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Reflection
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Greek Orthodox Church in Cardiff
Tip of the Week: September 15, 2007
It was Greek to us, we must say. If you live in San Diego, there is no doubt that you have seen it. If you don't live in San Diego, you may wish to check it out.
Quit with the riddles, huh? Alright, this week we want to tell you about the Sts. Constantine & Helen Greek Orthodox Church in Cardiff-by-the-Sea. Whether you are religious or not this is something else.
At the 29th Annual Greek Festival, we got a tour of this beautiful buiilding. Let us clarify. The building itself isn't an architectural marvel. And at 20 years old, it doesn't have historical significance. But, many of us have seen the image of the cross on the gold dome of the building. The image seems to follow you as you drive by the building. You can't miss it. And you have to wonder 'how did they do that?" Well, we got some answers.
The 30 foot dome is made of a staggering 250,000 gold ceramic tiles. Can you imagine the work it took to place those tiles? At the top of the dome is a 5-1/2 foot aluminum cross. There are laws of physics governing the reflection and diffraction of light. Though those laws could be in play, it would take an amazing degree of accuracy (you do the math) to have this work out 'just right' for the reflection to show up. But get this-- at one point after construction, the dome leaked. All 250,000 tiles were removed and eventually reset. Guess what happened? The image of the cross appeared AGAIN and remains today, all 15 ft. of it. Some say miracle, some say physics. What do you think?
Interior-Church
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Interior-Dome
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The interior of the building with its vibrant colors, workmanship, and
artistry is really something. In fact, the interior part of the dome has the largest mosaic in the world at over 30 feet across consisting of
the image of Jesus.
Again, we ain't Greek. If you enjoy learning about other cultures
and religions, if you love art, iconongraphy and architecture, or
you just like checking things out, you'll find a bit of all in this one
building.
Dome-Jesus
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There's only one hitch. You can only step inside the church on Sundays at 9:30a or every September at the Greek Festival. The dome is visible from the outside (and as you walk around it) and on the freeway.
Sts. Constantine and Helen Greek Orthodox Church
(24 miles north of San Diego)
3459 Manchester
Cardiff-by-the-Sea
Map
Bishop's Chair
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Prophet
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Alter
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