St. John of Rila Church in Chicago

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St. John of Rila in Chicago, referred to in Bulgarian as 'Tsurkva Sveti Ivana Rilski' is a historic church of the Orthodox Church of America located in Chicago, Illinois. It is considered to be one of the most aesthetically noteworthy churches in the Portage Park area of Chicago.

1 History
2 Architecture
3 See also
4 External links
5 References

[edit] History

The church building was originally built and housed a Lutheran congregation under the name of the Peace Lutheran Church^[1]. The building was put up for auction as Peace Lutheran consolidated its parish with a number of other Lutheran congregations on Chicago's Northwest Side^[2]. The congregation of St. John of Rila, Wonderworker which had formed in February of 1996 was looking for a church of its own as it had been celebrating services in the Holy Cross Chapel at St. Andrew Greek Orthodox Church in Chicago^[3]. After winning the highly competitive auction, the first services at the new beautiful church were celebrated on February 7, 1999^[4].

Today, St. John of Rila is an extremely important center for Bulgarians in Chicago because of the specificity of national churches in America to function not only as a place of worship, but also as an important social center devoted to maintaining the language, culture and tradition of the Bulgarian diaspora through Sunday schools and social gatherings^[5].

In 2001, Princess Marie Louise of Bulgaria toured the church.

[edit] Architecture

Originally constructed in 1928, this beautiful brick and limestone church building has approximately 3,979 square feet above grade area, including a 552 square foot balcony, overlooking the main church floor which seats approximately 216 people^[6]. The original interior has been adapted to conform to Eastern Orthodox liturgical requirements, and a traditional hand carved iconostasis has been installed. The 3,427 square foot finished basement has a large auditorium with a stage used for theatrical and cultural performances^[7]. The parish house which is attached to the church building was completed in 1923 and served as the main place of worship until the church's completion in December of 1928^[8]