Greek Orthodox Monk builds, installs mosaic above Gulf Shores chapel

GULF SHORES, Ala. (WKRG) — It’s been said that a picture is worth 1,000 words, but to a local Greek Orthodox community, a newly installed mosaic means much more.

Father Athanasios, born Demetrios Clark, is an Abbot Monk of the Sacred Monastery of St. Iakovos in Oklahoma. He built and installed a mosaic above the front door of the Saint Athanasios Greek Orthodox Church in Gulf Shores.

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“Doing mosaic, I can only envision mosaics everywhere,” Fr. Athanasios said. “It beautifies the whole church and the whole area.”

Fr. Athanasios set his sights on art in 2010. He had hoped to follow in his father, Tom Clark’s, footsteps as a nationally known iconographer tasked with painting biblical scenes in various Greek Orthodox communities.

Fr. Athanasios said his spiritual father recommended he do mosaics instead.

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“I didn’t like that idea in the beginning, but I trusted him,” Fr. Athanasios said. “With my brother, we found the best mosaic school in Italy.”

Fr. Athanasios attended a Mosaics school about 1.5 hours north of Venice, Italy, known as the Scuola Mosaicisti del Fruili, where he graduated in 2014.

Four of the five brothers in Fr. Athanasios’ family went into mosaics including himself.

Since his graduation, Fr. Athanasios said he’s completed countless interior mosaics in churches across the globe. His project in Gulf Shores is his fourth exterior mosaic. His other exterior mosaics are in Romania, St. George and Shreveport, Louisiana.

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Fr. Athanasios estimated his Gulf Shores mosaic includes 4,000 to 5,000 pieces. He said all of the glass is imported from Venice, Italy. All of the gold, he said, is authentic.

Most importantly, Father Sasa Turkic said the artwork is a jaw-dropping first impression to the 150 people who worship at his church every Sunday.

“Actually, it was our dream to show other people here, who live in this area, to show our faith,” Fr. Turkic said.

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With the church looking to expand, the Mosaic was bolted onto the side of the structure, making it more portable.

“We made the metal structure and then put the mosaic in that in Oklahoma, hoping that it would fit,” Fr. Athanasios said. “It fit, thank God.”

After hundreds of hours of work, Fr. Athanasios said he could finally check the box on this project.

Fr. Athanasios’s next exterior mosaic will be in Austin, Texas. It is expected to be three times the size of his Gulf Shores mosaic.

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