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.
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.
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