| Saint Sava Serbian Orthodox Church-School Congregation | |
|---|---|
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| 41°27′07″N87°18′53″W / 41.4519°N 87.3147°W /41.4519; -87.3147 | |
| Location | 9191 Mississippi Street,Merrillville, Indiana |
| Country | United States |
| Denomination | Serbian Orthodox |
| Website | saintsava |
| History | |
| Former name(s) | St. Sava Serbian Orthodox Church, Gary, Indiana |
| Status | Church |
| Founded | 1914 |
| Dedication | Saint Sava |
| Consecrated | May 18, 1991 |
| Events | Former church at 13th and Connecticut Street in Gary, Indiana destroyed by fire in 1978; Current church at 9191 Mississippi Street, Merrillville, Indiana consecrated in 1991. |
| Architecture | |
| Functional status | Active |
| Architect(s) | Milojko Perisich; Radovan Pejovic |
| Architectural type | Byzantine Style |
| Years built | 1985-1991 |
| Groundbreaking | July 31, 1985 |
| Specifications | |
| Capacity | Seats about 400, additional 100 standing |
| Length | Overall 376 feet (115 m) |
| Nave length | 100 feet (30 m) |
| Nave width | 60 feet (18 m) |
| Height | Cross on the center cupola rests 97 feet (30 m) above the ground |
| Number ofdomes | 5 |
| Materials | American steel, Indiana limestone, and Appalachian oak wood |
| Bells | Located in the western cupola |
| Administration | |
| Diocese | Diocese of New Gracanica – Midwestern America |
| Clergy | |
| Bishop | Longin (Krčo) |
| Priest | Stavrofor Marko Matic |
| Laity | |
| Music group(s) | Karageorge Choir, Children's Choir of St. Sava Church |
TheSaint Sava Serbian Orthodox Church (Serbian:Црква светог Саве,romanized: Crkva svetog Save) was originally established February 14, 1914, inGary,Indiana, US, and is now located inMerrillville, Indiana, after theconsecration of the new church building in 1991.[1] It is the church-school congregation in whichSaint Varnava, the first American-bornSerbian to be proclaimed anOrthodox saint, was baptized and served as an altar boy.[2][3]
It is recognized as being among "10 Beautiful Region Cathedrals and Churches" in Northwest Indiana[4] and one of theMidwest's oldestparishes,[5] 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.[6][7][8][9][10]
Through its religious and nationalistic endeavors, it earned the renowned name of "Srpska Gera".[11][1][12][13] It is now among the churches in theNorthwest Indiana region that enjoy the status of institutional landmarks.[14][15]
The architectural design of the exterior central portion of the current St. Sava church building was modeled in theByzantine architecture style after theOplenac, aSerbian Orthodox Church located inTopola, Serbia. The central part of the church structure shares many similarities in its physical features and likeness to the Oplenac.[citation needed]
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.[citation needed]
Thenave, or center of the church, is 60 by 100 feet (18 m × 30 m) with a centercupola rising more than 90 feet (27 m) high. The church can accommodate up to 500 people.[16]
The Saint Sava Serbian Orthodox Church-School Congregation began with a large population of Serbian people who settled in the Gary area[17] and served an important role in maintaining the Serbian culture while also helping Serbian immigrants adapt to mainstream America.[18]
In 1912, before any official church congregation was established, a group of Serbians in Gary founded the first Serbian School at 14th and Massachusetts Streets. The first teacher of the school was Paul Veljkov, who later became a priest and would be the second priest to serve the St. Sava Church-School Congregation after it officially formed in 1914.[citation needed]
The Serbian Orthodox Church-School Congregation of St. Sava was established February 15, 1914, and incorporated on April 16, 1914.[citation needed]
The first church building was consecrated on June 13, 1915, at 20th and Connecticut streets in Gary.[citation needed]
At the beginning of the 1920s, internal provincial divisiveness within the congregation was so great that it led to a division. A second parish, known as Holy Resurrection, was founded at 39th and Washington Streets in theGlen Park section of Gary.[11]The parishes had reunified[11] by the late 1930s. In 1937 the cornerstone was laid for the new church, which was consecrated November 24, 1938.[19]
By the end of the 1950s the St. Sava Serbian Orthodox Church-School Congregation was the largest Eastern Orthodox Church in Gary.[20]
In the beginning of the 1960s, a portion of the membership separated itself from the congregation at St. Sava to form the Macedonian Orthodox Church and a religious and cultural center was established inCrown Point, Indiana.[11]
In 1963, a schism at the highest levels of the Serbian Orthodox Church resulted in the defrocking ofBishop Dionisije and a division in the Serbian Orthodox diaspora. A bitter conflict ensued with attendant lawsuits in civil courts for nearly three decades. Locally, this schism also resulted in a portion of the membership separating from the St. Sava Church-School Congregation and forming the new congregation of St. Elijah, which established a church and cultural center in Crown Point.[11]
Also in the early 1960s, the parish priest of St. Sava Church, Hieromonk Petar Bankerovic, later Bishop of Australia-New Zealand, was attacked and beaten outside the church, which left him with permanent physical impairments.[11][21][22]
The second building of the congregation, dedicated in 1939, was destroyed by a fire in the late afternoon and early evening of February 16, 1978.[23]
In the weeks following the fire a small hall was used as a chapel[23] until the consecration of the new church building in 1991 in Merrillville, Indiana.
In 1982, the membership of the congregation approved a building program on Mississippi Street.[19] for a new church whose construction began in 1985.[19] and which was consecrated on May 18, 1991.[citation needed]
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