Saint Catherine Greek Orthodox Church of Braintree

History

Following the Second World War, a growing number of Greek Orthodox families began settling in the southern and western suburbs of Boston, communities that stretched along what would become known as the South Shore. Through the late 1950s those families were being served by clergy from Boston, but by 1959 it had become apparent that a new church was needed at the gateway to the South Shore to serve the spiritual, educational, cultural, and social needs of the faithful spread across the cities and towns of the region.

In 1959 a group of dedicated families organized the South Shore Hellenic Association with the express purpose of establishing a Greek Orthodox church in a location accessible to most of the faithful on the South Shore. After a period of search, negotiation, and fundraising, the Association purchased the United First Parish Church of Quincy, located on Beale and Farrington Streets, renovating and converting it into an Orthodox church with all the essential liturgical appointments. The newly established parish began functioning on October 23, 1960, formally incorporated by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in December 1961 as the Greek Orthodox Community of South Shore. The church was dedicated to and named after the Great Martyr Catherine, the saintly and learned maiden of Alexandria. Catherine Pappas, the longtime president of the National Philoptochos Society, was declared patron and sponsor of the church.

Within two decades the parish had outgrown the Beale Street property and its limited possibilities for expansion. In 1982 the community made a bold move, purchasing the six-acre site of the former Pappas Farm and Picnic Grounds near Interstate 93 in Braintree, a location at the crossroads of the South Shore that gave the parish both visibility and accessibility. In 2001 prominent Orthodox church architect Christ Kamages was engaged to design a new complex, and in October 2004 the doors of the newly completed community and educational center were opened, with the grand hall serving as an interim sanctuary while the permanent church was built. Construction on Phase II began in the summer of 2007, and the distinctive brick Byzantine-style church was completed in 2008, its handsome facade and imposing form a splendid new landmark at the gateway to the South Shore. The magnanimous gifts of Grand Patrons George and Caterina Sakellaris made the completion of the project possible.

Saint Catherine Greek Orthodox Church at 119 Common Street in Braintree serves the Orthodox Christian faithful of the South Shore as a parish of the Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Boston within the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America.