History

The history of Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church of Bridgeport, Connecticut begins at the turn of the twentieth century, when Greek immigrants first began settling in the city. One of the first permanent Greek residents, Aristides Angelopoulos, arrived in 1901, and by 1910 the U.S. Census counted 194 Greeks living in Bridgeport. In 1911, Nicholas Vlantes and Aristides Angelopoulos organized the seventh chapter of the Pan Hellenic Union with 50 charter members, the group that would become the direct foundation of the parish. The Very Reverend Archimandrite Methodios Kourkoulis celebrated the first Greek Orthodox Divine Liturgy in Bridgeport on Thanksgiving Day 1912 at the Russian Orthodox Church on Hallett Street.

On April 6, 1913, eleven members of the Pan Hellenic Union formally convened to establish a Greek Orthodox community in Bridgeport. The first Board of Directors was elected, services began in May 1913 at the YMCA on Main and Gilbert Streets, and on November 8, 1913 the first permanent priest, Rev. Dionysios Papadatos, was assigned. Father Papadatos also founded the first Greek language school that same year. In July 1915, following a successful building fund drive, the community purchased a former Swedish Methodist Episcopal Church at 36 West Liberty Street for $8,500, giving the parish its first permanent home. In its early years the church also served Syrian, Albanian, and Romanian Orthodox faithful in the area, functioning as a shared spiritual home for all Orthodox Christians in Bridgeport.

A brief division in the community in 1920 led to the formation of a second parish, the Annunciation, on Myrtle Avenue. The separation was short-lived. Two years later, in an act of generosity and reconciliation, Orestes Regas donated the Myrtle Avenue building back to Holy Trinity, which used it as a Greek school while continuing services at West Liberty Street. Under the determined leadership of President Anthony Smith, and even amid the hardships of the Great Depression, the community broke ground on a new church on the corner of Myrtle Avenue and Prospect Street. The edifice was completed by Easter 1937 at a cost exceeding $50,000, a remarkable achievement for the era. The church interior was completed by February 1946, and the formal Consecration of Holy Trinity on Myrtle Avenue took place on October 22, 1950.

By the late 1950s the parish had outgrown its Myrtle Avenue home. On December 13, 1957, the General Assembly approved the purchase of a 4.1-acre site at 4070 Park Avenue for $40,000. Then, in November 1959, the State Highway Department announced the relocation of Route 25, and the Myrtle Avenue church was sold to the State of Connecticut for $357,000, providing the financial foundation for the new complex. Archbishop Iakovos officiated at the groundbreaking on December 4, 1960. The new church, community hall, classrooms, and youth center, at the time the largest Greek Orthodox church complex in Connecticut, were built at a cost of approximately $775,000. The first service at 4070 Park Avenue was held on November 6, 1966.

The interior iconography, executed in the 14th century Byzantine style, was completed by Easter 1978 through the work of John Papaspiliopoulos of Byzantine Icon Studios, New York. On November 25, 1979, Archbishop Iakovos formally consecrated the completed church at Park Avenue, with Ari D. Coclin serving as Godfather of Holy Trinity and receiving the gold key to open its doors. In 1986 a major renovation was undertaken at a cost of $1,180,000, including a new roof, heating and air-conditioning system, and refurbished interior, all completed by Easter 1987.

Today, Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church stands at 4070 Park Avenue as an architectural gem in the heart of Bridgeport, its golden cupola and Byzantine iconography welcoming a diverse community of faithful from across the greater Bridgeport area and beyond.