Church tours part of Las Vegas Greek Food Festival

St. John the Baptist Greek Orthodox Church members welcome all to the 10-acre campus at 5300 El Camino Road Oct. 1-4 for the Las Vegas Greek Food Festival.

The 43rd annual event is expected to be packed with traditional greek foods, music, dance and a carnival. But the festival is more than just food and fun — it's also an opportunity for visitors to tour and learn more about the church.

Free church tours are scheduled to be offered to festival goers at 5:30 and 7:30 p.m. Oct. 1; 4, 5:30 and 7:30 p.m. Oct. 2; and 2, 4, 5:30 and 7:30 p.m. Oct. 3 and 4.

The Rev. Matthew Swehla said the tours are more than a quick stroll through the church. He and the Rev. John Hondros lead groups through a half-hour session.

"We bring out a lot of the implements that we use during the services," he said. "So we'll have the chalice out, and we'll have the gospel book. We'll have some of the vestments out. So it's an opportunity to really see what is used and what goes on."

Swehla said he enjoys giving the tours.

"It's one of the highlights, for me, of the festival because we have usually at least 30 or 40 people, and then upwards of 100, for each time. It's a great opportunity. And it's enjoyable for me just to hear other people's perspectives and talk through that."

While the tours are designed for curious newcomers to the faith, Swehla said even members get something out of the sessions filled with discussions of history, theology and architecture.

"We oftentimes have church members who will sit in, or they'll come in with their friends to listen," he said.

Swehla said many visitors are unclear on what the Greek Orthodox Church is.

"A lot of times, we'll have people who think that Orthodox and Catholic are the same, and they're not. They come from the same root, but all of Christianity comes from the same root," he said.

Others are fascinated by the church's design.

"This church was modeled off an ancient church in Constantinople, which is modern-day Istanbul," Swehla said. "And that church was modeled with seven circles. And of course, seven is an important number because it refers to the seven days of creation."

The church was designed by Christ J. Kamages of CJK Design Group out of San Rafael, Calif., and completed in 1992. Kamages has been designing churches for almost 40 years, and many of his projects have been drafted for the Orthodox community.

"Architecture is a verb, not a noun," Kamages said on his website, cjkdesign.com. "What's lacking in society is a sense of community, faith and spirituality. All the great buildings manifest some kind of community purpose."

Swehla said everything in the church has a purpose, from the dominant image of Jesus and Mary that represents Christ's humility to the illuminated icons on the ceiling, walls and doors. He said it's important to remember that the images are more than just pretty pictures.

"It's not art, that's the big thing," Swehla said. "It's beautiful, but it's not art because it has a specific theological purpose. Everything that is in here, all of these are vehicles toward our union with God."

The classic images of the apostles and angels with elongated fingers, broad foreheads and long noses are there to help visitors venerate the saints.

"They're also handy in the sense that it's harder to get distracted when you look to a wall and there's a saint there or an angel or otherwise," Swehla said. He added that many Orthodox churches feature walls and ceilings completely covered in icons, which is a goal down the road for the Las Vegas church as well.

The festival is scheduled from 5 to 10 p.m. Oct. 1; 3 to 11 p.m. Oct. 2; noon to 11 p.m. Oct. 3; and noon to 10 p.m. Oct. 4. Admission is $6 for adults and free for children 12 or younger. Active military personnel and their immediate family also will be admitted free. Off-site parking with free shuttles is planned. Visit lasvegasgreekfestival.com.

— Contact View contributing reporter Ginger Meurer at gmeurer@viewnews.com. Find her on Twitter: @gingermmm.