| The Protection of the Holy Virgin Mary Orthodox Church | |
| Pushpin Map: | USA Illinois#USA |
| Pushpin Label Position: | none |
| Location: | 112 N. Fairdale Street, Royalton, IL |
| Coordinates: | 37.8819°N -89.1104°W |
| Country: | United States |
| Denomination: | Russian Orthodox |
| Website: | https://www.phvm.org/ |
| Founded Date: | 1914 |
| Founder: | Frank Derbak, John August and Paul Andrews [1] |
| Dedication: | 1915 [2] |
| Past Bishop: | Rev. Michael Vyacheslavov |
| Groundbreaking: | October 14, 1914 |
| Construction Cost: | $2,200 (1914) |
| Diocese: | American Carpatho-Russian Orthodox Diocese |
| Rector: | Rev. John Pawelchak |
The Protection of the Holy Virgin Mary Orthodox Church in Royalton, IL is one of the only remaining Russian Orthodox churches in southern Illinois.[3] [4] [5] The church was founded by eastern European immigrants, including Rusyns,[2] [6] [4] [7] Ukrainians, Polish, Latvians, and Russians,[8] many of whom worked in local coal mines [9] [10] [11] The three principal founders were Frank Derbak, John August and Paul Andrews. Ground was broken on October 14, 1914, the same day as the Feast of the Protection of the Theotokos.[2] It was built to mimic the construction of the now-closed St. Ioasaph's in Muddy.[12] [13] Each parishoners family was asked to give $25 at the start of construction and was asked to give another $25 when the construction was finished. [14]
The church opened to parishioners in late 1915.[2]
On October 27, 1914, there was an explosion at the nearby Royalton North No. 1 Mine, killing over 100 miners.[15] Thirteen of the miners who were killed in the disaster were members of the church.[14] [16] There is a memorial at the church, and many of the miners were buried in a cemetery dedicated to the disaster.[17] The mining company donated land north of Royalaton to bury the miners, and became St. Mary’s Russian Orthodox Cemetery.[4] [11] Each year, on October 27 a panachida is celebrated in remembrance of the thirteen parishioners who were killed.[18]
The nearby village of Dowell also had a Russian Orthodox Church, Saints Peter and Paul, but it has since closed. A memorial to the closed Dowell church is located in at the Holy Protection church.[19] [14] Other southern Illinois villages with Orthodox churches included the towns of Benld, Buckner, and Grand Tower.[4] [20]
The church is a Byzantine-style domed church with a white and gold interior.[9] The church contains traditional Orthodox iconography, some by the hand of the iconographer Alexander Sokolov, as well as a grotto with a mosaic of the Theotokos.[18]
Next to the church is located a church hall and rectory.