In 2015, the small church on First Street began its transformation.
Holy Cross Greek Orthodox Church calls the transformation its “Project Agape” and it includes importing and installing proper church furnishings, authentic imagery, and dramatic lighting. A carved, wooden altar screen and intricate light fixtures, all the way from Greece, exhibit some of the efforts of the project.
To those outside of the Orthodox faith or the greater Macon public, this church may be known as the host of the annual Central Georgia Greek Festival. Every year, the church invites the public to enjoy a weekend of embracing the Orthodox and Greek culture with food, music, dance, and vendors. Their common mantra is, “Be Greek for a day,” inviting all audiences to attend.
The festival also opens up the doors of the church, to give tours and inform outsiders of the faith. This year, they used this as an opportunity to promote the iconography project. Just like at the festival, the church intends to inform as well as ask for support for their tradition and the project from both those inside and outside the Orthodox community.
The church is in its fourth and final phase of the iconography project and it is “the most sacred task we will undertake,” Dermata says.
The project includes a classically trained iconographer installing authentic, Byzantine-style paintings to adorn the interior walls of the church. According to the maquettes, or projected plans, the walls will depict the life of Christ, His saints, and other religious scenes. This final phase is meant to further bring the church closer to the Orthodox tradition.
As chairman of the iconography project and long-time congregate, Dermatas was part of the team in charge of church tours during the Greek Festival. She describes the iconography, known as “writings” or paintings, as far more than mere decoration.
The paintings play an important part of the faith itself, its history, and the liturgy, or designated times of worship.
“This is our tradition. So ever since then, we’ve had them… it’s still a battle even today, of keeping the Holy Writings up,” she says.
On the liturgy, Dermatas says one example is the depiction of the Virgin Mary, which is featured on the back wall, behind the altar, of every traditional Orthodox church.
“Everything in the church has a reason,” she says.
The orientation, postures, and colors of the images are very specific and always have been in the long history of the faith. She says iconography, “provides windows into heaven, enriching the lives and souls of the faithful. The blessed art of iconography is visual theology.”
The church’s Father Theodore Ehmer has described the project on the church’s website.
“Iconography is an invitation to worship… By the completion of this project, we will not help but to feel like we are dwelling within that great cloud of witness, encouraging us to walk that same way of Christ that leads to life, love, and salvation in him. We invite anyone to come and see!” he wrote.
The church plans to complete the project within the next three years.
