History

Saint Iakovos Greek Orthodox Church of Valparaiso, Indiana was established in 1981, bringing Orthodox Christian worship to the communities of northwest Indiana for the first time. For more than four decades the parish worshipped in a succession of borrowed and rented spaces throughout the Valparaiso area, sustained by the dedication of a community that remained small in number but large in its faith and commitment to the ancient Orthodox tradition.

The parish is named for Archbishop Iakovos of North and South America, the beloved Primate of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America from 1959 to 1996, who marched alongside Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in Selma, Alabama in 1965 and whose long and visionary tenure shaped the face of Orthodoxy in the Western Hemisphere. His name and memory remain a living inspiration for the Valparaiso community he inspired.

After many years of sacrifice and service, the community completed construction of its own permanent church building, and on June 14, 2025, Archbishop Elpidophoros of America presided over the Thyranoixia, the Opening of the Doors, before a standing-room congregation. The first full Divine Liturgy in the new church was celebrated the following morning, June 15, 2025, completing a journey of more than forty years. In the twelve months leading up to that milestone, the parish welcomed more than twenty-eight catechumens through Baptism or Chrismation, a remarkable sign of growth for a community of approximately 150 families. The Lord's Prayer is recited at Saint Iakovos in English, Greek, Serbian, and Arabic, reflecting the diverse Orthodox Christian community that has gathered around the ancient faith in northwest Indiana.

Saint Iakovos Greek Orthodox Church in Valparaiso serves the Orthodox Christian faithful of northwest Indiana as a parish of the Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Chicago within the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America.