St. Theodosius Orthodox Cathedral Is A Pretty Place Of Worship In Ohio

The oldest Orthodox parish in the state of Ohio is located in Cleveland and constructed in the style of a Russian church. It is opulent both inside and out and provides an alluring place for parishioners to worship.

St. Theodosius Orthodox Church was constructed between 1911-1912.

Because of its age and significance, the cathedral is on the United States National Register of Historic Places.

Located in the historic Tremont neighborhood of Cleveland, the green domes make the cathedral stand out from the surrounding area.

The domes consist of one onion dome and twelve cupolas which represent Jesus and the Twelve Apostles.

Frederic C. Baird was a Cleveland-based architect who modeled the Cathedral after one located in Moscow.

Donations to build were mainly given by parishioners of the first Orthodox parish which had started in the city in 1896. The original church was a small wood-framed building located on a different street. Parishioners at that time included several different ethnic groups who had no designated place of their own to worship.

The interior of St. Theodosius is filled with details from ceiling to floor.

Frescoes adorn the walls with Biblical scenes and daylight streams through the colorful stained glass windows providing a heavenly ambiance. It is no wonder why several scenes of the 1978 movie "The Deer Hunter" were filmed here (including the wedding scene).

It is almost hard to imagine that it only took approximately $70,000 to build this cathedral at the turn of the last century.

With its opulence and grandeur, the cathedral would probably cost millions to build today.

All liturgical services are in English.

Editor's note: It was pointed out to us by a reader that the oldest Orthodox Christian church in Ohio is actually Holy Assumption Orthodox Church in Marblehead. It was constructed in 1905-1906, six years prior to St. Theodosius. St. Theodosius is the oldest Orthodox parish in Ohio, but not the oldest church. Holy Assumption just received a historic marker proclaiming that. We apologize for any confusion.

St. Theodosius Cathedral is truly stunning. For more unique and historic churches in Ohio, check out our previous article: The Oldest Church In Ohio Dates Back To The 1800s And You Need To See It.