Saint Sava Serbian Orthodox Church (Merrillville, Indiana)

Design model

The architectural design of the exterior central portion of the current St. Sava church building was modeled in the Byzantine architecture style after the Oplenac, a Serbian Orthodox Church located in Topola, Serbia. The central part of the church structure shares many similarities in its physical features and likeness to the Oplenac.

Gold Medal Award

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.

Physical attributes

The nave, or center of the church, is 60 feet (18m) by 100 feet (30m) with a center cupola rising more than 90 feet high. The church can accommodate as many as 500 people.

The steel beams that form the skeleton of the building structure enable the expansive central part of the church to exist open and barrier free. The steel beams were made in two Lake County, Indiana, steel plants, Inland Steel and U.S. Steel.

The north wing of the building complex holds administrative offices, a custodian’s apartment, and originally a library which was intended at the time of the church consecration and has since been converted into a museum organized by the St. Sava Historical Society. The lower level of the north wing houses the Sunday School classrooms. The south wing was originally designed to house classrooms with movable partitions when the church was built, but has since been converted into a small hall with built-in kitchen and bar facilities available for rental known as the South Wing Social Center.

The exterior facade of the building is Indiana limestone from Bedford, Indiana, and the interior of the church is mainly constructed from Appalachian red wood.

The giant chandelier in the center of the church and several others were made of German crystal designed and custom-made in a New York plant. The largest is 8 feet across and 11 feet tall and weighs 800 pounds.

Interior Iconography

All the original iconography lining the walls are the work of Orthodox priest Theodore Jurewicz.

Jurewicz painted the Virgin Mary and the Christ child over the center altar in 1991 which took 2 months to paint.

Jurewicz later returned and painted “The Nativity of Christ” icon on the north wall, taking two weeks to compete it in March 1993.

Later that year, Jurewicz painted “The Resurrection of Christ and Descent into Hades” icon on the south wall, taking two weeks to complete it in May 1993.

Jurewicz also painted the icon mural in the choir loft of 12 saints that are important to the Orthodox faith, intertwined with a history rich with religious and political significance. The choir loft mural was painted by Jurewicz in November 1993.

The icon depicting “righteous souls going into paradise - cursed souls on their way to hell” was painted in the church vestibule by Jurewicz and his two sons in August 1999.

Exterior Mosaic Iconography

There are 36 mosaics, 34 of them completely visible from the exterior and 2 of them visible on the north and south entrances of the main church visible from within the atrium enclosures. These religious mosaics are deemed to be iconographic in nature even though the techniques and materials used by the artist differ from the painted icon. All the mosaics were created by Marchione Studios of Canton, Ohio.

Over the main entrance is a icon of Christ as the Head of the Church, and an icon of Saint Sava, the Patron Saint of the Church. Above the south door of the church, in the atrium, is the icon of Saint Simeon, Saint Sava's father. In the atrium, over the north door, is Saint Lazar, the sainted hero of Kosovo.

Above the doors that link the church to the two wings, on the west side, are icons of two courageous warriors of Christ, who guard the north and south entrances. Over the north atrium door is the mosaic of the Great Martyr Saint Demetrius. Mosaics on the east side atrium doors depict the two representatives of the heavenly body with Saint Archangel Michael to the north and the Angel of Resurrection from the Monastery Mileseva to the south.

At the west end of the north wing exterior is the American crest depicting an eagle and the seal of the United States of America, with the inscription, "God Bless America." On the exterior of the south wing's west wall is the Serbian crest with the inscription "God saves Serbs." These crests reflect the congregation's faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, the Orthodox Church, and in the national heritage.

The remainder of the mosaics on both wings depict the following monasteries, churches, and individuals:

South Wing Mosaics (West Side)

South Wing Mosaics (East Side)

South Wing Mosaics (South Side)

North Wing Mosaics (West Side)

North Wing Mosaics (East Side)

North Wing Mosaics (North Side)

Early years (1912-1920)

The Saint Sava Serbian Orthodox Church-School Congregation began with a large population of Serbian people who settled in the Gary, Indiana area and served an important role in maintaining the Serbian culture while also helping Serbian immigrants adapt to mainstream America.

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 Mr. 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.

The Serbian Orthodox Church-School Congregation of St. Sava established February 15, 1914 in Gary, Indiana adopted and ratified the first By-laws of the church March 22, 1914 at the Main Membership Assembly for efficient and successful realization of its aims and purposes.

The Serbian Orthodox Church-School Congregation of St. Sava was founded as a community of persons who profess the Orthodox Faith and reside in one ore more localities which comprise a geographical or administrative unit.

For legal purposes, the St. Sava Church-School Congregation was originally incorporated according to the laws of the State of Indiana April 16, 1914.

The first church building was founded and consecrated June 13, 1915 at 20th and Connecticut streets in Gary, Indiana. The Church mortgage was retired in 1916 for the 20th and Connecticut Street building.

The 1920s

At the beginning of the 1920s internal provincial divisiveness within the congregation was so great that it led to a division. Even the Circle of Serbian Sisters, an auxiliary organization of the church, split. A second parish was founded, known as Holy Resurrection, at 39th and Washington Streets in the Glen Park section of Gary, Indiana.

Because living conditions changed, the membership of the St. Sava Church-School Congregation amended its By-laws at an Annual Meeting March 7, 1927.

In 1929 Bishop Mardarije Uskokovich from the Saint Sava Monastery in Libertyville, Illinois (the first monastery on the North American Continent that would later finish construction of the monastery building in 1931) blessed the ground where the new St. Sava Church would be built at the corner of 13th and Connecticut Streets in Gary, Indiana.

The 1930s

Following a unification of the split that occurred within the congregation in the early 1920s, the parish would build "one of the most Serbian of Churches and centers on this continent" in the late 1930s due to the need for a larger facility that was more centrally located.

In 1937 the cornerstone for the new church was blessed by Bishop Iriney Djordjevich, administrator of the American-Canadian Diocese at the time.

Bishop Damaskin Gradanicki served the rite of consecration for the newly completed church building November 24, 1938. With construction and consecration complete, the congregation moved north from its original church building to Its new, second location at 1300 Connecticut Street at the corner of 13th and Connecticut Streets in Gary, Indiana.

The 1940s

The Church mortgage was retired in 1943 for the newest, second building constructed at 13th and Connecticut Streets in Gary, Indiana.

The 1950s

In 1955 the St. Sava Church-School Congregation purchased 49.2 acres on 49th Avenue in Hobart, Indiana where it would ultimately build a picnic grounds and a large hall facility that would serve the congregation for decades.

In 1956 the debt was retired for the Picnic Grounds at 49th Avenue and it was officially blessed.

The St. Sava Church-School Congregation again amended its By-laws December 23, 1956, this time at an Extraordinary Membership Meeting.

When the State of Indiana changed its laws for church and religious organizations March 3, 1943, the St. Sava Church-School Congregation was again incorporated June 14, 1957.

By the end of the 1950s the St. Sava Serbian Orthodox Church-School Congregation was recognized as the largest Eastern Orthodox Church in Gary, Indiana.

The 1960s

In the beginning of the 1960s, a portion of the membership separated itself from the congregation at St. Sava and formed the Macedonian Orthodox Church where a religious and cultural center was established in Crown Point, Indiana.

In 1963 a schism at the highest levels of the Serbian Orthodox Church resulted in the defrockment of His Grace Bishop Dionisije and a division among the Serbian Orthodox faithful in Diaspora. What followed was a bitter conflict with attendant lawsuits in civil courts for nearly three decades. Locally, this schism also resulted in a portion of the membership separating itself from the St. Sava Church-School Congregation and forming the new Church-School Congregation of St. Elijah which established a church and cultural center in Crown Point, Indiana.

Also in the early 1960s, the parish priest of St. Sava Church Hieromonk Petar Bankerovic, later Bishop of Australia-New Zealand, was attacked and viciously beaten outside of the church which left him with physical impairments which existed for the rest of his life.

Gary Mayor A. Martin Katz proclaimed Sunday, November 15, 1964 as "St. Sava Serbian Church Day" in Gary in honor of the Easter Orthodox church's 50th anniversary of its founding in the City of Gary. The Church hosted a banquet program that featured Col. Nick T. Stepanovich, counsel for Free Eastern Orthodox Diocese of America and Canada.

In 1969 the newly constructed Hall was officially dedicated.

The 1970s

In 1970 the mortgage for the hall on 49th Avenue in Hobart, Indiana was retired.

In 1971 the State of Indiana changed its laws for church and religious organizations once again, necessitating the St. Sava Church-School Congregation to be incorporated again February 27, 1974.

Also in 1971 the Church-School Congregation purchased a parish home at the corner of 53rd and Carolina Street in Merrillville, Indiana.

In the later part of the decade the second building of the congregation, dedicated in 1939, remained intact until a fire destroyed it in the late afternoon and early evening February 16, 1978. The entire Church complex including each Church item, a large library, an administrative office, a social hall, caretakers quarters, the Parish Priest Home and furnishing were all lost, with the exception of the Holy Relics.

Without any lapse in the Church’s liturgical services, worship resumed the following Sunday after the fire, February 19, 1978 when His Grace Bishop Iriney brought new Antimins (a Corporal - a silk cloth portraying the Body of Jesus Christ being placed into the Tomb) and gave His blessing so that the Divine Liturgy could be celebrated on an ordinary table covered with a plain cloth in the Saint Sava Serbian Hall which was located on property that also contained the church picnic grounds on 49th Avenue in Hobart, Indiana.

In the weeks following the fire, the small hall at the facilities in Hobart, Indiana was completely converted into a chapel in less than 45 days under the supervision of Peter Erkman and Dragan Adamovich during the presidency of Zivojin Cokic of the church Executive Board. That small chapel would continue to be the spiritual center for the church until the consecration of the new church building in 1991 which located in Merrillville, Indiana.

At the excavation of the ruins of the burned St. Sava Church at 13th and Connecticut Streets in Gary, Indiana, three youths, Louis Milicich, Steven Baroevich, and John Derado found the ruins of the Holy Corporal where the Holy Relics, which were sewn into the Holy Corporal by the Bishop, were found intact. Also at the excavation, Radmila Milivojevich, president and member of the Circle of Serbian Sisters at St. Sava, found the undamaged metal box which contained the Holy Relics placed in the Holy Table by the Bishop at the Consecration of the Church in 1938.

At the Annual Membership Meeting February 26, 1978, the Congregation had resolved, "...to find a suitable construction site, inquire about the price, review the environment, and learn all details pertinent to building a new church."

Upon the recommendation of the Executive Board, the Extraordinary Membership Assembly voted on April 8, 1978 "...to purchase 140 acres of land on 9191 Mississippi Street in Merrillville, Indiana at $6,000 per acre for a total of $833,712 with an 8% annual interest on the loan. President Zivojin Cokic and the Executive Board signed the contract with Guaranteed Life Insurance Company and placed a deposit on June 9, 1978. Stevan and Zagorka Micic voluntarily guaranteed the terms of the contract using their personal collateral.

The 1980s

With President Cokic and the Executive Board, along with the work of Finance Chairman Nicholas Chabraja and all subordinate organizations and personnel, the loan for the property was liquidated in 19 months. On the Slava Day of St. Sava Sunday, January 27, 1980, the mortgage on the loan was burned so that the 140 acres of land on 9191 Mississippi Street in Merrillville, Indiana became the absolute property of the St. Sava Church-School Congregation.

In 1982 the membership of the St. Sava Church-School Congregation approved a building program for the properly located at 9191 Mississippi Street in Merrillville, Indiana.

Due to an increase in membership and the number of duties including successful progress and added administrative needs in the Church-School Congregation, the Extraordinary Membership Assembly accepted and affirmed new By-laws May 16, 1982.

Members of the 1982 By-laws Committee were Steve Boljanich, Chairman; Very Rev. Fr. Jovan Todorovich, Secretary; Nick Chabraja, Member (Past President); Nick Sever, Member (Past President); Zivojin Cokic, Member (Past President). The president of the Executive Board of the church at the time was Joe Sever and the secretary of the Executive Board was Alexander Churchich

The By-laws for the St. Sava Church-School Congregation were approved by Bishop Irinej at The Most Holy Mother of God Monastery in Third Lake, Illinois January 31, 1983.

The By-laws which were last approved by the Church-School Congregation Membership in 1982 and approved by the Bishop in 1983 are still in use as of 2016.

In January 1983 the general location for the new church building that would be built at 9191 Mississippi Street, Merrillville, Indiana.

Sunday, June 5, 1983 was the day when the Executive Board of St. Sava chose the precise spot for the construction site on 9191 Mississippi Street in Merrillville, Indiana where the Diocesan Bishop Rt. Rev. Iriney was invited to bless the ground and place a wooden Cross.

The contract for Milojko Perisich, the first architect named to the new building project, was approved September 13, 1983. Sadly, architect Perisich died December 28, 1983 requiring the search for a new architect to complete the project.

Radovan Pejovic, the architect who would complete the building project for the new church, was approved May 7, 1984.

A groundbreaking ceremony where excavation and foundation and foundation was raised July 31, 1985 at the new church site at 9191 Mississippi Street, Merrillville, Indiana.

The foundation of the new church was consecrated in 1987.

The Bells of the Church were consecrated and installed in 1988.

The five Crosses at the tops of the domes of St. Sava Church were consecrated and installed in 1989.

The 1990s

The chapel in the Saint Sava Serbian Hall in Hobart, Indiana served as the primary location of liturgical services from the time of the fire in the late 1970s until the consecration of the new church building which took place May 18, 1991 in Merrillville, Indiana. The Kumovi of the Church at the Consecration Ceremony were Glisho Rapaich, Mike and Yvonne Galich.

Serbian Patriarch Pavle served Divine Pontifical Liturgy at St. Sava Church in Merrillville, Indiana.

In 1999 St. Sava's new "Spomenik" Monument was placed near the south end of the South Wing of the main Church Building. The monument honors all wars since 1389 Kosovo and was donated by Mile and Ella Kosanovich.

The 2000s

The St. Sava Church-School Congregation celebrated its 90th anniversary November 14, 2004.

In 2005 Bishop Varnava was canonized as Saint Varnava (Barnabas) who at one time early in his life was the first altar boy at St. Sava Church when it was located in Gary, Indiana.

In 2007 the St. Sava Serbian Historical Society was established at St. Sava in Merrillville, Indiana to preserve ethnic culture and history.

In February 2007 Very Reverend Stavrophor Jovan Todorovich retired as priest and Father Marko Matic began serving the congregation at St. Sava Church.

In 2009 the old Veteran’s Monument from former site of St. Sava Church at 13th and Connecticut in Gary, IN was moved to the church grounds in Merrillville, IN by the Sever Family and volunteers.

The 2010s

St. Sava Serbian Orthodox Church honored St. Varnava during a service at 6 p.m. Thursday, November 11, 2010 at the church, 9191 Mississippi St., Merrillville. Rev. Thomas Kazich, with the Serbian Midwest Diocese of North America, and the Rev. Marko Matic, a priest at St. Sava Church, were involved in the service.

The St. Sava Church-School Congregation launched their first social media presence with an official Facebook Page and their first posting October 25, 2011.

In April 2014 representatives from the St. Sava Church-School Congregation presented preliminary plans to the Town of Merrillville Board of Zoning Appeals for the construction of a Cemetery. The Special Exemption approval was granted by the Town of Merrillville Board of Zoning Appeals in April 2014 and later approved at the Town Council meeting in May 2014.

In November 2014 the St. Sava Church-School Congregation celebrated the 100th anniversary of the church. The festivities included a full weekend of events which took place in the newly completed Pavilion, the state-of-the-art, contemporary venue that serves as a critical central meeting place for the congregation to host large scale cultural events, but is also available for rental to the general public for weddings, business conferences, tradeshows, and other local events requiring a large scale venue space.

The Royal Highnesses Crown Prince Alexander and Crown Princess Katherine of Serbia made their first visit to St. Sava Serbian Orthodox Church Friday, September 30, 2016. They participated in a prayer in the church, toured an exhibit created by the St. Sava Church Historical Society, viewed a performance by the St. Sava Church Children's Choir, and then attended a special humanitarian fundraising banquet taking place in the event center at St. Sava Church.

November 12, 2016 His Grace Bishop Login, along with visiting clergy, presided over the groundbreaking ceremony for the new Orthodox Cemetery at St. Sava Church. Earth moving equipment was on-site and construction officially began in the weeks following the ceremony.

The November 12, 2016 was also a date that hosted two other significant events, in addition to the groundbreaking for the cemetery, in the history of the church. In the weeks leading up to this date, a major floor refinishing project took place in the main church where all of the wood floors throughout the church were refinished and carpet in the alter replaced. The replacement of the carpeting in the Altar required moving of all the items in the altar, including the Holy Relics on the Holy Table which was the first time such items were moved since the consecration of the church 25 years earlier. His Grace Bishop Longin blessed the Church, enabling services to resume in the sacred space.

His Grace Bishop Longin also elevated Father Marko Matic to the rank of Stavrophor in the Orthodox Church on November 12, 2016. This is the highest rank for an Orthodox priest serving a parish.

Present day

The present church was built on 140 acres (57 ha) at 9191 Mississippi Street in Merrillville on land purchased by the Church-School Congregation following the fire of the church at 13th and Connecticut Streets in Gary.

During the interim years of 1978 through 1991, while the Liturgy was still being performed in the Chapel, the priest and the church board undertook plans to finance and erect what would be a "once-in-a-lifetime endeavor" constructing the "church of our dreams", which was consecrated in 1991 and home to the Church-School Congregation as of present day.

In November 2014 the church was able to complete construction of the new Pavilion in time to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the church. The Pavilion complex with its main assembly area, stage, kitchen, bar, and storage areas compose more than 17,000 square feet (1,600 m²) overall, with the central open floor space taking up nearly 14,000 square feet (1,300 m²) of the building and allowing for a wide variety of physical layouts for many types of large scale events.

One of the most striking features of the Pavilion is the unique use of full-length, floor-to-ceiling accordion-style window/doors which line the length of the main exterior walls of the large central assembly area, offering seamless transition from the comfort of the central hall to the beauty of the outside environment. These unique accordion window/doors provide access to the two large patio areas that exist for additional outdoor event space usage which face scenic wooded areas towards the back side of the pavilion facility.

The state-of-the-art, contemporary venue is available for rental to the general public for weddings, business conferences, tradeshows, and other local events requiring a large scale venue space, but it also serves as a critical central meeting place for the congregation to host large scale cultural events such as the annual "Serb Fest" which takes place each summer and other special events throughout the year like the Lenten Fish Frys, the youth folklore group's annual Intercultural Dance Festival, or the Children's Choir Festival hosting youth choral talent from around the midwest.

Official languages

The official languages of the Saint Sava Serbian Orthodox Church-School Congregation are Serbian (Cyrillic Alphabet) and English; and the Liturgical languages are Church-Slavonic, Serbian, and English.

Aim of the Church-School Congregation

The purposes of the Saint Sava Serbian Orthodox Church-School Congregation are, according to its by-laws:

1. to protect, preserve and perpetuate the true teaching of the Orthodox Faith, together with all Serbian traditions and customs;
2. to accept persons into the Holy Orthodox Faith through Holy Baptism and to guide them into family life through marriage according to the teachings and traditions of the Church;
3. to, through appropriate teaching, edify the believers towards spiritual and moral perfection, to foster mutual brotherly love and unity, and to mold worthy and loyal citizens of these United States of America,
4. to erect and maintain a church and all appurtenant annexes pertinent to the spiritual, cultural, educational, national, athletic and social needs of its faithful;
5. to establish and maintain Church and Serbian Schools and to help organize programs for the spiritual and moral upbringing of the children and youth;
6. to preach and practice charity as a high ideal of our Christian religion;
7. to preserve our ancestral tradition of interring members of our church who depart this life;
8. to cooperate and maintain good relations with other church-school congregations within our Diocese of New Gracanica and Midwestern America.

Priests

The following have served as priests at St. Sava Church since its founding. The Symbol † Denotes Memory Eternal.

1. † Reverend Dushan Bogich
2. † Reverend Paul Veljkov
3. † Reverend Milan Jugovich
4. † Reverend Philip Sredanovich
5. † Reverend Paul Veljkov
6. † Reverend Petar Stijachich
7. † Reverend Bogoljub Gakovich
8. † Reverend Paul Markovich
9. † Very Reverend Dushan Shoukletovich
10. † Reverend Vladmir Mrvichin
11. † Very Reverend Svetozar Radovanovich
12. † Very Reverend Dushan Shoukletovich
13. Very Reverend Stavrophor Velimir Petakovich
14. † Bishop Peter Bankerovich (served from 1963-1970)
15. Very Reverend Stavrophor Jovan Todorovich (served from 1970-2007)
16. Very Reverend Stavrophor Marko Matic (served from 2007–Present)

Connection with Saint Varnava (Barnabas) the New Confessor

Saint Varnava was the first American-born Serbian to be proclaimed an Orthodox saint. Born with the secular name Vojislav Nastic in Gary, Indiana in 1914, he lived with his family in a home near 12th Avenue and Madison Street and was the first person baptized at St. Sava Serbian Orthodox Church when it was located in Gary, Indiana where he also served as an altar boy.

A play was written and produced in January 1965 at St. Sava Serbian Orthodox Church about Bishop Varnava, "Martyr to Communism," and was acted in the church auditorium by children to acquaint them with his life and death. The author of the play was Daisy Wuletich, Gary-born, who had visited Bishop Varnava when he was living in Serbia drew upon her personal letters of the Bishop, from an account of the trial, and her personal observations.

Saint Sava Serbian Orthodox Church maintained connection with Varnava throughout his life. More than 40 years before Varnava was canonized as a Saint, St. Sava Serbian Orthodox Church sought his release from the Tito regime who imprisoned Varnava in 1948 for preaching against the Communist way of life in Yugoslavia. It was hoped that Varnava would be released and able to return to the United States for the 50th anniversary of the Church in 1964. Sadly, his release was not granted from prison and he was not able to attend.

Orthodox Cemetery on the Grounds at St. Sava

In April 2014 representatives from the St. Sava Church-School Congregation presented preliminary plans to the Town of Merrillville Board of Zoning Appeals for the construction of a Cemetery. The Special Exemption approval was granted by the Town of Merrillville Board of Zoning Appeals in April 2014 and later approved at the Town Council meeting in May 2014.

In January 2016 the Executive Board of the St. Sava Church-School Congregation voted to approve members of the Cemetery Board. The board will help to guide the Rules and Regulations of the new Cemetery and provide certain types of guidance and support as preparations for construction begin to take shape in 2016.

On November 12, 2016 His Grace Bishop Login, along with visiting clergy, presided over the groundbreaking ceremony for the new Orthodox Cemetery at St. Sava Church. Earth moving equipment was on-site and construction officially began in the weeks following the ceremony. At the time of the groundbreaking it was estimated that the initial construction efforts to prepare the land should be completed in the Spring of 2017.

Historical Society and Museum

The Church maintains a museum in the north wing of the church building complex that is organized by the Historical Society of St. Sava Serbian Orthodox Church (Merrillville, Indiana) and is open to the public during special events and by appointment.

The society has featured exhibits through the years highlighting Serbs in the Steel Mills, Serbian Weddings, Serbian Sisters Circle, Serbs in Sports, Serbs in the Military, and other traveling exhibits. Members of the Historical Society also help maintain a special section of the museum dedicated to the Karageorge Choir of St. Sava Serbian Orthodox Church (Merrillville, Indiana) which is located in the choir loft in the central part of the church.

Notable church sponsors

Notable members