CLEVELAND — True Holiness Temple has been in its home on Euclid Avenue in Cleveland’s Fairfax neighborhood since 1985. The 17,000-square-foot building opened in 1916 and is a city landmark.
Last week, the church was broken into and burglarized. The crime is just as shocking as the timing.
The uniqueness of the structure only grows once you step inside.
One of Bishop Anthony Dixon Sr.’s favorite parts of the building is the stage, which is the centerpiece of the sanctuary.
“They designed this building so you can actually talk without a mic, and everyone in the building can hear you,” Dixon said.
He’s leading the church that his late father, Chief Apostle Albert E. Dixon, Sr., founded in 1970.
“It’s a privilege. It’s definitely a privilege,” Dixon said.
The morning of March 9, the sacred space was disturbed to everyone’s disbelief.
“The secretary called me- said, 'I can’t believe it, Bishop. We had a break-in.'”
Dixon told me the intruder broke a side window to enter the church and then opened a door to let others inside.
He said tools and musical instruments were stolen from one of the worship spaces, and the culprits went to the basement and stole copper piping.
"They tore out all this copper all up here. They went all down there utilizing ladders,” Dixon said.
It’s believed that up to 200 feet of copper was stolen, which carried water to the church’s bathrooms and kitchen.
"So they did about $5,000 to $10,000 worth of damage,” Dixon said.
Police are working the case and have surveillance footage from True Holiness Temple's neighbor, New Life at Calvary Church, which captured a white truck parked in its lot around the time of the break-in.
"We’re doing the best we can just to keep the lights on, and so to have a setback at True Holiness- to be robbed and burglarized like that is very painful,” said Pastor Kellie Sullivan, of New Life at Calvary Church, which recently bounced back from a damaging tornado that struck it in 2023.
"We’re going to keep working with them and keep encouraging and supporting them,” Sullivan said.
Dixon said the break-in will not distract from a top-down, all-around restoration project and fundraising campaign the church recently launched.
“Restore the temple. Revive a generation,” Dixon said.
The church has various projects on its to-do list, including a new boiler, bathrooms, and stage upgrades.
"God gave me this vision that we can utilize this building for worship and the liberal arts,” Dixon said.
He envisions a return of sorts to the days when this 110-year-old building was the 77th Street Theater, part of the iconic Cleveland Play House, featuring one of the country's first modern thrust stages, also known as an open stage.
"Bring gospel plays and comedians and concerts here,” Dixon said.
The goal is to welcome more people from the community and organizations with a focus on empowering youth through the arts.
"Give them an opportunity to come perform on a great historical stage that they probably would never, ever have had an opportunity to do,” Dixon said. “We are trying to be good stewards and pass the baton to the next generation.”
He has this message for the people responsible for the break-in.
"I forgive them,” Dixon said. “You know I have to do that as a Christian, but I do believe that God holds us accountable. So, we want justice to be done."
Margaret Lann with the Cleveland Restoration Society called the break-in troubling. The organization’s mission is “preserving, protecting, and celebrating historic places that foster vibrant and inclusive communities,” and they often work with Cleveland-area churches.
"Cleveland is a legacy city, and we are blessed with some magnificent historic architecture, most of which dates back to the late 1800s through the early 1900s,” Lann said.
She said historic buildings that are churches have a rich cultural heritage and are deserving of the work it takes to keep them in good shape and around for another century or two.
"So there’s many reasons that the churches want to keep and maintain the building, but it does take quite a bit of resources. And so we are trying to help where we can in helping the churches access grants or locate some potential funding sources,” Lann said.
She mentioned the Cleveland Restoration Society is working with True Holiness Temple on its national register nomination, which, if granted, could open up more doors to funding opportunities.
A GoFundMe has been set up to help the church with emergency repairs due to the break-in.
Damon Maloney is a Cuyahoga County and We Follow Through anchor at News 5 Cleveland. Follow him on X @DMaloneyTV, on Facebook DamonMaloneyTV or email him at Damon.Maloney@wews.com.
