A sprinkling of stories about
the landmark building, dedicated in 1952, found their way among the questions. Charles
Skouras, who financed the building after his move to Los Angeles, owned 3,000 movie houses
in New York during the 1940s. The cathedral's organ came from one of those. Skouras'
Hollywood friends modeled for some of St. Sophia's famous icons. The serene paintings
depict angels and saints. "Moses has a passing resemblance to Charlton Heston,"
said Bliziotis. "Remember, the icon was painted when he was playing Moses in 'The Ten
Commandments' in 1956."
Icons - the serene, otherworldly paintings of angels and saints - are a hallmark of
Greek Orthodox churches. "We do not worship the images, we worship God. The icons
remind us of the saints, who are the intercessors we pray to." Their glimmering
images cover a screen that hides the cathedral's altar from the rest of the church.
"The other side of the screen represents heaven, the church triumphant,"
Bliziotis explained. "The place we all hope to end up."
The crystal chandeliers that fill the church weigh 2,000 pounds each. Skouras ordered
them from Czechoslovakia for $68,000.
"It was 1948, you could buy a house then for $9,500," the tour guide noted.
Instead of drawing a line between people of different faiths, scholars of religion now
divide the world between believers and nonbelievers. They now find people who practice a
religion are more curious than in years past about the other faiths of the world.
Most of the questions from today's curious faithful, though, are like those of the
senior citizens on a tour. They're interested in etiquette not heated theological debates.
None of the visitors to St. Sophia, for example, asked why Christians in Constantinople
parted company with Rome in 1054. The answer? Religious leaders in the West declared their
bishop to be head of the whole church. The East disagreed, and the schism between them has
never been mended.
Elsie Winans, 86, has her opinion.
"I don't think unity would be possible," said Winans, who organizes the field
trips for the Methodist church group, including local temples and various Christian
churches. "The personal nature of religion makes people want to worship in their own,
individual ways. I, for example, enjoy a great deal of singing. And we do a lot of that in
the Methodist Church."
She isn't considering a conversion.
"We visit the churches for the same reason we take part in the various ethnic
activities in the city," she said. "If we are ever to have peace on Earth, we
have to learn to appreciate each other's differences."
Margaret Loppi wanted to know every detail about Greek Orthodox Communion, the bread
and wine served during a Sunday liturgy. She didn't ask about the theology, though. She
was more interested in the process.
"How do you do it?" she asked.
Bliziotis described the procession down the center aisle, the practice of kneeling
before the altar, the use of a golden spoon to distribute wine containing crumbled bread
and then mentioned that Communion is offered only to members of the Orthodox Church. In
the Methodist Church, it is open to anyone.
Ken and Ann Emory joined the tour to learn more about the music. He is the choir
director at May wood United Methodist, she plays piano. Ann, 72, said she learned
something.
"I was impressed by the way the Greek Orthodox Church doesn't change
anything," she said. "They keep their old values and customs."
"We Methodists want to keep up with modern mores. We have women clergy, for
example. And we've had a big to-do about whether to ordain gays and lesbians." The
Methodist Church leadership reaffirmed its stance against it at its most recent general
conference meeting in 1996.
Bliziotis said he leads four tours in an average month, most of them from schools and
churches.
"They're not here looking for a new church," he said. "They just have an
interest in the different religions. All I can do is tell them what we do and why. I think
they learn something."
For information about guided tours of St. Sophia Greek Orthodox Church, at 1324 S.
Normandie Ave. s call (213) 737-2424. Their website is at http://www.stsophiala.org/
