On the western edge of Chicago's Logan Square neighborhood, just off the boulevards that give Palmer Square its name, a converted former Evangelical sanctuary holds the prayer, song and folk tradition of generations of Serbian Orthodox Christians. Old Holy Resurrection Serbian Orthodox Church, known simply as OHR, has gathered at 3062 W Palmer Blvd since the late 1960s, and its parish life stretches back to 1905, when Serbian families first organized worship on Chicago's Near West Side.
A parish with a century of roots
Old Holy Resurrection has been part of the Serbian community in Chicago since 1905. After the split of the Serbian Orthodox Church in America, the parishes that supported Bishop Dionisije organized a new and separate congregation in 1964, taking the name by which the parish is still known. After moving through many rented spaces, the parish settled at its present location on West Palmer Square Boulevard in 1966. The building is a former Evangelical church converted to serve Orthodox services, and it was refurbished in 1968. It has stood as a landmark in the Palmer Square community ever since.
The address, 3062 W Palmer Blvd in the 60647 zip code, sits among the tree-lined blocks of a neighborhood that has hosted waves of immigrant Chicago over more than a century. From this corner the parish runs Divine Liturgy on Sundays, religious instruction in two parallel programs, a renowned folk ensemble, a choir that travels to concerts across the country, and a charitable network that reaches well beyond the city.
Parish priest: Proto Luka Lukić
The parish is served by Protopresbyter Luka Lukić. Born in 1956 in Osečina, near Valjevo in western Serbia, he later lived in Sremski Karlovci, near Novi Sad. He pursued theological studies at the Faculty of Theology in Belgrade and was ordained a deacon on December 14, 1980, before being appointed parish priest in Borina, near Loznica. Father Luka received the red belt in 1988, was elevated to protonamesnik in 1992, and in 1995 was raised to the rank of protopresbyter, the senior priestly rank in the Serbian Orthodox tradition.
Under his pastoral care, the parish community gathers around the Divine Liturgy each Sunday, with the priest guiding a congregation that seeks, in the parish's own description, "a commitment to spiritual growth, a connection to their fellow believers, and a desire to partake in the Divine Liturgy, where they seek guidance, peace, and unity with God."
The Stevan Stojanović Mokranjac Choir
Music is at the heart of every Sunday at OHR. The Stevan Stojanović Mokranjac Choir, named for the great nineteenth-century Serbian composer in the 1980s, has served the parish under different names and various directorships for far longer. Its mission is twofold: to sing to the glory of God during the Divine Liturgy and other observances, and to perpetuate Serbian music and culture beyond the parish walls.
Choir members sing on a voluntary basis at Sunday services and at special feasts. Beyond the parish, the choir joins other Orthodox choirs for sacred concerts, including the Serbian Orthodox Choral Association's (SOCA) annual festivals held in cities across the country. Choir practices meet once a week from September through June, with specific dates and times posted at the church; monthly choir meetings take place on Sundays following the Divine Liturgy. The choir's patron is the Apostle and Evangelist St. John the Theologian, son of Salome and Zebedee, the "bosom-friend" of Christ who cared for the Holy Virgin after the Ascension and is remembered above all for the words of his old age: "Children, love one another."
Singers interested in joining or supporting the choir can reach the president at ohrmokranjacchoir@gmail.com, where Jovanka "Beba" Kostic leads a board that includes Milena Tatić Bajić as first vice president, the late Miso Letica as second vice president (a memorial notice from 2022 honors his life from 1967 to 2022), and Gorica Ivanović as financial secretary and treasurer. The choir is always open to new voices.
A Sunday morning at OHR
The rhythm of a Sunday at the parish offers something for nearly every age. Families arrive for the Divine Liturgy, celebrated by Proto Luka Lukić with the Stevan Stojanović Mokranjac Choir leading the congregational singing in the Serbian Orthodox liturgical tradition. After the Liturgy, the SOKO Folklore ensemble gathers for rehearsal in the lower level.
At 10 a.m., Church School begins. The program offers religious education for children from age 3 through high school and runs from September through May, with a summer recess. Children learn the prayers, scripture, fasting rules and church history that shape the Orthodox Christian life, all in the same building where their parents have just worshiped.
Adults have their own classroom waiting downstairs. The School of Orthodox Studies (S.O.S.) meets every Sunday at 12:30 p.m., September through May, in the lower level of the church. Over the course of the year, participants work through books of the Bible and topics related to Orthodox Christian life, history and theology, in a long-running program designed for anyone interested in deepening their understanding of the faith.
For boys in the parish who are at least six years old, there is another calling. All boys in the parish over the age of 6 may serve as Altar Boys, assisting the priest at the altar during the Divine Liturgy and at special services throughout the year. After a training period, each new acolyte is assigned to a Sunday group. The role is one of the oldest forms of Orthodox Christian formation and remains a central part of parish life at OHR.
SOKO Folklore: one of the oldest Serbian ensembles in the country
The SOKO folklore group, the Serbian Youth Circle, is one of the oldest Serbian folklore ensembles in the United States. Founded in 1962, it draws on the abundance of Serbian national dances, songs, chants and traditions, with a repertoire built from regions across the homeland. Its purpose is straightforward: to preserve the folk tradition among Serbs in Chicago and across the country.
The group brings together children of all ages, from kindergarteners to first graders to teenagers. Rehearsals are held every Sunday after the Holy Liturgy at 3062 West Palmer Square. Beyond the weekly practice, the ensemble occasionally travels to Serbia, joining festivals, visiting churches and monasteries, and touring sites of importance to Serbian history and Orthodox heritage.
The Circle of Serbian Sisters: the right arm of the parish
The Circle of Serbian Sisters, known in Serbian as Kolo, is the women's organization that the parish calls its "right arm" and charitable arm. The group is spiritually centered, valuing friendship, family and motherhood, and meets once a month from September through May. It hosts social events for the entire family and raises funds through membership and a calendar of fund-raisers that runs through the year. Contributions from the Circle go out at both the national and the diocesan level, helping people in need across the country and around the world.
Members serve at coffee hours, prepare the Lenten and feast-day meals that follow the Divine Liturgy, and staff gatherings such as the annual Church Slava, the parish's celebration of its patron. The Slava is a deeply Serbian Orthodox tradition in which a parish marks the feast day of its heavenly patron with a procession, a special liturgy, the breaking of the slavski kolač (the festal bread), and a meal shared with family and friends.
The Relief Fund Committee and the student scholarship
The Relief Fund Committee coordinates the parish's response to human need beyond its walls. Its members see helping others as a Christian cause that should involve the entire church, and particularly the youth. Money collected or donated to the OHR Relief Fund is passed on to the International Orthodox Christian Charities (IOCC) and to Focus North America. The Committee also organizes food drives through the year, tying those efforts to the liturgical calendar and engaging the younger members of the parish in service.
Alongside the Relief Fund, the parish supports higher education through the OHR Student Scholarship, awarded to members of the parish pursuing studies beyond high school. Applications are reviewed annually, and the program is one more way the parish invests in the next generation of Serbian Orthodox Chicagoans.
The parish bookstore, library and halls
The parish bookstore operates in the Candle Room and is open each Sunday after the Divine Liturgy. It carries a full selection of books, icons, and CDs of Orthodox church music, along with gift items that connect visitors and members to the prayer and devotional life of the Church.
A church library, still growing, gives members a place to borrow books for personal reading at home. Visitors are welcome to stop in during office hours.
For celebrations beyond Sunday worship, the parish offers two halls for rent. The main hall boasts a stage and room for tables and dancing; the smaller hall features a bar and several other amenities suited to intimate gatherings. Anniversary and retirement celebrations, birthday parties, baptisms, and engagement or wedding parties all find a home here. OHR members receive a discounted rate; for more information the parish asks visitors to dial 847-696-0602.
Office hours, contact and visiting
The parish office is open on Mondays and Wednesdays from 12 noon to 5 p.m. Visitors and members can reach the office at (773) 252-4545. Officers of the parish can also be reached by email: Dejan Antic as president of the Church Board at president@serbianohr.org, Zoran Orlić as secretary at secretary@serbianohr.org, and Gordana Milisav as financial secretary at treasurer@serbianohr.org.
Giving is available online through a secure donation portal that accepts one-time gifts at preset amounts or a custom amount, with options for credit card giving and the choice to dedicate a gift to a company or to an individual donor. Parish news, bulletins and announcements flow through an online calendar that visitors can add to Google Calendar, iCalendar, Outlook 365 or Outlook Live with a click.
The faith life of the parish
Old Holy Resurrection is an Orthodox Christian parish in the Serbian tradition. The Divine Liturgy celebrated on Sundays follows the Byzantine rite, with the choir singing the responses and the people joining in prayer. The parish observes the liturgical year of the Orthodox Church, including the Great Lent (Veliki Post) and Pascha (Vaskrs), the blessing of the Serbian and American flags, Vidovdan, the feast of St. Sava (Sveti Sava), and the parish Slava honoring the church's heavenly patron. Patriarchal Christmas and Paschal encyclicals from the bishop are shared with the faithful each year.
For those who wonder how to address an Orthodox priest, the parish has prepared a simple guide: priests are addressed as "Father" (or "Proto" for protopresbyters) during conversation, and a similar etiquette applies in writing. The parish's own pages also carry a primer on the meaning of words like Kolo, Slava and Veliki Post, helping newcomers enter the rhythms of Orthodox Christian life in the Serbian style.
More than a century on West Palmer
From its 1905 roots through the 1964 reorganization and the move to West Palmer Boulevard two years after that, Old Holy Resurrection has held to a single, steady purpose: to gather Serbian Orthodox Christians for the Divine Liturgy, to teach the faith to children and adults, to sing the music of the Church, to dance the dances of the homeland, and to reach out to those in need. The parish community that Proto Luka Lukić serves today is enriched by the Stevan Stojanović Mokranjac Choir, the Sunday School, the School of Orthodox Studies, the Circle of Serbian Sisters, the SOKO Folklore ensemble, the Altar Boys, the Relief Fund Committee and the Church Board. Together they keep the doors open at 3062 W Palmer Blvd for any who would join them in prayer, in song, and in service.