A Message from Rector
Blessed be You All, God-beloved Brothers and Sisters!
Two years ago, upon the blessing of the Most Reverend Peter, Archbishop of Chicago and Mid-America, we commenced a soul-savings God’s work of construction of the church addition. As you know, any construction, even the construction of a house, requires a lot of physical, moral, and financial effort. Construction of a church is a highly responsible and work-intense mission.
Our decision to build a church addition was driven by several reasons including:
– poor condition of the church building that required a total renovation;
– church’s limited capacity that was especially challenging on major feast days when visitors would be standing outside of the church, often in bad weather;
– lack of accommodations for people with limited mobility.
The limited capacity of the church has become even more problematic due to COVID-19, which requires social distancing of 6 feet. This last reason is forcing us to accelerate the construction. While we all are committed to investing our time and energy, we face financial limitations.
Therefore, we ask for Your help, our former compatriots and lovers of Russian culture. We all were taught the old proverb: Every man should plant a tree, build a house, and raise a child to become a worthy man. Once done, your critical life mission would be accomplished. But often, we were not told the most important thing – that after short-term life in this world, there is eternal life. and our place in that life depends on how well we prepare ourselves for it in this mortal life. In that future eternal life, only our acts of mercy would matter and all material goods would be left behind. Feed the hungry, dress the naked, visit the prisoner, comfort the suffering – these are the acts that we should collect for the future life. But there is one more act of mercy that opens the doors to eternal life. Our Lord mentioned it when he spoke about the poor widow who put in two mites into the treasury – the smallest money at that time. The Lord praised the widow for contributing not from the surplus wealth, but from her poverty, for giving all she had. She did it because she knew God would never leave her as long she would remember Him and pray to Him in the Holy Church. This speaks of how important the Church was for this woman. And how wonderful would it be if the Church played the same important role in everyone’s life?
What role does the Church play in your life? Some have already answered this question and some are still looking for an answer. But parishioners of the Saint Panteleimon Church know that without Church one cannot understand God and only in the Church one can find redemption for themselves and their future generations.
We believe that our Church would become the center of life for our children and grandchildren. We welcome everyone and hope that our Church would become a refuge for you in the days of joy and heartbreak.
To make it happen, we look for your help, your contribution, and participation – your smallest mite.
God bless You All!
Rector, Rev. Fr. Ioann (Komisarchuk)
Fall 2020
History of Church Construction in Photos (2018 – Present)
The construction of the church addition began in September of 2018, after the blessing of Vladyka Peter, Archbishop of Chicago and Mid-America. A lot has been accomplished, but more needs to be done to finish the construction. We need your help!
If you wish to help and make a contribution, please visit our Building Fund Page.
You can learn more about each stage of construction by hovering over the images. You click on the image to view the full-size photo. We continue adding new photos as we make progress. More photos can also be found on our Facebook Church Building Page.
- February 2018: Vladyka’s Blessing of Construction
- February 2018: Vladyka Peter’s Blessing
- September 2018: Old Church Basement Demolition
- September 2018: Site Excavation
- September 2018: Site Excavation
- October 2018: Foundation Work
- October 2018: Foundation Filling
- October 2018: Foundation Filling
- October 2018: Bird’s Eye View of Foundation
- October 2018: Basement Walls Pouring
- November 2018: Foundation Insulation
- December 2018: Lumber Delivered
- December 2018: Framing Started
- December 2018: Church Floor Framing
- December 2018: Church Lower Level Framing
- January 2019: Walls Framing
- January 2019: Roof Framing
- January 2019: Bird’s Eye View of New Church
- January 2019: Bell Tower Framing
- February 2019: Church Covered in Snow
- March 2019: Bird’s Eye View
- April 2019: Church Basement Preparation for Sewer and Water Lines
- April 2019: Cutting Old Floor
- April 2019: Connecting to Old Church
- April 2019: Connecting to Old Church
- April 2019: Parish Photo in New Church
- May 2019: Floor Pouring
- May 2019: Kitchen Framing
- June 2019: Bells Installed
- June 2019: Exterior Work
- July 2019: Stucco Preparation
- August 2019: Stucco Work in Progress
- September 2019: Exterior Texturing and Painting
- September 2019: Exterior Painting Finished
- September 2019: New Church Parish Hall Floor Pouring
- September 2019: Vladyka Peter’s Visit
- November 2019: Cross Memorial Tiling
- November 2019: Parish Helpers
- November 2019: Finished Exterior
- January 2020: Preparation for Interior Painting
- February 2020: Interior Painted
- May 2020: Cupola and Cross
- June 2020: Yard Grading Work
- August 2020: Church Building
- October 2020: Bell Tower Cupola
- November 2020: Cupola Installation on Bell Tower
- November 2020: New Roof and Cupola on Bell Tower
- November 2020: New Roof and Cupola on Bell Tower
- April 2021: Blessing of Cupola Crosses
- April 2021: Cross Installation on Main Cupola
- April 2021: Crosses Installed on Main Cupola and Bell Tower
- April 2021: Cupola Cross Installed on Old Church Building
- August 2021: Exterior look at the church
- September 2021: New concrete sidewalk
- September 2021: New church basement in progress
- December 2021: Church basement flooring
- January 2022: Exterior View