History

The Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church of Buffalo, New York worships in one of the most architecturally remarkable religious buildings in western New York, a medieval castle-like structure at the corner of Delaware Avenue and West Utica Street that has graced the Buffalo skyline since it was constructed between 1904 and 1907. The building was designed by Boston architect George F. Newton in the English Country Gothic style and built originally as the home of the North Presbyterian Church, whose congregation worshipped there for nearly half a century. As you approach the building, the eye is drawn to its massive stone tower, its pointed arches, its tracery stonework, and the stained glass windows by J. and R. Lamb Studios that illuminate the interior, including a window honoring firefighters who once saved the church from flames.

The Greek Orthodox community of Buffalo had been worshipping in a church on Oak Street and had outgrown their building when the North Presbyterian congregation announced it was relocating to new quarters in Amherst in 1952. The Orthodox congregation made plans to move and chose the available North Presbyterian building, agreeing to pay exactly what the building had cost to construct in 1907. The North Presbyterian congregation held their last service on the last Sunday of December 1952, and the Greek Orthodox congregation held its first service in the building that very afternoon, inaugurating a new era in the life of both the building and the community.

The Hellenic Orthodox Church of the Annunciation, as it is formally known, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2002 and is a City of Buffalo landmark, recognized both for the architectural distinction of the Newton building and for the significance of the Greek Orthodox community that has stewardshipped it for more than seven decades. The parish provides guided tours of the building for the public and participates in Explore Buffalo's Sacred Spaces tour series, sharing the beauty of what it calls its jewel with the people of western New York.

The Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church at 146 West Utica Street in Buffalo serves the Orthodox Christian faithful of the greater Buffalo area as a parish of the Direct Archdiocesan District of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, a diverse and growing community of faith that brings together cradle Orthodox Christians and inquirers of many backgrounds in one of the most beautiful ecclesiastical buildings in the Empire State.