Holy Transfiguration Greek Orthodox Church
Anchorage, Alaska HolyTransfigurationANC@mail.goarch.org
   

HOLY TRANSFIGURATION   Greek Orthodox Church       2800 O’Malley Road    Anchorage, Alaska  99507   (907) 344-0190                  (907) 344-9909 fax

Fr. Leo Schefe frleo@clearwire.net             (907) 720-1957

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COOKBOOK                                 RAFFLE, AUG. 17, 2009 C300 MERCEDES

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Tastes Like Home       2009 Mercedes C300

All proceeds from the sale of this book and raffle tickets go to the Holy Transfiguration Greek Orthodox Church Building Fund. The church has outgrown the old house in which church services have been held for many years. Parishioners are working hard to raise money to build a new Byzantine style Greek Orthodox Church in Anchorage; this book and raffle are part of that effort.

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Proposed Church to be built on our existing site.

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Click here to donate to our Building Fund
Click here to donate to our Operating Fund

 

Fifty years of faith in the far north

1958 – 2008

 

Holy Transfiguration Greek Orthodox Church

Anchorage, Alaska

      Holy Transfiguration holds the distinction of being the northernmost parish of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, and of being the only Greek Orthodox Church in the State of Alaska.

      The Greek Orthodox presence in Alaska dates to the early eighteenth century when Greeks accompanied the first Russian Orthodox missionaries. However, it was not until the early 1900s that large numbers of Greeks first arrived to work on construction of the Alaska Railroad. After its completion, a small number remained in the railroad camp at the head of Cook Inlet, which became Anchorage. For many years, the nearest Orthodox parish was St. Nicholas Russian Orthodox Church in Eklutna, a village 35 miles north of Anchorage.

The church in Anchorage began in 1953 in the basement of the Chaimis Apartments located on Third Avenue between B and C Streets, where Orthodox families would gather in an effort to preserve their traditions, and Russian priests would come occasionally to give sermons. Several years later Soter Chaimis, Chris Papademetrios, George Poggas and Goldie Grames began talking about building a small church.

      Finally, in 1958, a small group of Greeks built the first Orthodox Church in Anchorage. Chris and Marika Papademetrios donated the land,  John and Goldie Tsakres supplied the building materials, Soter Chaimis served as the general contractor, and the church was built entirely by volunteer labor. The church was originally named “Saint Sotirios Greek Orthodox Church”. It was a 1,900 square foot cinder block structure with a metal roof, divided into two sections containing the church and hall, on one-half acre at Arctic Boulevard and Campbell Station Road (now Tudor Road). The little church became the center of religious and social activities for Greek, Russian, Serbian, Ukrainian, and Alaskan Native Orthodox. Reverend Michael Oskolkoff, was among the visiting Russian Orthodox clergy who conducted liturgy on a regular basis, and Father Norman Elliott of All Saints Episcopal Church, assisted when needed with baptisms, weddings and funerals.

On January 12, 1959 Soter Chaimis, Chris Papademetrios and Goldie Tsakres, filed with the State of Alaska, the Articles of Incorporation for the Greek Orthodox Church of Anchorage, Alaska. This was 9 days after Alaska officially became the 49th state on January 3, 1959. In August of 1959 the “Greek Orthodox Church of Our Savior” applied for and was granted an Ecclesiastical Charter from the Greek Archdiocese of North and South America. Later that year the name of the church was changed to “Holy Transfiguration” and the Archdiocese assigned the parish’s first Greek Priest, Reverend James Adams.  The church was served by Reverend Spyridon Diavatis (1963-1964), and Reverend Nikolas Augustinakis (1965-1967).

After 1967, the mission parish had a series of part-time or visiting priests, and for a period the church was closed. In 1971, Reverend John Karastamatis was ordained into the priesthood at Holy Transfiguration and served the parish for two years. In October of 1977 a momentous occasion occurred in the life of Holy Transfiguration when His Eminence Archbishop Iakovos traveled to Alaska to meet with President Nick Pefanis and the Board of Trustees, and to bestow his blessings on the small parish.

     The oil boom of the late 1970s and early 1980s brought a new influx of Greeks who decided it was time to reorganize. The driving force behind this movement was Dr. Alex Baskous and Tanya Clark. Through word of mouth and the telephone book approximately 300 Eastern Orthodox families were identified and invited to a reorganization meeting, which led to the church once again becoming a full time parish in 1983 with the assignment of Reverend Gregory Constantinos.

     Growth continued until the late 1980s, when a sharp decline in the oil market caused thousands of Alaskans to lose their jobs and leave the state. The parish lost half of its active membership. Despite this setback, determination and perseverance prevailed, and in 1987 the parish moved from its old location to what is still considered a “gift from God”. The parish swapped its small property for an 8,000 square foot mansion on five acres. The three-story wooden structure houses the offices, kitchen, Sunday school and meeting rooms, and an apartment. The sanctuary occupies the 36 by 18 foot former living room.

     By 1995 it was the strong desire of the community to build a traditional, Byzantine style church on the current site. A building committee was formed, under the leadership of Paul Lotakis, and with the help of Ikona Architects of San Francisco and Krochina Architects of Anchorage, a master plan was developed. After much consideration it was later determined that this plan was too large for such a small community. Ten years later, the building committee redefined the plans to suit the needs of the present community, and moved boldly forward with the goal of constructing a new church. On October 23, 2005 the Parish General Assembly overwhelmingly approved the project, including the general building plans and allocation of the funds necessary to begin final design of the new church. Proceeds from this dinner dance will go toward that effort.

      Holy Transfiguration is currently served by Reverend Leo Schefe. The parish is very Pan-Orthodox in character. Services are primarily in English and the Lord’s Prayer is recited in Greek, Arabic, Armenian, Romanian, Slavonic and Ukrainian. The Parish has an active Philoptochos, Sunday school, Greek School, and youth dance groups. The major fundraiser is the Greek Festival, which is held annually in August.