Rick McCrabb: Greek Orthodox Church member worships in the place where he painted icons
Jul. 22—MIDDLETOWN — As a young boy in Greece, Nick Ververis spent his summer days peeking through the stained-glassed windows watching painters meticulously creating icons.
Over time, Ververis, then 12 or 13, became more intrigued by the artwork, described as a "window to heaven" because iconography helps church members focus on divine things.
Eventually, the artists invited him inside the church to get a closer glimpse. Then they handed him a brush — his introduction to the religious-based art.
That love of using his talent to create a deeper religious experience continued when Ververis, at the urging of his uncle, Gus Christy, moved to Middletown that was opening Sts. Constantine and Helen Greek Orthodox Church on Grand Avenue.
From 1959 to 1981, Ververis painted eight icons, two large angels and a portrait of Virgin Mary above and behind the altar. Before his arrival, the church's interior was nothing more than white paint, a blank canvas.
Now, the entire interior of the church is an art exhibit worthy of being featured in a Greek Orthodox church architecture book.
"It looks beautiful," Ververis said while standing in the church's narthex with an unobstructed view of the altar and all the artwork.
Christina Papakirk, a member of the Greek Orthodox Church, said the sights, sounds and smells in the church "transplant all your senses to worship. They elevate your soul."
Near the altar is what the Greek Orthodox Church calls "royal doors." On the door's left is an icon of Virgin Mary holding baby Jesus with halos over their heads. On the right is an icon of Christ. Next to Christ, is John the Baptist wearing oversized angel wings.
Ververis said the priest at the time told him John the Baptist was "flying" around preaching, so he thought giant wings would be symbolic.
Icons typically took Ververis about one week to complete and each one is signed and dated. Some of them were commissioned by church members who donated them in the memory of a loved one.
Besides the icons, Ververis also painted the horses on the carousels at LeSourdsville Lake in Monroe.
Now 86, Ververis said he can't paint any more. His shaky hands have robbed him of that talent.
When Ververis moved to Middletown in the late 1950s — like many Greek immigrants before him — he landed a job at Armco Steel, fell in love and started a family. He and his wife, Thalia, who died in 2010, had four sons, Dean, 59, Stavro, 57, Christopher, 53, and Angelo, 53.
As Ververis sat in the front-row pew discussing his church affiliation and career, he appeared uncomfortable. It had nothing to do with the wooden seat. When he looked above the altar, he couldn't help but notice the mismatched paint that covered some of the water damage to his icons.
He was asked about climbing a ladder on top of scaffolding and repainting the ceiling. He just smiled.
"I did those things when I was young," he said.
He was talking about painting at Sts. Constantine and Helen Greek Orthodox Church.
He could have been talking about painting in Greece.
