St Lazar's Church, Bournville
Encyclopedia
The Serbian Orthodox Church of St Lazar, Cob Lane, Bournville
, Birmingham
, England
was the built for political refugees from Yugoslavia
after World War II
.
Serbs
have been associated with Bournville since Dame Elizabeth Cadbury sponsored thirteen Serbian refugee children of World War I
.
Built in traditional 14th century Byzantine form by Yugoslavian architect Dr Dragomir Tadic and Bournville Village Trust
it is a replica of a church in Yugoslavia using stone from the same quarries. Completed in 1968 it is of brick and stone with three sets of bronze doors and a candelabrum from Yugoslavia. It has no seats which is standard for traditional Orthodox churches. Moreover the interior has a full scheme of traditional Byzantine decoration. The dome contains the image of the Christ Pantocrator, and the hemi-dome of the apse contains the Virgin. At the bottom of the walls are the warrior saints, above these are patriarchs and priestly saints, and at the top are the apostles and scenes from the 12 Christian feasts. These wall-paintings have not only been executed in a perfect Byzantine style but they also are al-fresco i.e. the paint had been applied meticulously to wet walls.
The priests serving today are a father and son, Milenko Zebic and Aleksandar Zebic.
The cultural centre is a Grade C locally listed building.
Bournville
Bournville is a model village on the south side of Birmingham, England, best known for its connections with the Cadbury family and chocolate – including a dark chocolate bar branded "Bournville". It is also a ward within the council constituency of Selly Oak and home to the Bournville Centre...
, Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
was the built for political refugees from Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....
after World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
Serbs
Serbs
The Serbs are a South Slavic ethnic group of the Balkans and southern Central Europe. Serbs are located mainly in Serbia, Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina, and form a sizable minority in Croatia, the Republic of Macedonia and Slovenia. Likewise, Serbs are an officially recognized minority in...
have been associated with Bournville since Dame Elizabeth Cadbury sponsored thirteen Serbian refugee children of World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
.
Built in traditional 14th century Byzantine form by Yugoslavian architect Dr Dragomir Tadic and Bournville Village Trust
Bournville Village Trust
Bournville Village Trust is an organisation that was created to maintain and improve the suburb of Bournville, located in Birmingham. However, during the 20th century it expanded its geographical coverage to include developments in Shenley Green, Lightmoor in Telford, Bloomsbury in Nechells and...
it is a replica of a church in Yugoslavia using stone from the same quarries. Completed in 1968 it is of brick and stone with three sets of bronze doors and a candelabrum from Yugoslavia. It has no seats which is standard for traditional Orthodox churches. Moreover the interior has a full scheme of traditional Byzantine decoration. The dome contains the image of the Christ Pantocrator, and the hemi-dome of the apse contains the Virgin. At the bottom of the walls are the warrior saints, above these are patriarchs and priestly saints, and at the top are the apostles and scenes from the 12 Christian feasts. These wall-paintings have not only been executed in a perfect Byzantine style but they also are al-fresco i.e. the paint had been applied meticulously to wet walls.
The priests serving today are a father and son, Milenko Zebic and Aleksandar Zebic.
The cultural centre is a Grade C locally listed building.