History

The Greek Orthodox Community of Eugene was founded in February 1977, when five families began meeting in hopes of establishing a Greek Orthodox church in the Willamette Valley. Prior to that date, the only Greek Orthodox church in Oregon was Holy Trinity in Portland, and Orthodox faithful throughout the Willamette Valley had no parish of their own. With the help of clergy and laity, the first Divine Liturgy was celebrated in March 1977, and regular monthly services began that May, sustained by the Portland clergy who traveled south to serve the small but committed group of Orthodox Christians who had gathered in Eugene.

Fundraising efforts began almost immediately, and the first Greek Festival in Eugene was held in 1983, launching a community tradition that has continued for more than four decades. In 1987 a five-acre parcel of land was purchased at the current address on Hillview, and the small group continued its monthly services in borrowed spaces, relying on the kindness and hospitality of other Christian churches in the area who lent them room to worship. With the eventual assignment of a full-time priest, the community of thirty-five families set about formally establishing an Orthodox presence in the Eugene and Springfield area. Groundbreaking for a multi-purpose hall on the purchased land took place on May 10, 1992. On December 5, 1993, the church was officially named Saint George Greek Orthodox Church, and on May 8, 1994, the doors of the new hall opened to the faithful for the first time. Construction of an addition began in 2004, creating five classrooms and expanded kitchen and meeting space, accommodating the continued growth of the community.

Saint George Greek Orthodox Church at 202 Hillview in Eugene serves the Orthodox Christian faithful of the Eugene and Springfield area as a parish of the Greek Orthodox Metropolis of San Francisco within the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, a vibrant faith community of people of all ages and backgrounds who have made it their home in the heart of the Willamette Valley.