Saints Peter and Paul Orthodox Church

The 1927 Russian Church, Mother of Lorain Orthodoxy

Forty-eight young Russian men who had recently set foot on American soil gathered on November 30, 1913, in a home in Lorain to found a parish, and today the Church of Saints Peter and Paul is called the mother church of Orthodoxy in this city.

For its first years the parish had no church: people prayed at the home of one of the founders, then in rented space visited by priests, until the first resident pastor arrived. The blessing for the venture came from the head of the Russian Orthodox Church in America, Metropolitan Platon, and the meeting was led by the pastor of St. Theodosius Cathedral in Cleveland. Many founders belonged to the Saints Peter and Paul Brotherhood, one of the American fraternal lodges.

Construction of the church began in 1925 and it was consecrated in 1927: the parish history calls it one of the best examples of Russian architecture.

Today it is a parish of the Orthodox Church in America, and many parishioners came to Orthodoxy from other Christian traditions, so guests are welcome here. Great Vespers on Saturday evening and the Divine Liturgy on Sunday morning are open to everyone interested in the history and beauty of an old Russian church by Lake Erie.