A dome designed for drone shots!
Hidden treasure in heart of North East. And a very cool dome that is made for drone shots! On a recent post I was told to check out St. Constantine Catholic Church. Wow!! It did not disappoint. A must see! We plan to attend some Sunday afternoon and the church also host’s concerts!
I stopped over on a Friday morning and right away saw the sign of Perogi’s (PYROHY) and I happened to be at the right time. I love food. When I got home I discovered the pirogi’s were amazing. I sprayed them with oil and put in the air fryer — sooooo good. While talking with Taras about the food I asked about the church. It was locked - but he had a key and was very kind to show me around and allow me to take pictures. He also answered all my questions!!
The church is beautiful in an amazing kind of way. And the acoustics!! One of the things I came looking for was the dome - most church domes on the outside are gold or copper - kind of weathered and plain. St. Constantine’s is finished in a mosaic of nearly 7000 glazed pieces of clay roofing tile. The colors, blue, gold, white, black and red are arranged in a Ukrainian design. The dome is a memorial to the youth of the parish. I knew that a straight down drone shot would show it and it did! There is a small museum with very cool Pysanke Eggs - intricately decorated eggs. I also included a bonus shot of Minneapolis taken from their property.
Some early church history from their website: Constantine was born in 272, the only child of Constantius I Chlorus and Helena. He was raised in Diocletian's court. When Constantius died, Constantine became Emperor of the West at the age of 34 years. The first act of the new emperor was to grant the freedom to practice Christianity in the lands subject to him.
In 312, Maxentius and Maximinus joined forces against him and Constantine marched into Italy. In the daylight before the battle, Constantine saw a flaming cross with the words: "In this Sign, thou shall conquer". That evening, Jesus appeared to him in a dream and told him the power of the Cross. The next morning, Constantine ordered his soldiers to paint a cross or the Chi-Rho on their banners with the form of a cross and inscribed with the name of Jesus and he defeated Maxentius and Maximinus. In 324, Licinius tried usurp Constantine. Constantine defeated Licinius and became Emperor of the East and West. The Edict of Milan, issued in 313, guaranteed religious tolerance for Christians. It stopped Christian persecutions. Because of this, Constantine is considered the first Christian Emperor.
St.Constantine Ukrainian Catholic Church is a part of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, one of 28 churches that forms the one United Church, and one of 14 which follow the Constantinian or Byzantine Rite in worship and spirituality. We are in full communion with the Bishop of Rome, Pope Francis.
The first Ukrainian settlements were established in the United States in the 19th century. The settlers had a deep devotion to God and a strong attachment to their rite. They wanted a place of worship where they could pray according to their rite. In 1884, a group of Ukrainian coal miners from Shenandoah, Pennslyvania, asked the Metropolitan Archbishop Sylvester Sembratovich to send them a priest. On December 19, 1884, the Reverend Ivan Volansky offered the first Divine Liturgy on US soil. Father Volansky established many parishes and built churches throughout the United States. Today, the Ukrainian Catholic Church has a Metropolitan Archdiocese in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and 3 dioceses or eparchys in the United States. Saint Constantine's is part of the Eparchy of Saint Nicholas.
