CLEVELAND — The property of Holy Ghost Parish in Cleveland was sold by the eparchy this summer.
Holy Ghost was one of the first Ruthenian parishes to be founded in Cleveland in 1909. It was suppressed in 2009, due to low membership.
That same year, Bishop John Kudrick of Parma, now retired, founded the Byzantine Catholic Cultural Center, originally housed in the cathedral complex. He then moved the Cultural Center to Holy Ghost Church and rectory, located in the increasingly trendy Tremont neighborhood, in 2012. However, the church was found to have structural problems and the Cultural Center was re-situated in the cathedral complex and chancery offices in 2015.
Cuyahoga County public records indicate that the eparchy sold the property, at the corner of Kenilworth Avenue and W 14th Street, to 1415 Kenilworth, LLC, June 20, for $600,000. The LLC is a company registered by 1600 CNB Corp.
The sale comprised three parcels of land: the church, parking lot and rectory. The new owner put only the church back on the market July 30 for $400,000.
Real estate agent Camille Norton of Newmark Knight Frank said the church has been zoned for retail or residential use. Norton said in mid-August that she had already met with a number of groups interested in purchasing the church, and none indicated an intention to tear it down.
A new owner would have to go through a lengthy process to knock down the church since it is on the National Register of Historic Places, she added.
The church’s historic Hungarian icon screen, which was partially restored about five years ago, was dismantled last October and put in storage at Holy Spirit Parish in Parma.
As published in Horizons, Aug. 25, 2019. Sign up for Horizons’ digital newsletter.