Church Comes to Town

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Originally printed in the April 17 Grayslake Journal
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Church comes to town

By DAN MORRIS

LIBERTYVILLE – More than 200 Greek Orthodox stewards celebrated the consecration of the new St. Demetrios Greek Orthodox Church in Libertyville Sunday, April 13.

In an official door-opening ceremony, His Eminence Metropolitan Iakovos of Chicago presided with the Rev. Cosmas Halekakis, Presbyter of St. Demetrios. The celebrants performed a brief service in the adjacent Fellowship hall, then led the congregation in a procession to the doors of the new building. Iakovos then performed a traditional door-opening ceremony and led the crowd in for the first liturgy in the new house of worship.

“Christian brothers and sisters, now is the time to open the doors of the new St. Demetrios Church,” Halek-akis said.

The new church represents the culmination of 25 years of planning and organization. St. Demetrios Parish bought the land at 1400 N. O’Plaine Road in Libertyville in 1983 as the congregation outgrew its facilities at North Avenue and Glen Flora in Waukegan.

During the intervening years, the property was used for the annual St. Demetrios Festival, a celebration of Greek culture and the parish’s largest fundraising event.

“Its taken time. Six years ago, we formed the building committee and things really got rolling,” Parish Council treasurer Bob Morris said. “We brought in architects and contractors and broke ground about two years ago.”

Christ Kamages, the architect behind The Monastery of the Theotokos in Dunlap, Calif., and The Cathedral of Panagia in Toronto, Ontario, designed the new building. Topped by a dramatic golden dome and cross rising 75 feet from the ground, the church dominates the landscape and is visible from I-94.

Covering 9,000 square feet, the St. Demetrios sanctuary offers seating for 500. It represents a traditional Byzantine cross-in-square design, reminiscent of the Hagia Sophia in Istanbul. Inside, the walls and dome are white, with ornate wood and gilt fixtures for the altar and sacristy.

St. Demetrios parish was founded in 1929 as the spiritual community for many Greek immigrants who settled in the Waukegan and North Chicago area. The new church is a touchstone occasion for the parish, which spent much of its early history in search of a home.

The Greek community blossomed in the early 20th century, settling around 22nd Avenue in North Chicago. Faith played a major part in their culture, and they would gather in each others’ homes to celebrate holy days and liturgical feasts. The first formal services presided over by a priest began in 1925 and still took place in private homes.

Illinois chartered St. Demetrios on Aug. 7, 1929. The first parish council raised enough funds to buy a small lot, but the consequences of the Great Depression delayed its plans to build. From 1931 to 1943, the parish rented facilities at Ebenezer Congregational church for $20 a month.

In 1942, the congregation raised enough funds to buy the Armory Building on County Street. Renovations were made, and the church was consecrated in 1943.

The community quickly outgrew the old Armory Building, and new land was bought on the corner of Glen Flora and North Avenue in Waukegan in 1957.

Ground was broken for a new building in 1959. On July 4, 1960, the doors to St. Demetrios’ first real home were opened, 35 years after the first Greek Orthodox liturgies took place in living rooms of the area’s original Greek settlers.

Now a thriving congregation of more than 200 families, the community of St. Demetrios continues its 83-year history. And with its spectacular new building officially open, all eyes seem to be on the future.

“St. Demetrios Festival is coming up in July,” said Morris. “And anyone can come.”