Kochurov also devoted himself to the establishment of other churches: St. Nicholas Orthodox Church in Joliet; Nativity of the Virgin Mary in Madison, Illinois; and a church in Hartshorne, Oklahoma.
"He traveled extensively around the Chicagoland area," Harrison said.
According to Harrison, Kochurov returned to Russia in 1907, where he was a schoolteacher for 10 years until he was assigned to be a priest at St. Catherine's Cathedral. In 1917, the Bolsheviks captured the town during the Russian Revolution.
Kochurov was accused of treason, captured and shot by the Bolsheviks for leading a protest for peace. His body was buried at St. Catherine's, which was later demolished.
Kochurov was also known as being a "translator," because of his efforts in translating religious texts from Russian to English.
For more information about the church, visit St. Luke Orthodox Church - St. John Kochurov Chapel on Facebook at http://shawurl.com/343p or call 630-638-9462.