St. George's ceilings come alive with faith-inspired frescos

MONROE — Before the advent of the Bible and modern books, Eastern Orthodox churches used icons and ceiling frescos to tell the stories of their faith.

“Orthodox has no religious arts; we have frescos (painted murals). This goes back to before written accounts like the Bible. They used frescos to tell the stories,” said Father Radomir Obsenica, parish priest at Monroe's St. George Serbian Orthodox Church.

That tradition continues today. In Eastern Orthodox churches around the world, elaborate, Scripture-focused images adorn walls and ceilings. That’s now also true at St. George Serbian Orthodox Church at 2330 N. Monroe St., across from the Mall of Monroe.

St. George’s once-plain ceilings have been undergoing transformation since 2019. A large part of the project was completed a few weeks ago.

For several years, Filip Subotic, a fresco artist from Belgrade, Serbia, has been hand-painting custom-made, brightly hued icons for the Monroe church. He creates frescos for churches all around the world.

"He's very well-known. He did nice work," Obsenica said. “Monroe has never had anything like it before and never will.”

Earlier Coverage: St. George Serbian Orthodox Church undergoing fresco installation

In 2019, Subotic finished Phase 1, the traditional “Pantokrator," or image of Jesus, in the center of the ceiling. After a COVID delay, Subotic completed Phase 2, medallions of 36 saints that circle the entire ceiling.

Above the medallions is the newly completed Phase 3, paintings that depicts the major events in Jesus’ life, including his nativity, presentation in the temple, baptism, the raising of Lazarus, Pentecost, death, resurrection and ascension.

More than 100 figures and many animals are featured in the frescos.

Phase 4 will eventually complete the center of the ceiling and the ceiling of the choir loft.

For Phase 3, Subotic painted on 10-foot by 10-foot canvases in Serbia. Obsenica said ceilings are much thicker in Europe and other locations, so, there, the works can be painted directly onto the ceilings. In the U.S., ceiling are thinner, made of plaster and generally aren't smooth enough for directly painting frescos.

Each image in the icons tells a story. Saints' haloes, for example, encircle their whole heads, showing that they radiate Christ's love. Subotic has a degree in theology.

“There is a whole theology behind it. That’s why we say ‘write’ icons. We don’t hire a house painter,” Obsenica said.

Subotic was in Monroe three weeks ago to install his canvases. For three days, he oversaw the installation, a process that involved tall ladders, special glue and the help of younger church members.

Using large scraping tools, the art was scraped onto the ceiling with glue.

“They have special adhesive that dries very hard. You have 10 minutes,” Obsenica said.

Excess canvas is trimmed to give the frescos the appearance of being painted directedly onto the ceilings.

Phase 3, like the previous projects, was funded with donations from members.

“It was paid in one week. They love it,” Obsenica said. “We have a convert from Baptist, she just looks up and cries.”

Obsenica wants to eventually invite the Monroe community into the church to view the frescos.

Before 2019, St. George had white walls and ceilings, which is not common in the faith. Typically, Eastern Orthodox churches' walls are painted "Serbian Blue" to symbolize the Heavens, and icons are painted in deep blues, purples, reds and golds. Icons are in the Byzantine, Eastern-Christian style, made famous through architecture, paintings and other visual arts produced in the Middle Ages during the Byzantine Empire.

Eastern Orthodox Church rules dictate where frescos are placed and the order for panels. Obsenica; however, was permitted to choose some of the saints depicted in Phase 2's medallions. He selected a few from America.

Obsenica said Eastern Orthodox churches are more prevalent than most Monroe people realize. He said there are about 30 to 40 others in this area; Toledo alone has three or four.

St. George was built in 1960 and was once a dying parish.

“The Serbian people in Monroe were dying out or they moved,” said Obsenica, who is 100 percent Serbian. He came to St. George in 2012. Before that, he served a church in Detroit for 23 years.

Today, St. George is growing again. About 85 to 100 attend each Sunday services, which begin at 9:30 a.m. and go to around noon.

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"90-99 percent is in English," Obsenica said.

Most at St. George are converts to the faith.

"The majority who attend aren’t Serbian," Obsenica said. "Most are converts, many from the Catholic and Baptist faiths. A lot of people are leaving and trying to reconnect. They are seekers.”

To accommodate, Obsenica said he’s adding Bible studies. And, for the first time, with the coming of younger people, the church is planning to build a cry room.

To learn more, visit stgeorgemonroe.org.

— Contact reporter Suzanne Nolan Wisler at swisler@monroenews.com.

This article originally appeared on The Monroe News: St. George's ceilings come alive with faith-inspired frescos