Lynn church to mark historic moment Sunday

LYNN – For the first time in 31 years, the faithful of St. George Greek Orthodox Church, led by their altar servers and choir, will proceed around the church and up Blossom Street to mark the dedication of the church’s renewal.The procession and the dedication overseen by His Eminence Metropolitan Methodios, Archbishop of the Greek Orthodox Church of Boston, marks the official completion of a $3 million reconstruction of the church facade.”This has brought Byzantium to Lynn,” said Rev. George D. Tsoukalas, St. George’s pastor who presided over months of labor involving stone workers, custom-made doors and mosaic craftsmen. Two workers spent three weeks installing glass pieces the size of dimes in the frames of the eight mosaics decorating the church front.The centerpiece mosaic over the church entrance is patterned after the famous mosaic in St. Sophia’s Cathedral in Turkey. The new facade also includes stone brought by church benefactor George Koukounaris from his mother’s Greek home.The restoration project included interior cleaning and painting.”Twenty five years of soot and grime have been cleaned away. Even the chandeliers have been cleaned,” Tsoukalas said.The façade is a facelift as well as a functional addition to the front of the church. Technically called an exonarthex in architectural terms, it provides shelter for St. George’s 800 congregants from rain and snow.Beverly-based construction company Connelly Brothers has spent a year building the brick mosaic façade designed by noted church architect Chris Kamagis.Tsoukalas said Sunday’s dedication ranks among notable moments in St. George’s history, including the 1978 consecration.The church’s congregation plans to open a parochial school in 2009 and major interior renovations, including a modernized foyer and gymnasium are in the planning stages.The façade with its corner tower replaces a larger tower built along with the rest of the church in 1954. Leaks in the original tower continued to foil repair efforts until church planners were told the drainage problem was threatening the tower’s stability.They began planning the exterior work in 2000 even as noted iconographer and Lynn native Demitrios Doukas was completing a multi-year project painting icons for the church altar.Working with Kamagis, church planners selected a design for the façade inspired by 6th century Byzantine architecture and the Age of Justinian.St. George has a century-old history on Lynn Common. A 1986 fire led to repairs as well as renovations, including Doukas’ project. Before work on the façade began, the church spent $500,000 to replace the 50-year-old windows with stained glass decorated with Orthodox religious symbols.