History

The Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church of Elkins Park, Pennsylvania carries one of the most distinguished histories in American Orthodoxy. Established in 1901, it is the sixth oldest Greek Orthodox community in the United States, older than the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America itself.

The community was founded in South Philadelphia, where Greek immigrants had begun settling in the closing years of the nineteenth century. Early priests who served the parish were missionaries who traveled great distances between Philadelphia, Washington, Pittsburgh, Lancaster, and New York to minister to the needs of the new arrivals. Among the most remarkable was the Reverend Raphael Morgan, a convert from Jamaica who was ordained at the Ecumenical Patriarchate and served the parish from 1907 to 1916. Father Raphael is recognized as the first Black Orthodox priest in America. With growing support and financial contributions from parishioners, the community purchased the All Saints Episcopal Church at 745 South 12th Street on November 13, 1908, transforming it into an Orthodox house of worship dedicated to the Evangelismos, the Annunciation. For over sixty years the South Philadelphia church, known fondly as Old Evangelismos, served as a spiritual and cultural sanctuary for generations of Greek Orthodox immigrants and their descendants.

In response to the migration of its parishioners northward and westward to the suburbs of Philadelphia, the parish relocated in the early 1960s, first settling a few blocks from its present location in Elkins Park. The present church was built in the early 1970s, and the Thyranoixia, the Opening of the Doors, was celebrated on November 18 and 19, 1972, officiated by Archbishop Iakovos. The church was consecrated on the 100th anniversary of the community in November of 2001, officiated by Archbishop Demetrios.

In November 2022, the parish celebrated the 50th anniversary of its Thyranoixia with Archbishop Elpidophoros in attendance, who noted that the Greek Orthodox Community of Philadelphia is older than the Archdiocese itself and urged the community to build on the work of those who came before.

The Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church at 7921 Old York Road in Elkins Park serves the Orthodox Christian faithful of the northern Philadelphia suburbs as a parish of the Greek Orthodox Metropolis of New Jersey within the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, a community whose roots in the Delaware Valley stretch back more than 125 years.