Distinctive dome

Infant Jesus of Prague Byzantine Church undergoes renovation

By LINDA M. LINONIS

religion@vindy.com

boardman

A golden onion-shaped dome set atop a cupola stands as a beacon to the faithful of Infant Jesus of Prague Byzantine Catholic Church.

And for those traveling on Route 680 South, it’s a familiar landmark at the church at 7754 South Ave.

But the distinctive symbol of a Byzantine church was positioned on the main dome, which was rickety and rotting.

“We had to replace the substructure. Our roof was leaking ... we had buckets in the church,” said the Rev. Christopher Burke, pastor for three years. “We even had raccoons come in.”

A five-week renovation project that took place this summer cured the problem. The work was done by Mid-American Coating Systems of Massillon.

Now the fiber-glass onion-shaped dome on the wooden 20-foot-high cupola is on a sturdier place.

The next project will be to refurbish this smaller dome and the cupola.

The $177,000 project was made possible through fundraisers and donations. Church members, the Altar Rosary Society and Greek Catholic Union contributed.

The design of the church dome is a tribute to its Carpatho-Rusyn heritage. It also features a three-bar cross.

Monsignor Alexis Mihalik, retired pastor who served at the church for 17 years, said the top bar is the place for the placard, in Latin, Greek and Hebrew, describing Jesus of Nazareth as the king of the Jews. The middle bar is where Jesus’ hands were nailed and the bottom one, his feet. The bottom one is slanted.

“It shows how Jesus might have twisted in agony on the cross,” said Monsignor Mihalik.

He continued that the bottom bar also might be interpreted as a scale of justice.

“Salvation or condemnation ... sins weigh you down and good deeds lift you up,” the monsignor said of the highly symbolic cross.

Monsignor Mihalik also said the slant may reflect Jesus’ leaning toward the “good thief” to tell him that he would see him in heaven.

Father Burke said the original roof was flat but redone with a 30-foot dome in 1982.

Inside the church, wooden beams arch to form the ceiling. A large brass chandelier is suspended from the ceiling. During vespers, the chandelier starts out dimmed then gradually brightens, reflecting the idea of Christ as the light of the world.

After Monsignor Mihalik was appointed pastor in 1990, he led a remodeling of the interior of the church to bring conformity with the liturgical prescriptions of the Byzantine Church.

In 2004, a one-tiered icon screen was installed and a matching tetrapod was purchased.

Designed by Eikona Studios in Cleveland, the red oak iconastas was sent to Greece to be carved.

The screen is highlighted by icons of saints and important religious figures.

The priests said St. Nicholas, the patron of the Byzantine Church, is found on all icon screens.

The deacon doors feature Archangels Raphael and Michael.

Other icons are the Blessed Mother with Jesus, Jesus and Sts. Peter and Paul. This icon pays homage to the original name of the church, Sts. Peter and Paul, founded in 1907 and built in 1917 on Frank Street in Struthers.

The icon screen also features the images of two peacocks, which the monsignor said are symbols of immortality.

The tetrapod, positioned at the end of the main aisle but not on the altar area, features the icon of a saint whose Feast Day is being observed.

Behind the royal doors on the altar is a seven-branch candelabrum, symbolizing the seven mysteries (sacraments) of baptism, chrismaton (confirmation), penance, Eucharist, matrimony, anointing of the sick and ordination.

The church interior, which is round, features icons of Sts.Vladimir and Olga, patrons of Rusyn; Boris and Gleb, prince martyrs; Constantine, first Christian emperor; his mother, Helena, who found the true cross; St. Basil the Great, a father of the church; St. Romanus, a great singer and hymn writer; St. John Chrysostom and St. John of Damascus.

The cantor, who is the monsignor, stands at the back of the church near the icon of St. Romanus.

Church history recounts that the Rev. George B. Petro saw that many parishioners were moving to the suburbs and suggested that the church relocate as well.

A 115-acre site on South Avenue was bought and a new church built in 1970.

Father Petro had a devotion to the Infant Jesus of Prague and the church was so renamed.

The church now has 33 acres.

The church was originally Sts. Peter and Paul. Its history began in 1907 when a group of people bought property at 111 Frank St., Struthers, and constructed a church in 1917.