St. Theodosius Orthodox Christian Cathedral in Tremont is moving forward with restoration efforts after a devastating fire last May.
At its April 10 meeting, the Cleveland Landmarks Commission unanimously approved plans for the Tremont church to restore its slate roof as well as some copper domes and glass windows.
Construction on the church began in 1911, according to its pastor, the Rev. Ján Čižmár, thanks to $70,000 raised by 12 families who immigrated from Poland, Ukraine, Slovakia and Hungary. It was dedicated in 1913 and was the set for the 51-minute wedding scene in the Oscar-winning 1978 movie “The Deer Hunter,” whose stars included Robert De Niro and Meryl Streep.
On May 28, 2024, during a roofing project, a fire devastated the building at 733 Starkweather Ave.
“We have a big restoration in front of us,” Čižmár told the Landmarks Commission. “We would like to put this beacon of hope back to Tremont.”
Ruined domes will be replaced
Last year’s fire affected the west and north sides of the building, and damage to the main dome was so extensive that it had to be removed and scrapped. (A metal tent of sorts sits on top of the church for now.)
The restoration plans approved this month include replacing the large dome, two medium domes, two small domes and a barrel vault. (The church was designed with a large dome recalling Jesus Christ plus four medium-sized domes representing the four evangelists and eight small domes – those 12 represent the 12 apostles.) Čižmár said 70% of the roof was burned from the inside.
Čižmár said St. Theodosius is one of the finest examples of Orthodox architecture in the United States. It overlooks the steel mills that employed generations of immigrants. “It was a memento for all immigrants coming here,” he said in a video that outlines restoration plans. The church’s earliest members came to Cleveland from a variety of countries in Eastern Europe, most of them near the Carpathian Mountains. He said Russian immigrants largely found their way to Cleveland and to St. Theodosius after the Russian Revolution in 1917.
The copper on the new domes will turn green as it ages, matching the domes that survived the fire. Workers will use as much of the remaining natural slate as possible to restore the roof and new slate where needed.
Cleveland Documenters Marcy Clark and Annie Maglicic have more from the April 10 Cleveland Landmarks Commission meeting.
- Cleveland Landmarks Commission OKs plans to restore roof of St. Theodosius Orthodox Cathedral
- Watch the livestream of the meeting here, starting at timestamp 1:18.
Colorful glass windows survived the fire
Many of the windows in the church were created by Dr. Rudolph Sandon, a stained glass artist and Olympic gold medalist who immigrated to Cleveland after World War II. Those windows survived, Čižmár said, and the ones damaged in the fire will be repaired.
The windows way up in the main dome will be recreated with thermopane glass – they will look like the ones they are replacing, but they will be both cheaper and more energy-efficient, project officials told the Landmarks Commission.
Mike Ritenour of Ritenour Group, the Twinsburg restoration firm working on the project, told the Landmarks Commission the work began with stabilization efforts and included using aerial drones and 3D scans to inspect the damage. David Hogue of Bostwick Design Partnership and other architects are reviewing the original construction plans and comparing them with historical photos. The goal, Hogue said, “is to restore what was built, not necessarily what was designed.”
The church is praying for donations
“We pray that we will have the money to finish the work and safely worship there,” Čižmár said. He expects the full restoration to take at least a decade and said it may cost up to $15 million. For now, the 80 or so families that belong to St. Theodosius gather for services in the church hall. He said they hope to be back in the cathedral a year from now and will continue with interior renovation as funds allow.
He noted that local firms are doing the restoration work. “This is one bonus of the tragedy. The work is staying in the neighborhood.”
Čižmár recently took Signal Cleveland inside the church. The fire did not affect the sanctuary, but the nave suffered smoke and water damage. While some of the stained glass windows are intact and a chandelier sparkles, the frescoes suffered. Large sheets of plastic separate the sanctuary from the nave.
“Sometimes when I am tired,” said Čižmár, who became pastor in 2021, “I go into the sanctuary and enjoy the beauty of the house of God, forgetting that anything ever happened. Because the sanctuary is the only part of the cathedral that was not damaged. It all will be rebuilt. I believe that God will help.”
Anyone interested in donating to preserve this Cleveland landmark (which also appears on the National Register of Historic Places) can go here.
