History

A handful of Greek immigrants made their way to Danbury, Connecticut in the early decades of the twentieth century, and through their love and dedication they laid the foundations for what would become the Assumption Greek Orthodox Church. Archbishop Athenagoras of North and South America, later to become the 268th Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, visited Danbury during those formative years and offered his blessing and encouragement. A corporation was established according to state laws, and in 1938 a charter was granted by the Archdiocese. The first regular church services were held in a building on Main Street under the first permanent priest, Father Theodore Scartsiaris.

In 1940 the community purchased the home of T.C. Millard at 9 Fairview Avenue, which served as both church and community center. In 1952 a fund drive was launched to renovate the Victorian house's interior into a proper sanctuary and transform its exterior to reflect its new purpose as an Orthodox house of worship. Work was completed in 1953, and the community was able to progress through the following decade. With the assignment of Father John Orfanakos in 1962, a new era of growth began for the Assumption Church. In the fall of 1979, the parish house on Seneca Road was sold and a down payment made on property at 30 Clapboard Ridge Road overlooking the city of Danbury. In 1980, Mrs. Anastasia Carastratis made a generous donation of $59,000 in memory of her children to the Assumption Building Fund, an inspiring act that galvanized the parish to launch a drive for an entirely new church. An architect was commissioned and a beautiful Byzantine church was designed, its prominent hilltop position giving it a commanding view over the city and making it a beacon of Orthodox Christianity on the Danbury skyline.

In June 1979 the parish launched its annual Greek Experience Festival, which grew into one of the primary cultural events for the greater Danbury area. On September 25, 1988, the parish celebrated its fiftieth anniversary with Bishop Isaiah and Bishop Athenagoras representing Archbishop Iakovos, with ABC news anchor Ernie Anastos, whose grandfather Father Anastasios Anastasiou had served the parish from 1943 to 1947, among the special guests in attendance.

Assumption Greek Orthodox Church at 30 Clapboard Ridge Road in Danbury serves the Orthodox Christian faithful of Fairfield County as a parish of the Direct Archdiocesan District of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America.