Catholic but Not Roman Catholic, Orthodox but Not Eastern Orthodox
Christ Lutheran Church stands on Bellaire Road on Cleveland's west side, where it has gathered for the weekly Divine Liturgy since moving into its refurbished sanctuary in the autumn of 2016. The congregation makes a distinctive threefold confession at the heart of its identity: "We are catholic but not Roman Catholic. We are orthodox but not Eastern Orthodox. We are evangelical but not a part of the American Evangelical Movement." That careful self-description signals the kind of parish it intends to be. Christ Lutheran is a member congregation of the Lutheran Church, Missouri Synod and practices the historic faith of the Lutheran Reformation, pledging faithfulness to the Book of Concord of 1580 and gathering every Sunday around Word and Sacrament in the Western Christian liturgical tradition.
The church's motto is the Reformation triad: Sola Fide, Sola Gratia, Sola Scriptura, To God Be the Glory. The center of the congregation's life is not a program, a personality, or a building campaign, but the Divine Liturgy itself, what other Christian traditions call the Mass, in which God's Word and Sacraments are properly used and by which, the church teaches, God transmits divine pardon and every good and perfect gift to sinful humanity each week.
The Sunday Divine Liturgy at 10:30 AM
The principal service at Christ Lutheran is the Sunday Divine Liturgy, celebrated at 10:30 AM. The service follows Divine Service Setting Three from the Lutheran Service Book (page 184) and is conducted with reverence and dignity by ordained clergymen. For music the congregation relies upon the church organ, occasionally supplemented by other dignified instrumentation, in keeping with the Western liturgical heritage that the parish deliberately preserves.
Every Sunday the congregation celebrates the Eucharist, Holy Communion, the Lord's Supper, because, as the church teaches, it is "the pinnacle of Christian worship and Christian witness, and constitutes the practice of the Christian religion." The pastors frequently quote their Lord at the Last Supper: "THIS CUP is the New Testament in my blood" (1 Corinthians 11:25). For this parish, the New Testament is not primarily an era of time or the last twenty-seven books of the Bible. The New Testament is the Eucharist itself, and to celebrate the Lord's Supper on the Lord's Day is the very practice of the Christian faith. Every other belief, ritual, or practice either leads to or proceeds from this Blessed Sacrament.
Closed Communion at the Altar
Christ Lutheran practices what it calls "closed communion," meaning that only instructed, confessing Lutherans may receive the sacrament. Others who come to the altar are welcomed to receive a blessing and are invited to take Christian instruction, after which they too may partake of the Blessed Sacrament. The rationale is not exclusion but a desire to honor what the church teaches about the real presence of Christ's body and blood in, with, and under the bread and wine. Visitors from other Lutheran Church, Missouri Synod parishes who wish to commune are asked to notify Pastor Kavouras twenty-four hours in advance, or to do so Sunday morning before the service.
The congregation's teaching on the Eucharist is summarized in plain words: "Take eat this is my body, given for you for the remission of sins. Take drink, this cup IS the new testament in my blood; shed for you for the remission of sins." Holy Communion, the church teaches, is the marriage feast of the Lamb, the intimacy between Christ the Bridegroom and his Church cleansed by his blood. To participate in the Eucharist is to have fellowship with Jesus, and through him with the Father and the Spirit. "It cleanses, forgives, gives new life, comforts, consoles, calms and strengthens sinners like nothing else can."
Pastor's Class on Sunday and Wednesday Mornings
Before the Sunday service and on Wednesday mornings from 10:00 to 11:00 AM, Pastor Kavouras leads the Pastor's Class, a weekly Bible study and catechetical instruction that the church treats as essential preparation for, and continuation of, the Sunday Divine Liturgy. The class is the congregation's principal means of Christian instruction, and it draws on the Small Catechism, the Book of Concord, and the sermon texts from the lectionary. Visitors considering the Lutheran faith are warmly invited to attend the class first; the church's own advice to those who are curious is to "begin, or resume, your life of faith by attending our Pastor's Bible Class each Sunday at 9AM, and Divine Services each Sunday at 10:30AM."
Private Confession is also available by appointment. The church holds to the practice of holy absolution spoken by the pastor "as if from Christ himself," as Luther's Small Catechism puts it. In the Sunday liturgy, corporate confession and absolution are a regular feature, and individual confession is offered for those who desire it.
A Sanctuary Reborn: From West 43rd Street to Bellaire Road
Christ Lutheran has continuously ministered to the people of Cleveland since September 29, 1889. For her first 121 years the congregation was located on the corner of West 43rd and Robert Avenues, on Cleveland's near west side. The original sanctuary, however, was sized for a much larger parish than remained by the early twenty-first century. By 2010, increased maintenance costs and shrinking membership made the cathedral-sized sanctuary unsustainable, and the building was decommissioned and sold.
For the next five years the congregation shared facilities with Unity Lutheran Church in the Old Brooklyn section of Cleveland. Then, in March of 2015, Puritas Lutheran Church, itself down to six members, offered her entire property to Christ Lutheran as a gift, having learned of the parish's search for a sanctuary of its own. The legal arrangements took roughly eight months to complete. On November 29, 2015 the congregation celebrated its first Divine Service in a temporary chapel on the new property. Nearly ten months later, on September 4, 2016, the congregation celebrated its first Divine Service in the refurbished sanctuary. Three weeks after that, on September 25, 2016, more than 150 people gathered for the formal dedication.
The parish's gratitude for the gift of that sanctuary is plain in its history. "Though we are still a long way from completion," the congregation wrote at the time, "this house of God is beautiful, reverent and worshipful. Great measures of faith, hope and love have been poured into it by her members, and by others whom God's Spirit has moved to lend their assistance."
The Crucifix Carved in Oberammergau
One particular gift to the new sanctuary came on Saturday, September 9, 2017, when the empty cross that had hung in the refurbished church was replaced with a new crucifix. The corpus, the figure of the crucified Christ, was carved of wood and painted in Oberammergau, Germany, the Bavarian village famous for its woodcarving tradition and its Passion Play. The cross itself was built by a retired local carpenter for the cost of materials only, the same craftsman who had constructed the altar. Fifteen members spent an entire Saturday erecting the crucifix. The next morning, September 10, 2017, it adorned the Divine Service for the first time, and the comments Pastor Kavouras heard were, he wrote, all positive. The crucifix, he said, set a new tone and reframed the congregation's theological thinking for the better.
The Confessional Lutheran Heritage
Christ Lutheran's teaching follows the Lutheran Confessions contained in the Book of Concord of 1580, to which the congregation pledges faithfulness. These include the three ecumenical creeds: the Apostles' Creed, the Nicene Creed, and the Athanasian Creed, together with the Augsburg Confession, the Apology (Defense) of the Augsburg Confession, the Small and Large Catechisms of Martin Luther, the Smalcald Articles, the Treatise on the Power and Primacy of the Pope, and the Formula of Concord (both the Epitome and the Solid Declaration).
The parish locates itself squarely within the Western Christian tradition. Its worship follows the historic Liturgy of the Word followed by the Liturgy of the Sacrament, the same shape, the pastors teach, that the apostles themselves practiced and that Lutherans, Roman Catholics, and Eastern Orthodox share in common. Pastor Kavouras has written at length that Lutheran liturgy is drawn directly from Scripture and that the Bible's prayers, canticles, and hymns are themselves liturgy rather than mere narrative or poetry. "Liturgy is Scripture," he has written, "and our prayers, praise and thanksgiving are composed of nothing else than the words of the Bible."
The Athanasian Creed receives particular emphasis at Christ Lutheran. In his Trinity Sunday sermon Pastor Kavouras recommended careful study of the Athanasian Creed as the church's best functional language for thinking and speaking about God. "Understanding at this time is neither possible, nor is it desirable," he has written, "because human hearts and minds need Mystery to nourish them." The congregation confesses without embarrassment that the doctrine of the Holy Trinity, one God in three Persons, exceeds human comprehension while remaining firmly grounded in the pages of Holy Scripture.
The Pastoral Leadership
Rev. Dean Kavouras has served as the pastor of Christ Lutheran since 2008, having first been called to the congregation as assistant pastor in 1999. A 1978 graduate of Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, Missouri, he served previously as a parish pastor and has served as Safety Forces chaplain for the City of Cleveland's Department of Public Safety since 1995 and for the FBI's Cleveland Division from 1997 to 2014. He and his wife, Barb, whom he married in 1973, have three children, ten grandchildren, and three great-grandchildren. The pastor is an avid student of liturgical and early church history.
Rev. George Fyler III, originally from East Hartford, Connecticut, is a 1966 graduate of Valparaiso University and a graduate of Concordia Seminary, St. Louis (B.D. 1970, M.Div. 1971, S.T.M. in Pastoral Counseling 1972). He and his wife Louise Hakes, married in 1969, have four children, eight grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren. Pastor Fyler held pastorates in Georgia, Ohio, New York, and West Virginia and brings a background in administration and human resources to his ministry. He celebrated the Rite of Christian Burial for his wife Louise in June of 2025.
The congregation is also served by four deacons: Deacon George Hastings, who was catechized and baptized in 2019 and consecrated on May 23, 2021, is "an accomplished tool and die maker, a vocation he has worked at since age 14." The other deacons are Deacon Theo Kavouras, Deacon Konstandinos Prassinos, and Deacon Brian Schreiber.
The Statement on Marriage and Sexuality
In May of 2025 Pastor Kavouras published a Statement on Marriage and Sexuality that sets out the congregation's official position on these matters. Drawing on 1 Thessalonians 4:3-8 and 1 Corinthians 6:18-20, the statement affirms that marriage, in keeping with Holy Scripture and Christian Tradition, is the lifelong union of one man and one woman in possession of a marriage license from the state. Any lesser version of this union, the statement says, "is a pretense and scandal and must be avoided by all the baptized." Marital intimacy is reserved for the bond between husband and wife; other behaviors are described in Scripture as adultery or fornication.
The statement addresses cohabitation, fornication, homosexual conduct, transgender identity, cross-dressing, and related matters with direct quotations from Romans 1:22-32 and Ezekiel 18:23. It calls any Christian living in unrepentant sin to attend Divine Liturgy regularly to pray and to find the grace, strength, and wisdom to change, but it reserves the Eucharist for those who have first turned from their sin and received absolution. "No one who lives in unrepentant sin (of any sort) may commune at the Lord's Holy Altar unless he has first turned from his sin, and received absolution." The statement closes with the invitation of Jesus from Matthew 11:28: "Come to me all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest."
Baptism and the New Birth
The Sacrament of Holy Baptism receives thorough treatment in Christ Lutheran's preaching and teaching. The pastors teach that in Baptism the Christian is begotten from above by water and the Holy Spirit, that the Old Adam is drowned and dies with all sins and evil desires, and that a new man daily emerges to live before God in righteousness and purity forever. Baptism, the church teaches, is "our factual entrance into the mystical body of our Savior Jesus Christ, and the Father and the Holy Spirit." It is not a human work but God's washing of regeneration, accomplished by the Holy Spirit through water and the Word.
In his Easter sermons Pastor Kavouras returns often to the imagery of baptism as tomb and womb. Quoting Romans 6:4: "We were buried therefore with him through Baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life," he has written that "Baptism is our tomb and our womb. Sin and death, buried with Christ in that watery tomb. Life and hope emerge from the waters, now that we're connected to Christ."
A Preaching and Teaching Congregation
Christ Lutheran maintains an active preaching and writing ministry through its sermons and the pastor's published writings. The sermons run to the church year and work through the appointed lectionary texts, with Pastor Kavouras delivering most of the preaching and occasional guest sermons from visiting pastors such as Rev. Lynn Podoll and Rev. Timothy Landskroener of Immanuel Lutheran Church in Shobonier, Illinois. Published essays and commentaries include extended treatments of 2 Corinthians 6 and 2 Corinthians 11 under the heading "Theological Liturgical and Sacramental Commentary for Teachers Preachers and Students of Sacred Scripture."
The theological perspective is consistent throughout. Pastor Kavouras rejects dispensationalism, millennialism, the rapture, the tribulation, and the kind of end-times speculation that produces conferences, courses, and end-times merchandise. "May all Lutherans understand," he has written, "that this war has nothing to do with the Bible, Bible prophecy, the End of the World, or the Return of Christ for Judgment." Lutherans, he teaches, confess simply that Christ will return as a thief in the night, that the final judgment described in Matthew 25:31-46 will occur, and that the events of 1 Corinthians 15:24-28 will transpire in a world without end.
The parish also engages the wider Christian tradition through recommendations including Issues, Etc. (Lutheran Radio) and Lutheran Public Radio, both of which carry the church's recommendation for Christ-centered, cross-focused Lutheran broadcasting.
The Teaching of the Small Catechism
The Small Catechism of Martin Luther is the principal instrument of Christian instruction at Christ Lutheran. Preaching and teaching at the congregation lean heavily on Luther's explanations of the Ten Commandments, the Apostles' Creed, the Lord's Prayer, the Sacrament of Holy Baptism, the Office of the Keys and Confession, and the Sacrament of the Altar. In a sermon on Romans 6 Pastor Podoll reminded the congregation that Luther's fourth question on Baptism, what such washing with water signifies, is the answer to every question about how the Christian life is to be lived: the Old Adam is to be drowned by daily contrition and repentance, and a new man is daily to emerge and live before God in righteousness and purity forever.
The Small Catechism also shapes the church's pastoral counsel. Pastor Kavouras has urged those who are divorced, separated, or remarried to know that remarriage outside the Roman Catholic Church is not considered by Lutherans to be sinful, invalid, or inferior, and that it will not exclude the faithful from the Eucharist and full fellowship. The congregation teaches that Lutherans do not pray to the Blessed Virgin or the Saints and do not ask them to intercede, because Jesus is the one Intercessor and High Priest and no other is needed. Lutherans deny the notion of purgatory, teach that Christians will suffer in this life but that Scripture calls such suffering "discipline" (Hebrews 12:5) and not purging or punishment, and they confess that the faith installed in holy baptism is strengthened in the Eucharist.
A Parish at the Intersection of the Western Liturgical Heritage
Christ Lutheran teaches that Lutheran liturgy shares a common ancestry with the Roman Mass and the Eastern Divine Liturgy. The same shape, Liturgy of the Word followed by Liturgy of the Sacrament, that the apostles practiced remains the practice of most Christian congregations worldwide. The parish's own account is that Lutheran liturgy is drawn directly from the Bible, that the prayers, canticles, and hymns of the church are Scripture arranged for worship, and that when the Bible is read in church it is being used liturgically rather than as mere literature.
The Sacraments of the Altar and of Baptism are celebrated weekly. The church teaches that the bread used for Holy Communion must be natural bread and the wine must be natural wine, not grape juice or gluten-free alternatives, because, as Pastor Kavouras has written, "one loaf is not a suggestion or dispensible tradition. The loaf itself incarnationally and sacramentally indicates that the church scattered throughout the world is one with Christ, and one with each other precisely in and by means of this single loaf and single cup." The cup, too, is given to all communicants, in keeping with the Lutheran recovery of the practice of communion under both kinds.
What Visitors Can Expect
Visitors arriving at Christ Lutheran for the first time will find the church on Bellaire Road on Cleveland's west side. Doors open for the Pastor's Class at 9:00 AM each Sunday, with the Divine Liturgy following at 10:30 AM. The service follows the Lutheran Service Book and is conducted by ordained clergymen with reverence and dignity. Music is led from the organ.
Visitors who are members in good standing of a Lutheran Church, Missouri Synod congregation are warmly welcomed to commune. Visitors from other backgrounds are invited to come to the altar for a blessing and are encouraged to speak with Pastor Kavouras about Christian instruction leading toward first communion. The congregation is small but liturgically intentional, and its members are accustomed to welcoming those who come curious about the Lutheran faith. Private Confession is available by appointment for those who desire it, and the Pastor's Class is offered both Sunday morning and Wednesday morning for ongoing study.
For those who travel and find themselves in Cleveland, the parish extends a particular welcome. If your travels bring you to Cleveland, the congregation writes, "we invite you to attend Christ Lutheran Church. We practice closed communion, and so only members in good standing, of Lutheran Church Missouri Synod parishes may commune at our altar." All others are welcome to approach the altar for a blessing, and to seek instruction in the tenets of the faith so that they too can be a part of the fellowship.
From 1889 to Today
For more than 135 years Christ Lutheran Church has gathered in Cleveland for the Divine Liturgy and the Eucharist. The parish has weathered the loss of its original West 43rd Street sanctuary, a five-year period of sharing space with Unity Lutheran Church in Old Brooklyn, and the move to its present home on Bellaire Road. Through it all the congregation has kept the same weekly rhythm: the Pastor's Class, the Divine Liturgy, the closed communion, the Western liturgy, and the preaching of Christ crucified for the forgiveness of sins.
The parish's identity remains what it has been for more than a century: catholic without being Roman Catholic, orthodox without being Eastern Orthodox, evangelical without being part of the American Evangelical Movement. Christ crucified and risen is, the church teaches, "the center and core of Christian faith. He is the Way, the Truth and the Life, and no one can come to God except through him." And so the Divine Liturgy continues each Sunday at 10:30 AM at 13812 Bellaire Road on Cleveland's west side, where the congregation worships the Holy Trinity, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and waits, as the church has waited since Pentecost, for the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come.