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.
All things are possible to him who believes.
(Mark 9:23)
Throughout our lives we have and will be tried, tested, and
stretched to our limits. Throughout the life of this community
and this family of Orthodox Christians the same can be said. We
have worked hard for nearly 50 years to keep our community
active and our faith strong. We now see the fruits of this labor
in the births and marriages of the next generation of Orthodox
Christians in this community. All this has been made possible by
our hard work and faith in God. Without him our talents and love
would not be realized. The love God has for this community is
evident in the fact that we make so much happen with so little.
A testament to our labor. It will take the same faith, love,
patience, and hard work to see us through to the completion of
our dream of a new church. As we move forward and as each of us
considers our part, our pledge, and our commitment to this
project let us not be short sighted. Let us pray that God gives
us the foresight to see our future generations and make their
future needs our present needs. The message from the Apostle
Mark holds true that all is possible with our belief and faith
in God. And also, with our belief, faith, love, and commitment
to each other.
