New Gračanica Serbian Orthodox Monastery
New Gračanica Serbian Orthodox Monastery is an Eastern Orthodox Christian monastery located in Third Lake, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago. It is under jurisdiction of the Serbian Orthodox Eparchy of New Gračanica and Midwestern America of the Serbian Orthodox Church. The monastery complex has 300 acres of land, making it the 6th largest monastery among the 80 American Orthodox Christian monasteries.
History
Built on land that the Serbian Orthodox Church purchased in 1977, New Gračanica Church and the main building on its grounds dedicated to the feast of the Protection of Theotokos were completed and consecrated in 1984.Architecture
It is an architectural replica of the original Gračanica in Kosovo, listed as the World Heritage Site, but built in a scale eighteen percent larger than the original.In 1995, famed Polish American artist Fr. Theodore Jurewicz was commissioned to paint the entire church. Done over the span of three years, Fr. Theodore is held to be one of the most celebrated icon painters in North America today. Painted in a Byzantine style it features richly colored designs and religious scenes covering the walls, vaults, pillars and dome of the church. The frescoes painted by Fr. Theodore like other contemporary icon painters are done in acrylics on dry plaster.