CHICAGO — Firefighters battled a large fire at Antioch Missionary Baptist Church in Englewood.

At around 2:15 p.m., authorities responded to a fire at the church, located in the 6300 block of South Stewart.

It was been upgraded to a 3-11 Alarm fire and CFD went into a defensive position. By 4:05 p.m., it was struck out with crews still working on hot spots.

On their Facebook page, services seemed to wrap up around 1 p.m. for Good Friday. The congregation was established in 1925 and moved into its current location in 1958.

“Church fires are very difficult to fight,” deputy chief Donald Walker said at the scene. “When a heavy volume of fire gets up to the roof, they are hard to fight.”

The Rev. Dr. Gerald Dew is upset after hearing the news, but says his parish will persevere.

“It’s a great tragedy, it is Good Friday and that was a tragic event outside of the walls of Jerusalem then and this is a tragic event for us now,” The Rev. Dr. Gerald Dew said. “But just as their was new life that Sunday, we believe there will be a new beginning for the Antioch church in the near future.”

No injuries have been reported at this time. The cause of the fire has yet to be determined.

For Easter, The Rev. Dew said he hopes to find a location for parishioners to celebrate the holiday.