Our church was founded in 1956. At that time, we acquired the building and dedicated the church to Greatmartyr and Healer Panteleimon. For a few years leading up to that, the Russian speaking Orthodox of the Twin Cities area gathered in private homes to pray together. When the community started to grow, they decided to buy a church. It was with God's help that a suitable location and church was found at an affordable price.
For many years our church has been a special place for the Russian community of Minneapolis, Saint Paul and suburbs, as well as other more remote areas of Minnesota and even Wisconsin. In our church, services are held in English and Church Slavonic. This is very important from a missionary, spiritual, and cultural point of view. People who have moved here from Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, and other countries of the former Soviet Union, are longing to hear the church services and pray in their native language. Since part of the service is held in English, it gives Americans a chance to understand the order of the service, learn about Orthodoxy, and perhaps decide to be baptized into the church.
The original Saint Panteleimon's church had a somewhat limited capacity. It would get crouded with 50 people attending services and many would be standing outside the church on bigger occasions like Christmas and Easter.
By early 2000-s the building itself was over 100 years old and in need of major repairs. In 2017 the floor of the building was propped up (with temporary posts) as it had started to sink. The walls and ceiling of the lower level leaked, and the outer stucco had some spots that were beyond temporary repair.
Discussion about major repairs to the church has been happening for years and we've been exploring options of expanding the church and repairing the current structure. Several project variations were developed but all of them seemed beyond our reach due to the high cost. Our church was not qualified for the necessary bank loan due to a limited income.
In early 2018 we revisited the project once again, removing everything but the most essential elements. This brought the cost down to a more manageable level. Given the urgency of the repairs and the need to increase space of the Church, with the blessing of Archbishop Peter, we decided to go forward with the project, trusting in God's mercy, your prayers and financial support...
and the new chapter of St. Panteleimon's history has begun.
