Tiny Howell church gets restored to glory by Russian Orthodox community who keep it going

HOWELL - The head of the Russian Orthodox Church outside of Russia journeyed to a small residential neighborhood in Howell Tuesday, enrobed in ornate vestments to bless the renovated St. George's Church, the culmination of efforts by the congregation to keep their tiny church going as it has since emigres fleeing Europe settled in this area in the years following the Second World War.

"You had all these displaced people coming after World War II. Russians, Serbians, Greeks, Yugoslavian, and they settled here in Freewood Acres," said John Rimakis, warden for the church's properties, who has been an active member of the church for over 40 years. "Little by little they put together enough money to buy the property. Most of them worked in the egg farms making 15 cents an hour, but they managed to stick together as a group and build this church."

His wife Valentina's family first purchased the property to build the house of worship back in the late 1950s. "For my wife it still means a lot to her growing up in this small church," Rimakis said.

"It was forgotten for many years, and then we started having more services there and we did a restoration. Then again it fell into a little bit of disrepair," Rimakis said. "We got hit with a couple hurricanes pretty bad, which caused some roof damage, which accelerated the water getting in and causing additional damage."

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St. George is one of the most important saints in the Eastern Orthodox tradition. He is the patron military saint in Slavic, Georgian, Circassian, Cossack and Chetnik military traditions. Christian tradition holds that St. George was a martyr who died for his faith. In iconography he is usually depicted as a man riding a horse and slaying a dragon.

In Eastern Orthodox tradition, Bright Week follows Easter Sunday, which in the Orthodox church fell on this past Sunday. St. George's Day — May 7 — fell on Bright Tuesday this year.

Once Metropolitan Nicholas Olhovsky agreed to come to Howell for the feast, Rimakis started the restoration process to bring St. George "back to its glory."

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"We didn't think we needed a new roof until we found a real good roofer," he said. "It had three roofs on it, which means they tried to save money by not tearing the old roof off and putting the new roof(s) on top, which caused a lot of weight and probably caused more of the water damage over the last few years."

All the restoration work has been funded by donations, so the parish feels blessed to find a couple of passionate contractors, one of them J.R. August, a Howell resident.

"I think that the building itself is a beautiful historic church, for the Russian church as well as for the entire community. As a kid growing up in the area when you drive by it, it may not be your church specifically, but you can't help but admire the beauty, the architecture, the design," August said.

He called the "complex" roof a "really nice challenge."

"In this particular case, it is God's house, so maybe there may be a little extra-extra care. The challenge of it is the height and the steepness," August said. "Basically, we are using special harnesses that are made for this type of work."

August did not need a special harness when he had the honor to lift up Metropolitan Nicholas, casually referred to as "the bishop" by those in attendance, to help him bless St George's Church on Bright Tuesday.

"We are celebrating Pashka, which is Easter, and today (May 7) is the third day of the Easter Holiday, to service St. George's Church is a joy because it is the church's feast day," Olhovsky said. "It is truly joyful for me and the church building is now renewed. Services are continuing here. "

The metropolitan added that he wants "many to come to the church to be joyful."

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"But moreso, be joyful in the Lord, and this church gives them the opportunity to do so," Olhovsky said. "This is the only St. George parish. The church needs to continue, and it will continue because we have good clergy and wonderful people. And of course, the Lord gives us His blessings."

In 2014, St. George’s Church became part of the greater parish of St. Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, located further south near neighboring Lakewood. Compared with the cathedral, known for its gleaming golden domes seen just off Route 9, St. George's is modest, fitting at most about three dozen people, and holding services at least once a month.

St. Alexander Nevsky church was first established in 1936 with the blessing of the then-ruling Archbishop Vitaly Maksimenko, and has remained under the auspices of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia (ROCOR), which is headquartered in New York.

Theodora Noordzy, 43, remembers her father, Phillip Petrovsky, being ordained as a deacon at St. George's.

"And he served on and off here all throughout the '80s, '90s, and 2000s. … He was very big on having all English services, so this place was very dear to him. So I still come here because it is a very special place," Noordzy said. "It is overwhelming. It is bittersweet because besides my father, there were so many people I saw come through these doors."

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Joe Tadros, 38, converted from the (Egyptian) Coptic church to the Russian Orthodox church about three years ago.

"I came here and I was accepted upon the first day. They took me in, open arms, never felt a difference between me and them," Tadros said. "Today, (Metropolitan Nicholas) blessing the church and the renovations for the church is a very big deal. This church as a lot of history behind it."

Charles Daye is the metro reporter for Asbury Park and Neptune, with a focus on diversity, equity and inclusion. @CharlesDayeAPP Contact him: CDaye@gannettnj.com

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: St. George's Russian Orthodox Church in Howell gets restored, blessed