By Hayes Hickman
The Knoxville News-Sentinel, Tenn.
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Investigators are working to determine the cause of an early morning fire that gutted the sanctuary of Saint George Greek Orthodox Church in West Knoxville on Sunday, hours ahead of the parish’s planned Orthodox Easter services.
Knoxville Fire Department Capt. D.J. Corcoran said arson has not been ruled out as the cause, but the majority of the fire damage is in the sanctuary and foyer where prayer candles say lit overnight.
One firefighter was briefly taken to the University of Tennessee Medical Center for a nonlife threatening injury when a large crucifix fell on his head, but has since been released, Corcoran said.
The west side of the church, which contains offices and classrooms, is not damaged and church members have been going inside. The sanctuary and foyer section of the church is salvageable, Corcoran said, but currently dangerous to enter.
Classrooms below the sanctuary have three feet of water and will require repairs.
The fire was reported about 6:50 a.m. by a passer-by outside the church at 4070 Kingston Pike in the Sequoyah Hills area, and was under control by 8:40 a.m.
Overnight services lasted until about 2 a.m. and another service was scheduled for 9 a.m., although no one was inside at the time of the fire, the Rev. Anthony Stratis said. No other injuries were reported.
Responding firefighters first spotted flames close to the roof and through a broken window in the sanctuary, Corcoran said.
Stratis said prayer candles typically are left burning inside glass cylinders overnight in the adjacent foyer.
Several relics, including the church’s Bible, the Eucharist and Eternal Flame were saved and moved to the west side of the church.
The fire climbed the walls into the exposed rafters of the domed sanctuary. Fearing that the roof may collapse, the first fire crews on the scene were ordered out of the building.
The roof remained intact, although there was extensive damage throughout the sanctuary, Corcoran said.
“With the Lord’s help, we’ll turn this around. With the Lord’s help,” Stratis said as a nearby KFD ladder truck continued to douse the roof with water.
“We’ll figure out what our job is in front of us, that’s all. With the Lord’s help, we’ll take care of it.”
Corcoran said the building was equipped with fire alarms, but not fire sprinklers.
“Even though this is devastating to us locally, there are Christians all over the world who are having their churches bombed and they’re losing their heads, so we’re still having a lot of thankfulness that no one was injured,” said Michele Richards, a 10-year member of St. George.
The fire comes amid ongoing major financial struggles for the parish.
In February, church leaders informed parishioners that their former treasurer had admitted to embezzling as much as $360,000 from the church. The theft left Saint George with less than $2,000 among its five bank accounts, including its Greek Fest Fund, according to a Feb. 26 letter by Stratis.
On March 1, the church voted to take out a $150,000 loan to pay off vendors. The church leaders have not reported the embezzlement to police, and the ex-treasurer has not been criminally charged.
An audit is underway to determine the full scope of the theft.
More details as they develop online and in Monday’s News Sentinel.
Staff writer McCord Pagan contributed to this report.
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