Greek church gets one-of-a-kind work of art

CARMEL, Ind. (WISH) - High above seven floors of scaffolding is an incredible work of art is coming to life at a church in Carmel.

Inside Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church, George Kordis is creating art inside of a dome at the church.

“This is the old traditional way and actually it remains the best way,” he said.

25 days into it and George Kordis still has a lot left to do.

“We have the Christ on the top of the dome since he's the head of the body of the church,” Kordis said. “So we always put Christ over there and angels and other heavenly powers surrounding the Christ. This is a standard theme.”

Brought in from Greece, the iconographer, Constantine Maniakas, was enlisted to create a Byzantine masterpiece filling the church.

“There are times when I just find myself standing and staring not recognizing the amount of time that's passing or even believing that this is truly occurring in this space,” he said.

The paint is egg tempera - egg yolks and wine, dashed with lavender and egg white. It's said to be the best and will last forever.

The icons are original, too. Well, at least parts of them.

There are rules that must be followed such as the way to draw Christ's hand clutching the gospels.

“The thing that is changing actually is the style and this is our personal contribution,” Kordis said. “If you are creative, you can change a few things in order to let's say render the same things, the same iconography in your personal style.”

For Kordis, his personal touch is displayed on the band circling the dome. It tells the story of creation. Holy Trinity is the only church in the world to have it.

“It's not a template; it isn't a drawing that he handed over to someone else and say please put this over on that wall,” Maniakas said. “It came out of his mind; it came out of his hand and has been developed through his own passion.”

Passion that Kordis finds from the figures, he draws in charcoal.