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St. Dimitrie Romanian Church celebrates new building

Rev. George Coca: "I thank God that, in spite of our sinfulness, he has allowed us to build this church," he said. "Hallelujah!"
By Noelle Frampton - STAFF WRITER

Over 600 people crowded into the new St. Dimitrie Romanian... (Phil Noel/Staff photographer)

 

EASTON, CONN - The smell of incense hung in the air in the packed, sunlit sanctuary of the St. Dimitrie Romanian Orthodox Church Sunday, as a crowd of nearly 700 gathered to celebrate the 85-year-old church's first service in its new building.

"This is a joyous day for us," said Virginia Lity, 73, of Bridgeport, who's attended the church since she was 9 and remains in its a capella choir to this day. "It was like coming home, seeing our icons for the first time in three years. We hope the Lord is pleased with the house that we built."

The 20,000-square-foot church at 504 Sport Hill Road is built, as many Orthodox churches are, in the shape of a cross. It is filled with elaborate icons and crowned with a giant dome with a painted rendering of Christ surrounded by golden-winged angels.

 

Over 600 people crowded into the new St. Dimitrie Romanian Orthodox Church in Easton Sunday for Orthodox Palm Sunday.

Founded in 1924 on Lee Avenue in Bridgeport by Macedonian Romanian immigrants, the church celebrated its new beginning on the Orthodox Palm Sunday, traditionally one week later than on Catholic or Protestant calendars, as buds prepared to burst open outside in signs of seasonal rebirth.

Next week, the congregation will mark Easter Sunday at 10 a.m. Most of its members have roots in Albania, Macedonia or Romania, but people from all backgrounds are welcome.

		St. Dimitrie, like other Christian Orthodox churches, traces itself back to the church founded by Christ's apostles. Orthodox and Catholic churches, both of which ascribe to the doctrine of the Trinity, split in 1054 in a disagreement over whether the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son, or only the Father. Orthodox Christians believe the latter, while typically Catholics and Protestants believe the former. For the past three years, St. Dimitrie has rented space from St. Nicholas Antiochian Church in Bridgeport, after selling its building on Clinton Avenue and finding the process of moving to Easton more cumbersome than anticipated. St. Dimitrie Romanian Orthodox church celebrated Palm Sunday in its new Easton Church.The church features a huge yellow dome in addition to the traditional icons.

The church moved to Clinton Avenue after its Lee Avenue building burned down in 1958, said Elena Watras, Lity's younger sister, who came from Farmington to visit her girlhood church and remembers walking there in former days.

The third building is the biggest and grandest yet, she said. "This is something very special. Everyone is so excited."

With a congregation from mostly suburban towns like Easton, Fairfield, Monroe, Trumbull and Stratford, as well as the North End of Bridgeport, Clinton Avenue was no longer convenient, said one of two priests, Father George Coca.

 

The Rev. Cornel Todeasa, parish priest at St. Dimitrie, waves incense during the Palm Sunday service.

"It's a more centralized location now," he said. Plus, "You look out the windows and see the Lord's works."

Declining to name the cost of building the church, Coca said it was more than was expected for a project that was initially slated to last a year at most and be finished in time for Easter 2007.

Sam Giavara, an architect, engineer and parishioner, took over the building project on a volunteer basis after Primrose Construction withdrew in early 2008, leaving the construction site dormant for months while the church worked to get its suspended town building permit reinstated.

Easton's seventh church, St. Dimitrie features Sunday school rooms, offices and a fellowship hall beneath the sanctuary, designed to hold 450 people, Giavara said. He said the church's membership is about 360 with typically 200 to 300 attending each week.

Sunday's liturgy was conducted in both Romanian and English -- to keep tradition alive while appealing to newer members -- and mostly chanted and sung by the priests and a choir in the balcony.

Toward the end, Coca departed from the printed liturgy and spoke to his congregation. "I thank God that, in spite of our sinfulness, he has allowed us to build this church," he said. "Hallelujah!"

Parish Council President George C. Fatsy said the church plans to begin holding two Sunday services soon: one, at 9:30 a.m., will be held in English while a second, at 10:30 a.m., will be in both languages.

Staff writer Joel C. Thompson contributed to this report.