43
Liberty's St. Mark's to celebrate 50 years of enduring faith
By LINDA M. LINONIS
LIBERTY
A small group of Syrian Orthodox believers, buoyed by an enthusiast seminarian, combined their talents, determination and faith in God to found St. Mark Antiochian Orthodox Church.
The church, organized 50 years ago, is marking its anniversary with services and a banquet next weekend.
The Rev. Daniel Rohan, pastor since 1988, and Ted Khoury, a founder, recently talked about the church history. Ted and Mary Khoury together with Tom and Eve Kaleel, and the late Nes and Elsie Kaleel, Ernest and Laurice Kaleel and Virginia Thomas were the founding members.
Khoury said at the time it was important to have your children baptized in a church of your ethnic tradition. So a baptism in the family of Tom and Eve Kaleel by a visiting priest, the Rev. Nicholas Kobbs, prompted a discussion of the possibililty of a Syrian Orthodox church. “We were young people full of enthusiasm and stupidity,” Khoury recalled.
But their religious zeal and faith in one another attracted the attention of a seminarian, the Rev. Mark Campbell, who volunteered to assist Father Kobbs. “A group of us went to New Jersey to talk to Bishop Anthony Bashir and state our case,” Khoury said.
Khoury said the bishop approved the new church then the group scrambled to organize. The group of about 10 first rented then bought the former St. Mark Lutheran Church on Idlewood Avenue in Youngstown for $10,000.
Khoury said St. John Orthodox Church in Campbell lent the new church an iconostasis and other icons from its cemetery chapel.
Khoury said the church advertised in The Vindicator. The St. Mark group noted its English services because that was the language of the country. “People heard about the church and began to gravitate to it,” Khoury said.
Father Rohan said the church has about 85 families with some 150 people. “We have members from Mahoning, Trumbull, Columbiana and Ashtabula counties in Ohio and Mercer County in Pennsylvania,” he said. He described the church as pan-Orthodox, that is, non-ethnic.
Its members hail from backgrounds such as Puerto Rican, Romanian, Palestinian, Ethiopian, Ukrainian, Irish, Chilean and Greek. Father Rohan’s home parish is Sts. Peter and Paul Ukrainian Orthodox Church in Youngstown.
Father Rohan described the church as a “family place, socialable and welcoming.” After Divine Liturgy services Sunday, members gather in the social hall for coffee hour. “It’s nice how people get together," he said, adding families take turns hosting.
A church council led by president Charles Hyde handles the administrative side of the church; established teams have certain duties.
Father Rohan is pleased with the active SOYO (Syrian Orthodox Youth Organization) whose name recalls the church heritage. Soula O’Hara directs the youth group of about 20 ranging in age from 9 to 16 years old. The youth volunteer at Rescue Mission of Mahoning Valley and have “adopted” a child from Lebanon. They attend Antioch Village Camp in Ligoniere, Pa., and Midwest Parish Conferences.
During October’s youth month, young people serve as ushers, readers and give sermons with some help from the pastor and take a special collection for charity.
St. Mark’s Ladies Altar Society plans various family social events and participates in ladies month in March with programs. St. John Divine Society for men is involved in ministries for shut-ins and charitable works.
Father Rohan said the church is honored and humbled to have three relics embedded in its altar. The relics are from St. Mark, bishop of Egypt and author of a Gospel; the Apostle Philip; and St. John Chrysostom, a church father from the fourth century who authored the Divine Liturgy.
The sanctuary also is distinguished by its handmade iconostasis crafted by John Novak of Campbell. “He individually drilled all of the crosses,” Khoury said of the backdrop for the icons of Archangel Gabriel, St. Mark, Mother of God, Jesus, St. John the Baptist and Archangel Michael.
The Rev. Philip Koufos, a former pastor and nationally known Byzantine iconographer, painted the interior dome with “Christ the Pantocrator” and “Angelic and Mystical Heavenly Divine Liturgy.” He also painted the icons on the iconostasis.
Iconographer Dennis Bell of Warren, nephew of Ann Campbell, mother of the first pastor, also painted icons for St. Mark’s including the raising of Lazarus, Palm Sunday entry into Jerusalem, crucifixion and ascension. The church displayed St. Mark’s icon on his feast day on Wednesday.
St. Mark is part of the Antiochian Archdiocese of North America.