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St. George Church in Michigan City Celebrates 115th Anniversary
St. George Orthodox Church in Michigan City marked 115 years since its cornerstone was laid under the blessing of St. Raphael Hawaweeny.
MICHIGAN CITY, IN — St. George the Great Martyr Orthodox Church in Michigan City, Indiana, marked the 115th anniversary of the laying of its cornerstone with a Hierarchical Divine Liturgy led by Bp. Spyridon, the new bishop of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia's (ROCOR) Chicago and Mid-America Diocese. The cornerstone was laid on August 15/28, 1911, with the blessing of St. Raphael Hawaweeny, Bishop of Brooklyn, who served under St. Tikhon, Archbishop of North America.
The parish was established by Lebanese-Syrian Christians who began arriving in Michigan City around 1900. St. Raphael sent Archpriest Basil Kerbawy from St. Nicholas Cathedral in New York City and Archpriest Philip Abou-Assaley of Grand Rapids, MI, to lay the foundation stone for the new church. The community’s first resident priest was Fr. Antonios Abu-Allam Farah, originally from Fourzol in present-day Lebanon, who was ordained by St. Raphael in New York in January 1912.
The church was consecrated by St. Raphael in 1914, approximately six months before his death in 1915, and remains the only original church consecrated by him. The parish’s history is connected to the migration of Christians from the Middle East, many of whom left their homeland beginning in the late 19th century amid persecution and Ottoman rule.
Following the Divine Liturgy, “Many Years” was sung for the hierarchs, clergy, parishioners, and benefactors. Gramotas recognizing spiritual and material support were presented to Sbdn. Alexander and Juliana Baskin, Rdr. Roman and Anna Sydoruk, Rdr. Michael Lilley, Rdr. Thomas Tadros, and Rdr. Eleazar Byrom. The parish also presented Bp. Spyridon with a relic of St. Spyridon.
Clergy and guests from Michigan, Illinois, Ohio, and elsewhere joined the celebration, which concluded with a festive banquet. The anniversary also featured an interview with Hieromonk Raphael Tadros titled “The Burning Bush – St. Raphael in the Midwest.”
Previously, the UOJ reported that St. Mary’s Church in Pennsylvania celebrated 125 years.
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