History

The Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church of Scranton, Pennsylvania traces its origins to 1915, when a small group of Greek immigrants in the Scranton area began congregating occasionally for informal services, their hearts longing to worship in their own language and tradition. The community grew steadily through those early years and eventually established itself on Washington Avenue, where it has remained ever since.

The church building at its present Washington Avenue address was consecrated in 1926, giving the congregation a permanent and dignified home after more than a decade of informal parish life. The building itself is notable among local Greek Orthodox churches in that it does not follow the traditional Byzantine architectural style, a distinction that has made the ongoing project of incorporating traditional Byzantine iconography into the interior a meaningful and continuing act of cultural and spiritual rootedness for the community. Over the years the parish has worked steadily to bring the interior closer to the Orthodox tradition, seeking donors to support the beautification of the sanctuary.

The parish is composed primarily of first and second generation Greek Americans, and its liturgical services are celebrated in a combination of Greek and English, with the balance adjusted to reflect the congregation present on any given Sunday. Among its most beloved annual traditions is the Greek Food Festival, which has taken place for nearly forty years and draws more than 10,000 people to the church, sharing Greek culture and cuisine with the broader Wilkes-Barre and Scranton region.

The Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church at 505 North Washington Avenue in Scranton serves the Orthodox Christian faithful of northeastern Pennsylvania as a parish of the Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Pittsburgh within the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, a community that prides itself on being open to all who wish to come and see the ancient Orthodox Christian faith.