Greek Orthodox church in Canonsburg to celebrate consecration
Observer-Reporter
The Rev. George Livanos of All Saints Greek Orthodox Church, Canonsburg, points out the terra-cotta tiles on the roof of the structure, which opened in 1995.
Livanos holds the Paten, a covered, elevated tray on which the box of relics will rest during the three processionals around the perimeter of the church.
Livanos explains the rituals of the consecration at the altar of the church in the sanctuary, which is separated from the nave by a hand-carved wall covered with hand-painted icons.
Observer-Reporter
The lighted dome of All Saints Church is visible to nighttime travelers along Interstate 79, and the interior of the dome is a showcase of iconography and gold leaf. The icons portray Christ and saints.
The Rev. George Livanos holds the small silver box that will contain the relics of three martyred saints and will be the centerpiece of the consecration service.
The relics will be sealed inside this Italian marble altar and will become a tomb.
The bones of three martyred saints will be placed in this small silver box and sealed inside the altar of All Saints Greek Orthodox Church in Canonsburg during the consecration ceremony.
CANONSBURG – With its gold dome, terra-cotta tile and iconography, All Saints Greek Orthodox Church in Canonsburg is an architectural delight, a Byzantine-style church reminiscent of the churches found in Greek villages.
On Friday and Saturday, the church will reach an elevated status when the highest ranking clergy in the Greek Orthodox church travel there to consecrate All Saints Church.
The service is a major sacrament in the Orthodox church.
“The consecration is the baptism of a church,” said the Rev. George Livanos of All Saints Church. “Consecrate means ‘to set apart.’ Already it’s a sacred place, but now we set aside the church and the grounds for God, unto the ages of ages.”
Like the rite of baptism, consecration is done once within the life of the church.
However, it will be the second consecration for All Saints Church.
In 1918, Canonsburg’s Greek Orthodox faithful began to meet for services at a rented hall. Seven years later, they purchased the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Community Church, a stone church with twin bell towers on Blaine Avenue. In 1954, the Blaine Avenue church was consecrated.
The congregation, which now includes 300 families, outgrew the former church, and a new church building was opened in 1995. The Blaine Avenue church was deconsecrated.
Well-known for its annual Greek Food Festival, a weeklong gastronomic affair that features handmade traditional Greek dishes, All Saints Church provides programs for spiritual growth and is involved in local and international outreach and mission work, including monetary donations to build a sister parish in a village in Tanzania and the construction of local senior citizens housing.
Archbishop Demetrios of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America and Metropolitan Savas, bishop of the Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Pittsburgh, will lead the consecration service, which will be broadcast live on the parish website. More than 600 people are expected to attend.
All parts of the service throughout the weekend are symbolic, Livanos said.
Here’s a crash course on the worship service, which has not changed in centuries (and be prepared to stay a while – the service can last more than five hours):
The consecration services begin at 6:30 p.m. Friday with a prayer service and the receiving of relics, which are the bones of martyrs that will be sealed inside the altar on Saturday.
The relics are those of:
• St. George, a Christian Roman soldier who was tortured and beheaded in 303 after he refused to participate in the persecution of Christians that was initiated by the Emperor Diocletian;
• St. Kyrikos, a young child who was thrown down a stone staircase for trying to get to his mother, Juditta, a Christian woman of noble rank who was being tortured during the persecution;
• Holy fathers who were killed by nomadic tribes at monasteries in Sinai and Raitho at the end of the fourth century and the middle of the fifth century.
“In the early centuries, we celebrated liturgy on the tombs of martyrs, so it’s very important that we remember the history of the church. The altar becomes a tomb,” Livanos said.
The relics will remain on the bare altar table overnight with a vigil light.
On Saturday, the service will move outdoors when Archbishop Demetrios, carrying the relics, will lead the congregation around the perimeter of the church three times in honor of the Holy Trinity.
The relics will then be placed and sealed in a cavity of the altar, signifying the burial of Christ.
The bishop washes the altar, wearing a white garment called a “savanon,” which symbolizes the baptism of the church. After he is finished, he cuts the savanon into strips and gives the remnants to those in attendance.
The altar table is anointed and a permanent white altar cloth – signifying the linen cloth Christ was wrapped in after he was taken from the cross – is tied to the altar. The holy table is anointed, and at the end of the ceremony, everyone is invited to put a drop of oil in the vigil lamp that burns at all times.
The sanctuary will have been baptized, sanctified and dedicated to God for use as a house of worship.
A celebratory banquet will be held at the Hilton Garden Inn at Southpointe.
“It’s a special honor for me,” said Livanos, who has served the church for 25 years – the longest tenure in the church’s history – and has raised his seven children in the church.
“This service will be a tremendous event, and we want it to be accessible to as many people locally, nationally and internationally as possible,” he said. “We welcome the local community, and we thank them for their constant support in every facet of our ministries, whether it’s support of our outreach or our dinners. There’s a synergistic relationship between the church and the community, and we’re especially appreciative of that.”