90 foot tall Romanian wooden church in Washington Twp (Morris)
OnTheEdge 
SportWow, this makes me think of somewhat similar wooden churches in the mts. of Southern Poland. I'd love to watch it being built in terms of the architecture and wooden frame and I look forward to the conversion of the old Church into a research center, etc.
It looks as though it's to be set back from the road a decent piece, making the height not as intrusive and overwhelming as one might think. Check out the gallery, that is a gorgeous example of woodwork!
Phil D. Love the gallery pictures. I don't see that it can be built soon if they are looking for donations. I wish them well though.
magpie And is there ample room for a "fire pond" complete with pumping station when there is a fire ?
Can't imagine the fire fighters having to tackle this should there ever be a fire..
steven 
friendly mcface 
JeffersonRepub 
JJB It is actually 105 ft per NJ Hills Media Group. Washington township code states 75 ft for places of worship,. 30 feet out of spec.
https://www.newjerseyhills.com/observer-tribune/news/video-ground-broken-for-new-romanian-orthodox-church-in-long/article_3c43722b-4345-578c-ab97-2e87c49174ba.html
"In June 2018, the church gained approval from the zoning board to build a 105-foot steeple. The height of the steeple was deemed extremely crucial by church members."
The sign outside and this page on their website, https://www.woodenchurchnj.com/proiectul-nostru, say 90 feet.
Would have required a zoning variance in any case if the cited 75 feet height zoning limit is correct.
JJB
That's exactly the area I meant since that's where my family name is from. Were you there for the skiing or family reasons? I hope to visit and tour the area some day and get to those church records held in some small areas West of Nowy Targ!
The Slavic Churches such as this one are normally sited in a certain direction as well as the proportions are important, with the steeple representing hands held together in prayer.
Phil D.
Neither, actually. We were in Krakow and just daytripped down because we were in the area. Beautiful town/city, and we did stop along the road a couple of times just to admire the churches similar to the one mentioned in this thread. The only issue with the visit was that my dad a hard time with the dialect.
We did visit family when were in Warszawa, though. It's been a while; I'd love to visit again.
JJB
I can understand that your Dad had a bit of a hard time with the dialect. While I have regular Polish dictionaries, I also have "Highlander Polish" dictionaries that show the difference. Highlander Polish is definitely a different animal, they say more related in some way to Romanian, Slovak and other languages to the South and East of there.
Zakopane is also where John Paul II did a lot of skiing.
By the way, I stopped at the site yesterday after work, since it's only about 10 min. up the road. They have bulldozers on site and look to be doing the site prep work for the foundation. Personally, I think it may fit in with the landscape a lot more integrally than the present white church they'd bought.
Stymie I'm excited to see this church. Back in 1989, I hitchhiked from England to Belgium, Holland, West Germany, Czechoslovakia, southern Poland, Hungary, and then up to Berlin for New Year's celebrations. I went over the Berlin Wall too.
I want this church built!!!
Jonathan Stone What a eye sore this is going to be... instead of building a huge eye sore why don’t they make a parking lot so people don’t have to park in the farm land across the street?? I think it’s important for people to worship what they people believe in but does it have to be obnoxious?
Yellow bird
"Obnoxious" or beautiful depends on your experience and point of view and perhaps religious beliefs (or lack of tolerance for that of others). Apparently yours isn't particularly favorable. I don't see how a building that organically fits into the surroundings and made of natural historic materials is "obnoxious". The plan does also show a decent amount of parking, though depending on the size of the congregation, perhaps they would want to buy up more land and add an "obnixiously" sized parking lot.
Aren’t houses of worship designed to uplift and reach for the heavens?
Geez.... tough crowd out here.
Perhaps another Quick Check or warehouse?
Stymie
Exactly my point. It could be yet another unneeded chrome, glass, steel and concrete cookie cutter pile of stuff instead. I guess maybe that would be more to their liking???
Or what if we protect the Highlands preserved area and enforce our zoning laws and maintain a separation of church and state as the USA was founded on.
OnTheEdge
Thanks for the update. I've been dropping by there after work every so often to check on the progress, but haven't seen anything going on. I'm really interested in checking out the construction once the timber framing part starts.
OP Don't worry; Romanians are, for the most part, ethnically white (Caucasian). So Long Valley residents don't have to worry about "there goes the neighborhood". /s/
LibertarianismRules OP
Due to the height of the steeple and the "exposed" location atop somewhat of a plateau, it may have been a requirement by building code.
LibertarianismRules
They've owned the Church next to it for several years, so they've already been there. The one in Hanover is a bit of a hike, and that one's been around since before the 80's. Don't forget that they're still Slavs, who've historically had a lot of resistance to "moving in". When my Great Grandparents moved into Central PA, they started to build their own Catholic Church, buying land downhill from the Irish Catholic Church so they could worship in Polish and have their own more comfortable place of worship and they faced resistance. They dug and built the foundation, then hired brick masons to finish the outside.
There was tremendous opposition from the other church not to install bells in the tower, so they had them shipped in as "machine parts" and installed the bells one evening. Surprise, surprise, surprise. It later became just another sound that made the town a charming place to live and became an integral part of its framework.
There's been a Polish community for what, over 100 years or so now in the Great Meadows area. Not fully aware of all their history, but it makes me curious when they started moving there.
Crappy assessment? I call it as I see it. I've seen the vitriol from people around here when a latino restaurant opens up. I've seen the vitriol when people from the latino community attend parades.
Agreed Stymie!
LR- I have also seen the vitriol when people open up a new pizzeria or salt cave....
LR, don’t try and spew your interpretation of things from anywhere, including LV. What an awful thing to say! “I call it as I see it.” Maybe your assessment is wrong and you go and post it.
justwondering 
ru 
OnTheEdge
I just stopped by there after work today, Friday (abt. 4pm) and was pleased to see they were making the progress you showed in the picture. I'll be glad to see it as it takes shape further. It was interesting to see that they had built the steeple inside what will be the church itself. I'm wondering how the raising will work and whether they complete the work on the tower for the steeple, then raise it from the rest of the church area before they roof the lower section or ???
A few ornamental features have been added. I spoke to someone on the site today. This is the main steeple, some how it gets raised bottom up from what I understood.
OnTheEdge
Nice picture! I love the carved woodwork. It's similar to that in the church in my Dad's hometown and our ancestral town in the Polish Highlands. Similar peoples too, since they were nomadic shepherds in the Carpathian chain of which the Tatras is a part and likely came from Wallachia.
I do wonder if the woodwork is actually still hand carved or if it's now being done primarily by CNC milling.
have been watching the progress .bit by bit they are getting there.looks like a lot of craft work is being used.i do believe ill take in a mass once it gets done.always room for some faith.
mel This sticks out like a sore thumb and the zoning rules should not have been broken. How would everyone feel if it was another orthodox group trying to set up shop?
I live near the church, and I must say it is exquisite! The detail going into the woodwork is phenomenal. A Romanian friend of mine was so excited to hear that a piece of home was coming to town. I believe that any religion deserves a proper house of worship to meet their religious needs! There are far worse eyesores in the general area.
kelleo22 
Much progress during Summer. They are trying to finish all outside work before Winter sets in. There are also volunteer craftsmen working onsite, one there today was from Maine. A person I spoke to said donations are welcome ( https://www.woodenchurchnj.com/). This person also said this is the only church of this type in the USA.
btw, I'm not associated with this project in any way.
Thank you for posting the updates. I’m looking forward to visiting it when it’s completed. It’s a beautiful structure.
May3 i took a few pictures last week,this is becoming a work of art.i have never seen a church like this.
mel
As I mentioned up the thread, I have a special interest in the church since it's related to the architecture of my Dad's family's area of Southern Poland. I've also taken a few pictures, since both the architecture itself and the design elements intrigue me.
The Carpathian mountains seem to have a good amount of architecture in common, or at least have lots of similarities between countries the mountain chain passes through. Here's a link to the wooden churches of "Lesser Poland", which are UNESCO heritage sites, some dating back into the 15-1600's, one being the oldest wooden Gothic Temple in Europe, dating back to 1388:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wooden_churches_of_Southern_Lesser_Poland
Drove by the site yesterday afternoon.
Looking fantastic!
Lot of detail.
Beautiful building.
Phil D.
I remember seeing similar churches on the road to Zakopane as well. I've been following this thread simply because I love the "look" of those churches.
It is a stunning piece of work and they had just put the gold crosses one at the top and one above the door and when the Sun hits them they just glow. I mean the wood carvings alone it's a piece of architectural art!
The church is coming along beautifully and the consecration is scheduled for May 1st.
You can follow the progress on the church’s YouTube channel.
https://youtu.be/ip1h5k61ZrY
Andrew Leave a Reply
To comment on this topic, fill out the form below. If you would like to comment directly to one person, you may click on the envelope next to the posters name if they provided their email.