Crews battle fire at historic Orthodox St. Theodosius Cathedral

CLEVELAND — 3News has confirmed that a fire has broken out at the historic Orthodox Cathedral of St. Theodosius in Cleveland's Tremont neighborhood.

The IAFF Cleveland Firefighters Association Local 93 posted about the incident on X (formerly Twitter) Tuesday afternoon, saying the fire started around 4:30 p.m. Officials said reported that the fire occurred near Starkweather Avenue and Professor Street, with the only church in that area being St. Theodosius.

3News cameras then spotted smoke billowing from the 112-year-old building. For the moment, authorities say that no injuries have been reported, but firefighters on site requested reinforcements to fight the flames.

“They sent a crew inside to try to fight the fire from the inside, but the smoke spread all the way to the ground,” said Cleveland Fire Chief Anthony Luke. “There was a partial roof collapse inside. I don't know how bad it is, but they didn't feel comfortable with the firefighters staying inside, so They removed them and we are fighting the fire from the roof.”

Part of the Russian Orthodox faith, St. Theodosius was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974, the same year he was also designated a Cleveland Landmark. He also became famous for his role in the Oscar-winning film “The Deer Hunter”, which served as the location for the marriage between John Savage and Rutanya Alda's characters.

“A lot of people have their lives centered around that,” Luke noted. “We sent firefighters to the back of the church with one of the priests to remove some of their precious items.”

Ken Kovach has been choirmaster at St. Theodosius Orthodox Cathedral for 52 years. He's placed decades of music in plastic bins upstairs, in the attic or in front of the church, but he doesn't know what will be left when the smoke clears from the fire.

“I realize I'm in shock,” Kovach told WKYC. “It’s our worst nightmare to see your church burned down.”

People watched in horror as a century of materials fell from the tower.

“This is a historic Cleveland and Tremont church sign,” Jack Petito said. “To see something as iconic and beautiful, as bold as this fire… it’s just a tragedy.”

Some tried to salvage what they could from the ground, while others tried to comfort a priest whose eyes were filling with tears. The faithful, however, remain hopeful despite the devastation.

“It destroys our building, but it doesn’t destroy our faith,” Kovach added. “We are strong as Eastern Orthodox Christians. We will continue to have our services somewhere.”

The cause of the fire is still under investigation.