St. Theodosius Russian Orthodox Cathedral facts for kids

Quick facts for kids St. Theodosius Orthodox Christian Cathedral
Собор Святого Феодосия (Russian)
St. Theodosius Russian Orthodox Cathedral, Cleveland, Ohio, USA
Religion
Affiliation	Eastern Orthodox
Ecclesiastical or organizational status	Active
Year consecrated	20 July 1913 (1913-07-20)
Location
Location	733 Starkweather Ave., Cleveland, Ohio, United States
Architecture
Architect(s)	Frederick C. Baird
Architectural type	Church
Groundbreaking	1911 (1911)
Construction cost	$70,000
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Official name: St. Theodosius Russian Orthodox Cathedral
Designated	January 18, 1974
Reference no.	74001453

St. Theodosius Cathedral is an Eastern Orthodox church in Cleveland, Ohio. It is located in the Tremont neighborhood. Many people consider it one of the best examples of Russian church design in the United States. Because of its special design, it is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

St. Theodosius was the first Eastern Orthodox church in Cleveland. Today, it is part of the Orthodox Church in America. The cathedral is also famous for appearing in two movies. It was seen in the 1978 film The Deer Hunter and in the opening of Major League.

About Saint Theodosius

The cathedral is named after Saint Theodosius of Chernigov. He was born in the early 1630s in a place called Podolia. We do not know his baptism name.

Theodosius studied at the Brotherhood Monastery in Kiev. He later became a monk at Kiev Pechersk Lavra. There, he was given the name Theodosius. This name honored an earlier saint, Theodosius of Kiev.

He became a priest and took on important roles in different monasteries. In 1692, he became an archbishop in Moscow. Saint Theodosius passed away on February 5, 1696. He was buried in the Cathedral of Saints Boris and Gleb in Chernigov.

History of the Cathedral

The St. Theodosius church community started in Cleveland in 1896. It was founded by immigrants from Carpathian Ruthenia. This area is now part of Ukraine. These immigrants were originally Greek Catholics. They decided to join the Russian Orthodox faith. This happened in many places in the U.S. and helped form the Orthodox Church in America.

The first church building was made of wood and built in 1896. Tsar Nicholas II of Russia even helped with money. In 1902, the church bought a former convent. They sold parts of the land to church members to raise money.

The current cathedral building is the third church for the community. It cost about $70,000 to build. It was officially opened on July 20, 1913.

In 1909, the church bought land for a cemetery in Brooklyn. A monk from St. Theodosius would go there on Saturdays. He taught Russian to children who lived too far from the church.

Changes and Challenges

The Russian Revolution in 1917 caused big changes for the Russian Orthodox Church. The new Soviet government was against the church. Many people from Russia came to Cleveland and joined St. Theodosius. One of them was Father Jason Kappanadze, a longtime pastor.

In 1919, St. Theodosius hosted an important meeting called the Second All-American Sobor. At this meeting, they chose their own leader for North America. This was a new and important step for the church in the U.S.

The church continued to grow and change. In 1954, the cathedral was rededicated. Since the late 1950s, church services have been held in both Church Slavonic and English. Today, the main Sunday service is mostly in English.

On January 18, 1974, the building was officially added to the National Register of Historic Places. It was also named a Cleveland Landmark.

In 1977, St. Theodosius was used for a wedding scene in the movie The Deer Hunter. The church's own priest, Father Stephen Kopestonsky, played the priest in the film. The cathedral also appeared in an episode of the TV show Route 66 in 1961.

Cathedral Architecture

Another view of the beautiful St. Theodosius Cathedral.

The cathedral is built in a style called Neo-Byzantine. This is a type of Russian church architecture. It has one large, four medium, and eight small copper onion domes. These domes are special symbols of Christ and the twelve apostles.

The design of the cathedral was created by Cleveland architect Frederick C. Baird. He based his plans on pictures of the original Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in Moscow, Russia.

Inside the cathedral, there is an iconostasis. This is a wall covered with icons that separates the main part of the church from the altar area. It has many beautiful icons brought from Russia:

• Above: A crucifix with the Blessed Virgin Mary and John the Baptist.
• Top row: The Twelve Apostles around an icon of the Holy Trinity.
• Middle row: Smaller icons of various saints around an icon of the Last Supper. This is above the Royal Doors.
• Bottom row (from left to right): Saint Nicholas, Archangel Michael, Mother of God, the Royal Doors, the Savior, Archangel Gabriel, and Saint Theodosius of Chernigov.

In 1953, the church asked a famous Russian artist, Andrej Bicenko, to paint murals. One of these murals includes a picture of Father Jason Kappanadze, a very important pastor of the cathedral.

Church Leaders

See also

In Spanish: Catedral de San Teodosio para niños