Norwich — Community members and former parishioners made their pilgrimages Sunday to a 119-year-old Taftville church heavily damaged by a ferocious overnight blaze that charred ceilings, destroyed century-old decorations and blew out windows at the iconic “green church.”

The former Taftville Congregational Church at 16 North B St. was purchased in March by the St. Moses Coptic Orthodox Church group, and the new owners had held services at the green-shingled, turreted building as recently as the day of the fire.

Podcaster and former state Rep. Kevin Skulczyck walked into the church last Sunday as part of his ongoing tour of worship centers.

“I thought it was still a congregational church and stayed for a two-hour service,” he said. “It wasn’t in English, but it didn’t matter that I could only understand one or two words. The people were beautiful, and I was totally absorbed. I loved it.”

Fire crews were alerted to the fire at approximately 10:06 p.m. on Saturday by a Norwich police patrol officer. About a minute after the first alarm went out, Taftville Fire Co. #2 Chief Timothy Jencks was at the scene watching flames billow from the structure’s back corner.

He quickly called a second alarm which brought in engines from the Yantic and Occum departments. High heat prompted a third alarm which enabled Laurel Hill, East Great Plain and Jewett City firefighters to rotate in for their colleagues.

“We attacked right through the front door and made our way through an open set of doors into the worship area,” Jencks said.

He said the fire was deemed under control within about 90 minutes. Roughly 35% of the building sustained fire damage with smoke and water marring several other sections of the church.

There were no injuries.

Jencks said it was a credit to firefighters that the church is still standing. Despite the dramatic scenes of flames engulfing portions of the building, he said, the main altar area still seemed structurally sound, and only one vent hole was carved from the roof.

“Fire departments don’t win too often with church fires because of their high ceilings, horsehair plaster and open areas,” he said. “God was watching out here.”

The fire is under investigation by the city’s fire marshal.

By Sunday afternoon, several members of the 18 or so families that make up the Coptic Orthodox parish gathered under an open wooden pavilion a few feet away from their damaged church.

The Rev. Tomas Kalta said the church, consisting of approximately 75 members, began holding services about four months ago as they worked to complete several cosmetic building upgrades.

Kalta said a service was held hours before the fire ahead of the congregation’s planned main liturgy on Sunday.

“I left here at about 8:41 p.m. and drove an hour home,” he said. “I got a call from a neighbor around 10 p.m. about the fire and drove back.”

Kalta said he doesn’t know what sparked the fire, though he’s not ruling out an issue with the building’s antiquated electrical system. He said he’s hoping to hold a service as early as Monday, if the city is amenable, and a neighboring pastor also offered his church as a temporary worship space.

He said it’s too early to know if rebuilding is an option.

Kalta’s wife, Riham, said the community has rallied around the church with drivers pulling up to offer their condolences and prayers.

“Taftville is here for us,” she said.

Earlier in the day, a city building official replaced drooping caution tape and affixed red signs on the church doors prohibiting entrance. A steady stream of visitors walked up to the church and peered at its soot-covered stained-glass windows and into a large gap where carbonized timbers still dripped with the hydrant and river water used to douse the conflagration.

Like many longtime Taftville residents, Mary Phaneuf recalled the church as a community touchstone where pot-luck suppers and scout meetings were hosted.

“I was married here in 1988,” she said. “It was beautiful inside, and I grew up sledding here. It brings tears to my eyes seeing this.”

Phaneuf, who lives a few blocks over from the church, said she watched as the church’s new owners worked almost daily renovating the building, renamed the St. Mary and St. Moses Coptic Orthodox Church.

Joe Doran, who served as moderator at the church up until its change of ownership, said the sale was prompted by financial strains precipitated by declining attendance.

He said the church decades ago boasted a parish of nearly 300 worshipers.

“We were down to about 20 when we decided to sell and couldn’t afford the upkeep,” Doran said, pointing out the church’s cross-shaped footprint. “We knew when we put it up for sale it could go to anyone — and even torn down — so we were happy another church bought it.”

He described the new owners as “very friendly” individuals who seemed excited to give the building a new life.

“I was excited about the changes they were making,” he said.

Doran and his wife, Bonnie, were also married at the church under a handmade chandelier — which toppled down during the fire — crafted by the same Taftville mill workers who helped build the church in 1903.

Across the street at The Lofts at Ponemah Mills condominium complex, residents who watched the fire rise and mushroom just hours earlier said they were stunned to see the church still standing.

“I saw huge flames going up and thought to myself, ‘It’s all going to be gone,’” Eileen Conrad said.

Anyone with information regarding this incident is asked to contact the Norwich Police Department at (860) 886-5561 extension 6 or by calling the department’s Anonymous Tip Line at (860) 886-5561, extension 4.

j.penney@theday.com