MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. -- Cmdr. Jerome Cwiklinski felt his Orthodox chapel did not display the splendor and beauty these sanctuaries of worship are known for. With the aid of a few good combat engineers, the Orthodox chapel, located in the South Mesa Blinder Memorial Chapel, now houses a wall worthy of the religious icons — Jesus, Mary and the saints — mounted upon it.
When it was relocated in 1995 from the Religious Development Center on Mainside to its present location, the chapel's iconostasis — a wall that symbolizes man separating himself from heaven by sin, along with open royal doors that represent God welcoming all in spite of their sin — couldn't be modified to fit the new chapel.
Partitions made at the Base Brig wood shop met the need, but lacked the beauty and splendor the previous iconostasis possessed, said Cwiklinski, the assistant group chaplain for 1st Force Service Support Group.
"Even though it was adequate, the people who come to worship deserve all of the beauty they might find in a civilian Orthodox Church," said Cwiklinski, a Buffalo, N.Y., native.
The makeshift iconostasis remained for the next nine years while Cwiklinski sought a way to realize his dream of a more hospitable place of worship.
The breakthrough came earlier this year when the chaplain contacted Sgt. William J. Mankowski, a combat engineer.
"The godsend was stumbling upon the 7th Engineers," Cwiklinski said.
Marines from 7th Engineer Support Battalion's construction shop acted upon the request. They scrounged wood from their own stock and various locales while awaiting delivery of materials.
Two weeks later, the chapel was complete. None of the Marines are an Orthodox Christian.
"We went out and did what engineers do," said Mankowski, the team leader and a native of Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
"Even after we're gone, other people are going to get enjoyment out of that, so that's fulfilling," he added.
Cpl. James A. Simon, a carpenter and Detroit native, is also proud of the construction team's contribution.
"There was no one-man show, everybody pretty much pulled their own weight," Simon said.
The iconostasis was dedicated Feb. 29 at the chapel. Fittingly, the ceremony coincided with a feast called the "Triumph of Orthodoxy" that celebrates the decree from 1787, which restored the use of icons of Jesus Christ, the Mother of God and the saints, such as the ones that grace an iconostasis today.
The center doorway to the iconostasis bears reminders of 7th ESB's contribution. Two battalion coins are embedded on each side at the bottom of the doorway. One side bears the Marine Corps emblem; the other displays the unit that made the chaplain's dream a reality.
"I am impressed myself. What they did is something that is going to be historic, and I am just certainly appreciative of what they did," Cwiklinski said.
E-mail Sgt. Diaz at DiazES@pendleton.usmc.mil.