Saint George Greek Orthodox Church of Schenectady

History

Saint George Greek Orthodox Church of Schenectady, New York was founded in 1914, when the first Greek immigrants arrived in the city drawn by the booming industrial economy anchored by General Electric and the American Locomotive Company. These early settlers opened restaurants, fruit stands, and dry goods stores, putting down roots in what would become one of the most productive industrial cities in the Northeast. The certificate of incorporation of the Hellenic Orthodox Church of Saint George of Schenectady was signed by the first priest, Reverend Andreas Constantinides, and a founding circle of families including the Kansases, Svoloses, Contompasises, and Statheses.

Over the next twenty-three years the parish grew with the continued influx of Greek immigrants, though the Great Depression that struck Schenectady in 1931 prevented any thought of expansion, forcing many Greek businesses to close and straining the community's resources. Divine Liturgy was held on the second floor of the church building while Sunday School, Greek School, and social activities occupied the first floor. Then, on February 7, 1937 at 3:14 in the morning, a fire of unknown origin erupted and completely destroyed the church. Undaunted, the 150 member families joined together to raise $45,000, an enormous sum during the depths of the Depression. They worshipped temporarily at the Swedish Baptist Church on Swan Street and at Turner's Hall on Albany Street while the new church was built, and in 1939 the present Saint George Greek Orthodox Church was completed.

By the 1950s the parish had grown beyond what its basement could accommodate for social functions and programs. Five lots on Liberty Street adjacent to the church property were purchased. On April 23, 1961 the cornerstone of a new Hellenic Center was sealed into place and on June 11, 1961 the Center officially opened, with Archbishop Iakovos traveling to Schenectady for the Dedication Ceremony alongside US Congressman Samuel S. Stratton, New York State Senator Owen M. Begley, and Schenectady City Manager Arthur Blessing. In 1963 the parish was honored to display the historic Russian Orthodox icon of the Virgin of Kazan, then on tour through the United States.

Saint George has also nurtured clergy of distinction. The parish served as the childhood parish of Metropolitan Nicholas of Detroit and Bishop Dimitrios of Xanthos, and the Very Reverend Philip Koutoufas, who served Saint George, later became Bishop Philip of Atlanta.

Saint George Greek Orthodox Church at 107 Clinton Street in Schenectady serves the Orthodox Christian faithful of the Capital Region as a parish of the Direct Archdiocesan District of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, a community that has stood for well over a century as a beacon of Orthodox Christian faith in the city that brought electricity to the world.