St. Mark Antiochian Orthodox Church, 3560 Logan Way, Liberty, will celebrate its 50th anniversary.

St. Mark Antiochian Orthodox Church, 3560 Logan Way, Liberty, will celebrate its 50th anniversary. Bishop Anthony Michaels will attend vespers at 6 p.m. May 5 that will be followed by a banquet and program in the church social hall. On May 6, matins will be at 9 a.m. and hierarchical liturgy at 10 followed by a family social.

The foundation: A majority of the parents and grandparents of St. Mark Antiochian Orthodox Church parishioners migrated to the United States from foreign countries and brought their traditions of the Orthodox Church. They kept their faith by establishing churches wherever they landed and in their native languages. To foster an understanding of the ancient faith of Orthodox Christianity within America, the founding immigrant parishioners of St. Mark Church realized that the message of their faith could be brought to more people if it was communicated not in their native tongues, but in the language spoken by most of the inhabitants of their new land — English.

The founders: In 1961, a small group of Orthodox who would later be called the founders of St. Mark, gathered around a dinner table in Akron after a baptism and expressed their desire to the Rev. Nicholas Kobbs, the celebrant priest, to have him travel to Youngstown once a month to teach their children the Orthodox faith and celebrate the Vesper service in English.

The beginning: A young seminarian, Mark Campbell at St. Vladimir Orthodox Seminary heard of the request made by this small group of Orthodox faithful and wrote to Father Kobbs to offer his services during the summer break. Father Kobbs, already realizing the difficulties in traveling from Akron to Youngstown, appreciated the young man’s offer. In 1962, through the efforts of this young seminarian and the small group of Orthodox faithful who requested the all-English Orthodox education for their children, St. Mark Orthodox Church was founded. It offered a canonical, all-English church service (Divine Liturgy), and was placed under the Archdiocese of the Antiochian Patriarchate, then headed in the United States by the late Metropolitan Archbishop Anthony Bashir (the first bishop to allow English in the Orthodox service).

First church: The Rev. Mark Campbell of Warren was ordained by this time and became the first parish priest at St. Mark. An old church building at 3309 Idlewood Avenue was rented, cleaned, scrubbed and painted. The church members begged liturgical supplies from other sister Orthodox churches. It borrowed a portable iconostasis from St. Elias Church in Toledo and another was lent by St. John Orthodox Church in Campbell from its cemetery chapel. In 1963, the church bought the building on Idlewood, along with the parish house next door.

Relocation: The Rev. Michael Azkoul was assigned as parish priest when Father Campbell took a leave of absence and served until the arrival of the Rev. Philip Koufos in September 1968. By this time, the church had grown to 40 families. Parishioners realized that their church needed a larger edifice and social hall to support their growing community. In the spring of 1971, four acres on Logan Way in Liberty was acquired. Bishop Elia blessed the land and a building committee was appointed. Father Koufos, along with the Parish Council, designed a suitable structure in traditional Byzantine style. The iconographic adornment of the walls of St. Mark has made the church one of the most exemplary traditionally painted churches in the country. This work was rendered by Father Koufos, now a nationally known Byzantine iconographer. One example of his work can be seen in the 20-foot interior dome in which “Christ the Pantocrator” is surrounded by a host of angels depicting the “Angelic and Mystical Heavenly Divine Liturgy.” Father Koufos adorned the church with many more icons. St. Mark Antiochian Orthodox Church and Center was dedicated on April 23, 1977.

New pastors: The Rev. Paul Graycar served from 1979-1987. In 1988, the Rev. Daniel Rohan became pastor and remains in that position today.

Source: St. Mark Orthodox Church