Future of historic St. Theodosius Orthodox Cathedral unknown after fire

The future of a historic church in Cleveland’s Tremont Neighborhood is uncertain after a fire left it heavily damaged a week ago.

A fire last Tuesday heavily damaged St. Theodosius Orthodox Cathedral and a week later, there’s no timeline when repairs may happen.

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The church’s roof– made of copper, is now unstable due to the compromised wood underneath and the inside of the church suffered major water damage while putting out the fire.

Over the weekend, there was fear that the unstable roof might collapse. Jan Cizmar, the priest of St. Theodosius Orthodox Cathedral, says every day they get new news on the status of repairs.

The fire last week was ruled accidental. It was a tough one for firefighters to get control of because the fire itself was burning underneath the dome. It was eventually contained but not before destroying some of the artifacts the church has inside.

There were no injuries from the fire– but extensive roof and water damage. For now, churchgoers are meeting elsewhere, and the next steps are unknown.

“One day the dome is dropping [and] another day the dome is stable and it's fine, it stays in place.”

The administration of the church is hoping they will have more answers by the end of the week on when repairs can start.

Denise Pozderac, the Parish council president, says there is a lot of work ahead for the church.

“It's 113 years old. So to try to restore that back to its original splendor is gonna be a huge undertaking,” she said.

The church itself might look familiar after its appearance in the 1978 blockbuster “Deer Hunter” with Meryl Streep and Robert De Niro.

The wedding scene took place in this church.

For now, the apartment building west of the church is evacuated. There’s no timeline for when those will be able to be returned.

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