Self-Tour Guide
St. Symeon Food & Culture Fair
Welcome to St. Symeon! This self-tour guide begins at the large mosaic icon on the south side of the church, overlooking Clairmont Avenue, and then continues into the church and proceeds in a clockwise fashion around the church.
Mosaic Icon of the Theotokos
This beautiful mosaic was commissioned from Italy and given to our parish by Drs. Frank and Vickie Kulik. It was installed at the entrance of the church on Clairmont Avenue in 1991 and was moved to its current location on the new church building in July 2015. The word “Theotokos” means “birth-giver of God” and is a title given to the Virgin Mary to clearly proclaim the divinity of her son, Jesus Christ.
Church Design
Two domes
St. Symeon is a multi-ethnic community. The large majority of our members are American converts to Orthodoxy, but we also have members with Slavic or Greek heritage and members born in traditionally Orthodox countries. Our church architecture intentionally reflects this diversity, combining a Russian-style onion dome with a Greek-style central dome.
Cruciform Design
Our church building has a traditional design that incorporates the form of the cross into the floor plan. The design also reflects a progression of holiness: from the Narthex, a place to transition from the world into the church, to the Nave, where the congregation participates in services, to the Altar, the holy place. An Orthodox Christian will make the sign of the cross when entering a church, again when entering the Nave from the Narthex, and whenever crossing in front of the Holy Altar.
The Nave
As you enter the church, you will notice that the walls and ceilings are covered in large iconographic murals. Icons are our reminders of those who have gone before us, who celebrate the Divine Services alongside us, and who constantly intercede on our behalf. Traditionally, men stood on the right side of the nave and women on the left, so most icons of male saints are on the right wall and most icons of female saints are on the left.
Where are the Pews?
Although there may be rows of folding chairs set up during our Food & Culture Fair, these are only for the concert and talks. The only pews we have are those you see around the edges of the nave. Orthodox Christians stand throughout most church services, but those who need to sit are certainly welcome to. You are welcome to visit a service any time to see Orthodox Christian worship in action!
St. Nina of Georgia Icon
This hand-painted icon, which includes a relic, was a gift to our parish from the Patriarchate of Georgia (the country) in 2017 after a smartphone video of our choir singing the joyous “Christ is Risen” hymn in the Georgian language unexpectedly went viral on Facebook. In the 4th Century, St. Nina brought Christianity to the land of Georgia. Because of this, she has the title “Equal to the Apostles.” Some of the other saints that bear this title are St. Mary Magdalene (who preached the Resurrected Christ to the Apostles), St. Patrick of Ireland, and St. Vladimir the Great of Russia.
The North Transept
Facing north, you will see icons of American saints and, above them, the Icon of the Resurrection. The Icon of the Resurrection depicts Christ in glory standing over the shattered gates of Hades and freeing the captive souls. Among the American saints are St. Herman of Alaska (the patron saint of America), St. Innocent of Alaska (the Apostle to America), and St. Jacob of Alaska, all of whom were instrumental in bringing Orthodox Christianity to North America in the late 1700’s and early 1800’s and establishing it among the indigenous peoples of Alaska. There remains a strong Orthodox presence in Alaska.
Confession Corner
In this corner, we confess our sins to Christ in the presence of the priest, but visibly to the parish. The healing aspect of confession is emphasized by the location of the confession area in front of the Icons of the Holy Unmercenaries, physician saints that tended to the sick free of charge.
Byzantine Cross
The Byzantine Cross, sometimes known as the Russian Cross or the Three-Barred Cross, is one of many different cross styles used in Orthodox churches. The top bar represents the sign nailed to Christ’s Cross, which said “THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS” (Luke 23:38); in iconography, the eternal truth is set forth, and the sign on this bar therefore reads “The King of Glory.” The slanted bottom bar of the cross is a foot rest and would have been found on all crucifixes. It points up toward the wise thief who was crucified on Christ’s right.
Vladimir Icon and Shrine
This replica of the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God was painted for our parish by Alin and Smaranda Trifa, our primary iconographers. The original Vladimir Icon was gifted by the Patriarch of Constantinople to a Grand Duke of Kiev in the 12th Century. It is currently located in an Orthodox church and museum in Moscow. It is one of the most culturally significant and beloved pieces of art in Russian history. Copies of our Vladimir Icon are available in the gift shop or through our online store. The wooden shrine (along with the icon screen) was hand-carved for our new church building in 2014 by Ilias and George Laskos of Koufalia, Greece. The shrine and icon screen feature several peacocks, which are an ancient symbol of immortality and are frequently used in Christian art to remind us of our eternal life.
Icon Screen/
Royal Doors/
Altar
The icon screen, or “iconostasis,” is a wall of icons that separates the nave from the altar. The doors in the center of the iconostasis are the Royal Doors. They represent the gates of Jerusalem, through which Christ entered on Palm Sunday. Only higher clergy (bishops, priests, and deacons) may enter the altar through the Royal Doors, but only at certain times during Divine Services. The large icons on the lower level of the iconostasis were painted for our parish in 1988 by Elias Katsaros of Huntsville, Alabama. Behind the iconostasis is the fulfillment of the New Covenant: The Holy Mystery of the Eucharist.
Look Up!
The large “Christ Pantocrator” icon in our dome was the first iconographic mural installed in the church. “Pantocrator” is a Greek word meaning “ruler of all.” This icon is so large that the Bible in Christ’s hand is as tall as the iconographers who painted it. Christ is shown surrounded by the angelic hosts, and under the angels are the prophets. The Pantocrator, angels, and prophets were painted by Dr. Alin and Smaranda Trifa in 2015. Dr. Trifa is professor of liturgical art at the Orthodox seminary in Cluj, Romania. Each icon of a prophet was paid for by a different person or family in our parish.
St. Luke of Crimea Icon
St. Luke of Crimea was a Soviet-era Russian bishop and surgeon. For his unwavering faith, he spent years in exile and in Soviet prisons, often enduring torture. His skills in medicine and as a surgeon were so great that he was given the Stalin Award in 1946, but he was a thorn in the side of the Soviet Union, which would repeatedly bring him back from exile so he could operate on important officials. To their dismay, he would only operate in the presence of an icon of the Theotokos. St. Luke died in 1961 and was canonized as a saint in 1996. The relic encased in the smaller icon is a piece of his vestments, a gift to our parish from the Transfiguration Monastery in Sagmata, Greece.
The South Transept
The east wall of this transept features icons of warrior saints, many of whom suffered martyrdom because they refused to sacrifice to false gods. On the south wall are icons of church hymnographers, and above them is the Icon of the Nativity of Christ. During most of our worship services, the members of the choir stand in this transept. Orthodox worship services are almost entirely chanted and sung back and forth between the clergy and the congregation led by the choir. Above the doorway to the bell vestibule is an icon of St. Seraphim of Sarov with a bear, one of many animals he was blessed to live in harmony with as a hermit in Russia in the 19th Century.
St. John Maximovitch Icon
St. John the Wonderworker, Archbishop of Shanghai and San Francisco, was a beloved 20th Century bishop known for his deep love for children, his piety and asceticism, and his miracle working. The icon of St. John in his shrine was given to our parish by the Holy Virgin Cathedral in San Francisco in appreciation of our choir’s recording a CD in honor of St. John. The CD was released in Summer 2019 in connection with the 25th Anniversary of St. John’s canonization. Copies are available in our bookstore or through our website.
St. Symeon Icon
The patron of our church, St. Symeon the New Theologian, was an Orthodox monk, priest, poet, and mystic in the 10th and 11th Centuries in the Byzantine Empire (in an area that is now in Turkey). He is one of three people in the Orthodox Church who bear the title “Theologian.” This title is not used in the modern academic sense of one who has excelled in theological study, but rather refers to one who has had direct, personal experience of God. The other two who hold this title are St. John the Apostle and St. Gregory of Nazianzus, who was critical in articulating and defending the doctrine of the Trinity. St. Symeon said that the goal of the Christian life, whether for a patriarch or a layman, was to directly experience the grace of God through prayer, fasting, and contemplation. He first experienced the uncreated light of God during vigil and prayer as a layman in his twenties. As a monk, he wrote many discourses, hymns, and theological treatises. He wrote a beautiful Prayer for Holy Communion that is a standard prayer by Orthodox Christians preparing themselves to receive the Eucharist. St. Symeon is remembered on March 12th (his date of death) but because that almost always falls during Great Lent, his feast is transferred to October 12th.
“The aim of all those who live in God is to please our Lord Jesus Christ and become reconciled with God the Father through receiving the Holy Spirit, thus securing their salvation, for in this consists the salvation of every soul. If this aim and this activity is lacking, all other labour is useless and all other striving is in vain.”
– St. Symeon the New Theologian