History

The Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church of Lancaster, Pennsylvania was founded in 1921 by a small number of Greek immigrant families who had settled in Lancaster County and sought fellowship, family, and a place to practice their faith in their new homeland. By 1923, at a congregational meeting, 185 Greek men had identified themselves as members of the young church, a remarkable indication of how quickly the community had taken root in a city more commonly associated with the Pennsylvania Dutch and Amish traditions of its surrounding countryside.

The parish established its first home at 215 South Queen Street in the city of Lancaster, where it served the community for nearly four decades. As the congregation grew and its needs expanded, the decision was made to move to a larger facility with more room for education and community life. In 1960 the parish relocated to 64 Hershey Avenue, its present home, and approximately a decade later expanded the complex with a larger educational and social center to serve its growing membership.

What began as a church of a handful of Greek immigrant families has grown into a flourishing congregation of approximately 550 families representing more than twenty ethnicities, including families from Russia, Romania, Serbia, Egypt, and many other traditionally Orthodox lands alongside the descendants of the original Greek founders and a growing number of American-born converts. That diversity reflects a deliberate and welcoming openness that has made the Annunciation one of the most vibrant Orthodox communities in central Pennsylvania.

In October 2021, the parish celebrated its centennial with a gala at the Lancaster Marriott Hotel, honoring a hundred years of faith, tradition, language, and community built by successive generations of the faithful who understood the church as the place that keeps families and heritage together.

The Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church at 64 Hershey Avenue in Lancaster serves the Orthodox Christian faithful of Lancaster County as a parish of the Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Pittsburgh within the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America.