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St. Mary Orthodox Church (St. Mary's Greek Catholic Church, Holy Dormition Church)

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St. Mary's Greek Catholic Church, Holy Dormition Church
1912–1914, Earle V. Garrett. Northeast end of Elkhorn
  • St. Mary Orthodox Church (St. Mary's Greek Catholic Church, Holy Dormition Church) (Orthodox Brotherhood of the Virgin Mary)

Up a steep hill, across the railroad tracks, and beyond several surviving miners' houses at the eastern end of Elkhorn, one of the most unexpected visual delights in the southern coalfields appears: an Eastern Orthodox church with a gilded onion dome atop a louvered octagonal belfry. Closer inspection reveals that the body of the church, rebuilt after a fire under the direction of an architect from Pocahontas, Virginia, is a straightforward rectangular affair with rudimentary Gothic details, set atop a high brick basement. The original frame is now covered with artificial siding. No matter, since the gilded dome, topped with an Eastern cross showing three horizontal bars, the lowest set diagonally, is what remains in the mind's eye.

Writing Credits

Author: 
S. Allen Chambers Jr.

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