St. Mary's Romanian Orthodox Church
Located in Cleveland, Ohio, St. Mary's Romanian Orthodox Church was the first Romanian Orthodox church in the United States of America.
Approximately one hundred Romanian Ohioans established St. Mary's in August 1904. The congregation dedicated its first church building one year later. This original church was located at 6201 Detroit Avenue. By 1960, the congregation required a new church building. Los Angeles, California architect Haralamb Georescu designed the new church after a traditional Romanian church. It was located at 3256 Warren Road. In 1973, a fire destroyed this structure, but it was soon replaced at the same site with a new building. This structure houses the church, as well as a Romanian museum.
St. Mary's Romanian Orthodox Church provided Romanian immigrants with a social, cultural, and religious organization to continue to practice traditional Romanian customs and beliefs. At the time of this writing, St. Mary's continues to flourish in Cleveland.
References and Suggested Reading
- Van Tassel, David D., and John J. Grabowski, eds. The Encyclopedia of Cleveland History. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1996. - Available from Amazon.com
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Citation
"St. Mary's Romanian Orthodox Church", Ohio History Central, June 11, 2008, http://www.ohiohistorycentral.org/entry.php?rec=3290
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