Fr. Theodore Jurewicz (; born 1953,

Erie, Pennsylvania Erie is a city on the south shore of Lake Erie and the county seat of Erie County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, fifth-most populous city in Pennsylvania and the most populous in Northwestern Pen ...

) is a

Polish-American Polish Americans () are Americans who either have total or partial Polish ancestry, or are citizens of the Republic of Poland. There are an estimated 8.81 million self-identified Polish Americans, representing about 2.67% of the U.S. population, ...

Orthodox old-rite priest and artist specializing in painting

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived the events that caused the fall of the Western Roman E ...

icon An icon () is a religious work of art, most commonly a painting, in the cultures of the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Catholic Church, Catholic, and Lutheranism, Lutheran churches. The most common subjects include Jesus, Mary, mother of ...

s and

fresco Fresco ( or frescoes) is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid ("wet") lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the dry-powder pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plaster, the painting become ...

es. Father Jurewicz is also an archpriest of the

Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia The Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia (), also called Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia or ROCOR, or Russian Orthodox Church Abroad (ROCA), is a semi-autonomous part of the Russian Orthodox Church, Russian Orthodox Church (Moscow Pat ...

, and serves the parish of the Nativity of the Lord in

Personal life

Fr. Theodore was born Frank Jurewicz in 1949 into a

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

family in

. As a child he attended church assiduously and often visited the Old Believer parish of the Nativity of Christ in Erie. From these visits he developed a deep interest in the

Eastern Orthodox Church The Eastern Orthodox Church, officially the Orthodox Catholic Church, and also called the Greek Orthodox Church or simply the Orthodox Church, is List of Christian denominations by number of members, one of the three major doctrinal and ...

, and, while still a teenager, converted to Orthodoxy and joined the

. He married and attended the

Holy Trinity Seminary Holy Trinity Seminary is a Roman Catholic seminary residence in Irving, Texas, United States, in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Dallas, Diocese of Dallas, Texas that is located within the University of Dallas campus, founded in 1964. It is headed ...

as a married seminarian. In January 1974, Theodore Jurewicz was ordained priest. Theodore Jurewicz is the father of noted

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-based iconographer John Jurewicz.

Art

Fr. Jurewicz is held to be one of the most renowned icon painters in

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today, and has painted about a dozen

Eastern Orthodox churches The Eastern Orthodox Church, officially the Orthodox Catholic Church, and also called the Greek Orthodox Church or simply the Orthodox Church, is List of Christian denominations by number of members, one of the three major doctrinal and ...

across

. He was a student of the late Archimandrite Cyprian, founder of the Russian school of iconography outside of Russia. One of his more famous works was his commission to paint the entire church at

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, a faithful replica of the original

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, which is listed on the

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as an endangered example of medieval monuments. Done over the span of three years, it is painted in a

style and features richly colored designs and religious scenes covering the

wall A wall is a structure and a surface that defines an area; carries a load; provides security, shelter, or soundproofing; or serves a decorative purpose. There are various types of walls, including border barriers between countries, brick wal ...

s, vaults, pillars and

dome A dome () is an architectural element similar to the hollow upper half of a sphere. There is significant overlap with the term cupola, which may also refer to a dome or a structure on top of a dome. The precise definition of a dome has been a m ...

of the church. The

es are painted in acrylics on dry

plaster Plaster is a building material used for the protective or decorative coating of walls and ceilings and for moulding and casting decorative elements. In English, "plaster" usually means a material used for the interiors of buildings, while "re ...

. Another notable commission of Fr. Theodore is the Saint Sava Serbian Orthodox Church in Merrillville, Indiana where he painted the original frescoes lining the walls and a fresco of the Virgin Mary and the Christ child over the center altar. In Canada, the most notable Father Jurewcz's work can be seen at St Nicholas Serbian Orthodox Church, 1401 Barton St E, Hamilton ON. This work was done in the early 2000's and took approx 5 years to complete. The work has been captured in pictures by Historical Hamilton, as the church is the oldest Serbian Orthodox Church in Eastern Canada. Pictures can be viewed at http://historicalhamilton.com/special-features/favourite-locations/st-nicholas-serbian-orthodox-church/p-4460-st-nicholas-serbian-orthodox-church.html. This church is open to visit and to admire the work. Fr. Theodore has also mastered the art of Coptic Orthodox iconography. His Coptic iconography can be seen at St. George Coptic Orthodox Church in

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References

Sources

* http://directory.stinnocentpress.com/viewclergy.cgi?Uid=46&lang=en
иерей Феодор Юревич

External links

Video interview on the Byzantine ForumDaily News article on Fr. Theodore
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jurewicz, Theodore Icon painters 20th-century Polish painters 20th-century American male artists 21st-century Polish painters Eastern Orthodox Christians from Poland Eastern Orthodox priests in the United States Converts to Eastern Orthodoxy from Roman Catholicism 20th-century American painters American male painters 21st-century American painters 21st-century American male artists American people of Polish descent Living people Old Believer movement Priests of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia Fresco painters Russian Orthodox Christians from the United States 21st-century Eastern Orthodox priests 20th-century Eastern Orthodox priests Year of birth missing (living people) Polish male painters