1993 (the Karageorge Choir's Slava of St. Andrew) with Bishop Lavrentje from Sabac-Valjevo Diocese and Father Jovan Todorvich.

The icon depicting “righteous souls going into paradise - cursed souls on their way to hell” was painted in the church vestibule by Jurewicz and his two sons in August 1999.

The icon of the Guardian Angel above the dressing table for those to be christened is located in the christening area in the northwest corner of the church.

Exterior mosaic iconography

There are 36 mosaics, 34 of them completely visible from the exterior and two of them visible on the north and south entrances of the main church visible from within the atrium enclosures. Of the 36 mosaics, 26 of them are in diameter, six are larger in diameter, two are half-circle mosaics, and two are outside the entrance of the church. The mosaics were made possible through the donations from 23 individuals who donated $125,300 toward the project.

These religious mosaics are deemed to be iconographic in nature even though the techniques and materials used by the artist differ from the painted icon. All the mosaics were created by Marchione Studios of Canton, Ohio.

Over the main entrance is an icon of Christ as the Head of the Church, and an icon of Saint Sava, the Patron Saint of the Church. Above the south door of the church, in the atrium, is the icon of Saint Simeon, Saint Sava's father. In the atrium, over the north door, is Saint Lazar, the sainted hero of Kosovo.

Above the doors that link the church to the two wings, on the west side, are icons of two courageous warriors of Christ, who guard the north and south entrances. Over the north atrium door is the mosaic of the Great Martyr Saint Demetrius. Mosaics on the east side atrium doors depict the two representatives of the heavenly body with Saint Archangel Michael to the north and the Angel of Resurrection from the Monastery Mileseva to the south.

At the west end of the north wing exterior is the American crest depicting an eagle and the seal of the United States of America, with the inscription, "God Bless America." On the exterior of the south wing's west wall is the Serbian crest with the inscription "God saves Serbs." These crests reflect the congregation's faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, the Orthodox Church, and in the national heritage.

The remainder of the mosaics on both wings depict the following monasteries, churches, and individuals:

South wing mosaics (west side)

* Studenica Monastery
* Hilandar Monastery
* Zica Monastery
* Oplenac Monastery
* King Peter I

South wing mosaics (east aide)

* Patriarchate of Pec Monastery
* Saint Naum of Ohrid Monastery
* Saint Sava Monastery (Libertyville, Illinois) – This mosaic depicts Saint Sava Serbian Orthodox Monastery in the United States, the first monastery on the North American continent. It was built in 1931 by Mardarije Uskokovich, the first bishop of the American-Canadian Diocese. The exterior is in the Russian style and the interior in the Serbian-Byzantine. It considered by many to be the most important religious, educational, and national center for the entire American-Serbian population. It played a special role in bringing and settling Serbian immigrants in the post-World War II years. It serves as a diocesan seat.
* Saint Sava Church (Gary, 1939) – This mosaic depicts the church that stood at the corner of 13th and Connecticut in Gary, a new church center necessitated by the fast growth of the membership.
* Saint Sava Church (Gary, 1915) – This mosaic depicts the church that Serbians in Gary built in 1915 at the corner of 20th and Connecticut streets in Gary.

South wing mosaics (south side)

* Draza Mihailovich
* Maiden of Kosovo
* Karageorge

North wing mosaics (west side)

* Mileseva Monastery
* Gracanica Monastery
* Decani Monastery
* New Gracanica Monastery
* King Alexander I

North wing mosaics (east side)

* Cetinje Monastery
* Krka Monastery
* Gomirje Monastery
* Tvrdos Monastery
* Krusedol Monastery

North wing mosaics (north side)

* Michael Pupin
* Jovan Ducic
* Nikola Tesla