Tours of our landmark Byzantine-styled domed church will be offered on Saturday and Sunday at 12:30, 2:30 and 4:30 pm. A special highlight will be the beautiful new iconography in the church dome and apses. Tours last about 30 min., followed by Q&A.
Thanks to the very generous donation of a parishioner, the St. Barbara community is delighted to announce the recent installation of beautiful new iconography in the central dome and apses of our church. The central dome features the image known as the Pantocrator (“All-Powerful”), depicting Christ holding the Gospels and gesturing in the act of blessing or teaching. The eastern apse depicts the Virgin Mary as the Platytera ton ouranon in Greek (“She who is wider than the heavens”). The Virgin is shown seated on a throne with the Christ Child in her lap. Their images, flanked on either side by the Archangels Michael and Gabriel, hover as if between heaven and earth.
We are a Greek (Eastern) Orthodox parish, part of the oldest Christian tradition, dating to 33 A.D., the day of Pentecost. We trace our roots back to the Apostles and their teachings. In that regard, we can be considered “pre-denominational” (pre-dating the schisms and reformations that occurred after 1000 A.D.). We hold fast to the moral, theological, and liturgical traditions of the Early Christian Church. The Orthodox Church is the second largest Christian church, with 300 million followers.
Initially established by men and women of Greek descent, the St. Barbara community today reflects the American experience and is comprised of families representing multiple ethnicities.