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All Saints Antiochian Orthodox Christian Church

6004 South Fairfax Road
812-824-3600

All Saints Orthodox Church has its roots in the pioneering efforts of the local community, particularly Greek families, who in the early 1970's started a monthly Orthodox liturgy service on Saturdays for all Orthodox Christians in Bloomington. Fr. James Rousakis of Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church, Indianapolis, Fr. Daniel Rohan of St. George's Orthodox Church, Terre Haute, and occasionally Fr. John Marmureanu of the Orthodox Church of America, Indianapolis, took turns in celebrating the liturgy services, which were held in rented locations.

A major development took place in 1988, when the Antiochian Archdiocese lent us Fr. Andrew Harmon as a priest, enabling us to hold weekly Sunday services. Fr. Andrew, who lived and worked in Indianapolis, traveled to Bloomington on Sundays to serve the community. Before Fr. Andrew was relocated to Cleveland in 1990 as a full-time priest, our small pan-Orthodox community applied to become a mission of the Antiochian Archdiocese. The Constitution was signed in December 1989, and the community became a mission soon afterward.

Fr. Anthony Yazge of St. George's of Terre Haute became our priest and guide. Fr. John Marmureanu of the Orthodox Church of America, Indianapolis, kindly accepted to serve the community here on a temporary basis and did so until the fall of 1992. Our Sunday services were led alternately by Deacon Elias Corey of St. George's of Terre Haute and Deacon Athanasius Wilson of St. George's, Indianapolis, and occasionally by Fr. Anthony Yazge.

Another major development took place when Deacon Athanasius Wilson was ordained into the priesthood on April 4, 1993, and became our priest, commuting from Indianapolis until he retired from his work on October 15, 1994. Fr. Athanasius moved to Bloomington with Khouriyyeh Loretta on October 19, 1994, to become our full-time priest. Meanwhile, we had been blessed at the end of September in purchasing a church building which gave us a permanent location and opportunity for stability and growth.

In 1997, All Saints Orthodox Mission Church was elevated to the status of a parish. Membership, which continued to rise at an astounding rate, soon necessitated relocation to another site. Seating capacity of the facility on Smith Road was pushed to its limit classroom space was limited, as was seating in the social hall. On August 30, 1998, approval was given by the parish to purchase property for a new building. A 24-acre plot of land was purchased at the corner of Dillman and Fairfax Roads on the south side of Bloomington in December 1998. Construction of the first of three major projects began on May 9, 2001, and the first liturgy was held in the new parish on December 3, 2001. The building was dedicated by His Grace, the Right Reverend Bishop Demetri on May 19, 2002.

The current building is what eventually will be the north wing of a three-part complex. The illustration below is the architect's rendering of the planned facility. The north (left) section is currently completed. The central temple area and the south wing are in planned for completion within the next few years, and an CJK Design has been retained for the design and construction of the main temple and plans for future frowth and development. The additional acreage has been set aside as a wildlife preserve. We pray that the Lord, who has answered our prayers and blessed us with this new church building, a priest of our own, and parish status, will have mercy upon us and bless us with expanded facilities to meet the needs of the growing Orthodox community of Bloomington and Southern Indiana.