Religious store
is a blessed business

By William Kenny
Times Staff Writer

Religious congregations rely largely on the generosity of members to sustain themselves economically. But a bit of community outreach never seems to hurt either.
Some groups regularly organize flea markets and bake sales to raise money, while others opt for weekly numbers lotteries in which patrons may envision a big payday despite relatively meager odds of winning.
But one local Russian immigrant is employing a different method to generate income for an upstate Pennsylvania orthodox Christian monastery. In a sense, he’s marketing faith, itself, and doing it at a Northeast Philly strip mall.
Viktor Grigoryev’s Svetoch Orthodox Religious Store, at 9327 Krewstown Road, offers just about any item that a parishioner or priest might want to help them practice their faith.
Gilded icons of the holy family and saints line the walls of the Bustleton shop. Liturgical vestments, both ornate and plain, hang from the clothing racks, while decorative eggs, matryoshka dolls, hand-crafted jewelry boxes and painted plates fill the display cases.
Although the setting among more traditional strip-mall destinations like a delicatessen, nail salon, pizza place, dollar store and shoe-repair shop may leave some passersby puzzled, Grigoryev insists that the concept has proved an ideal method to attract people to orthodoxy — and to boost the coffers of the St. Tikhon’s Monastery.
"We’re not just selling things, we’re trying to make it a cultural center for orthodox people," Grigoryev said through his interpreter and assistant manager, Tony Onosov. "Everything that’s happening in the orthodox world, we’re trying to get to the people."
According to the proprietor, there’s a large orthodox population in the Delaware Valley, and it’s growing. Forty orthodox churches are within 40 miles of the shop, he said.
Commonly known as the Eastern Orthodox Church, the faith actually has many branches that share a common theology and trace their lineage to the 12 apostles of Jesus. Orthodoxy is prevalent in Eastern Europe, the Eastern Mediterranean and parts of Asia, including Russia, Ukraine, Georgia, Serbia, Albania, Greece, Armenia and even India.
Svetoch and an adjoining jewelry store, Omega Designs, are both enterprises linked to St. Tikhon’s Orthodox Monastery in South Canaan, Pa., northeast of Scranton.
"They have a headquarters store and we are a branch, actually," said Grigoryev.
The concept is largely his, however. He initially proposed the idea to several orthodox communities, but St. Tikhon’s was the only one to back it. The shop opened in July.
"Until now, there was no store like this," the merchant said. "Usually they have stores in churches, but they usually open only one day a week, on Sunday for two to three hours. And other times you can’t get anything."
In contrast, Svetoch is open seven days a week and, obviously, is a lot closer for local folks than driving to Scranton. While most of his business comes directly from churches, individuals also can find decorative items for their homes or gifts for religious occasions, including baptisms, weddings and funerals.
"Anybody can come in at their convenience," Grigoryev said.
The store also endeavors to satisfy the intellectual needs of the orthodox community with hundreds of books, musical recordings and videos that entertain and educate about the religion. There are texts in English and various dialects of Russian. Many of the books and videos are intended specifically for children.
As a member of the orthodox faith, Grigoryev feels he knows what fellow practitioners demand. With his daughter, he emigrated from Serbia to the United States in 1998.
"I am a believer also and I know what I need," he said. "And of course I ask people what they want and ask the priests, of course."
Grigoryev maintains that as more Eastern Europeans immigrate to the area, his potential client base should continue to grow. Yet he’d like to tap into the non-immigrant population as well.
"We work well with the Russian Orthodox," he said. "We hope this helps us reach the American orthodox." ••
For information about Svetoch Orthodox Religious Store, call 215-673-3431.
Reporter William Kenny can be reached at 215-354-3031 or bkenny@phillynews.com