History

Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Cathedral of Phoenix, Arizona is the oldest Greek Orthodox church in the state, its history inseparable from the story of Greeks who came to a frontier desert city and built something enduring from the ground up.

Arizona had not yet achieved statehood in 1909 when the first Greeks arrived in Phoenix, then a dusty but bustling city of barely eleven thousand people. They were two brothers, Charles and Chris Sanichas, who had immigrated from Greece in 1907 and made their way westward from Chicago, where each opened fruit and confectionary stores in downtown Phoenix. Over the following years more Greek-born individuals arrived, establishing families, starting businesses, and maintaining the faith and culture of the old country while learning English and becoming fully American in the life of their adopted community.

Ten Greek businessmen eventually decided to formalize what had grown into a genuine community, each donating $50 to obtain a charter from the State of Arizona. In fall 1929 the founding families held their first general assembly and voted to buy property near downtown. A local contractor was awarded $15,900 to build a church and adjoining community hall on an unpaved street at 333 East Virginia Avenue, and on March 25, 1931, the first Divine Liturgy was celebrated by a visiting priest. The Reverend Ieronimos Koutroulis became the first resident priest, beginning with the Easter service in April 1931 and serving through 1947.

As the congregation grew across the following decades and the Virginia property aged, parish president George P. Kokalis sparked the decision in 1972 to sell the original site and move to a seventeen-and-a-half-acre property at 1973 East Maryland Avenue. The new church at Maryland, completed in phases, contained at the time of its construction the largest installation of colored faceted glass in the Southwestern United States, eight monumental panels by artist Ken Toney installed in 1974 and 1975 depicting scenes from the life of Christ. Hand-painted iconography by a trained iconographer from Greece enriched the interior further. Archbishop Iakovos consecrated the church on February 27, 1983, with the participation of several bishops and fifty-two godparents, from among whom John P. Trebellas was chosen by lot as representative godparent to unlock the doors. On February 7, 1988, Bishop Anthony elevated Holy Trinity to the rank of Cathedral.

Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Cathedral at 1973 East Maryland Avenue in Phoenix serves the faithful of greater Phoenix and the surrounding Valley of the Sun as a parish of the Greek Orthodox Metropolis of San Francisco, known throughout the region as the Jewel of the Desert and host of the Hellenic Museum of Phoenix, which preserves vintage photographs and records of the pioneer Greek families who built Arizona alongside their church.