History

Saint Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church of Troy, Michigan traces its origins to the spring of 1936, when a group of Greek Orthodox faithful on Detroit's North Side gathered to establish their own parish. The founding meeting took place on March 9, 1936 at the home of Gust Petropoulos, and on March 29 the first Parish Council was elected, with Nicholas Kyriakou as president. The community was initially known as the Greek Orthodox Church of the North Side, with general meetings held at 242 Victor Street in Detroit and council meetings in parishioners' homes.

In 1937 the parish purchased a building at the corner of Tuxedo and Hamilton in Detroit for $18,000 and formally named itself Saint Nicholas Hellenic Orthodox Church. As the community continued to grow, land was acquired in the Palmer Park area of Detroit in 1943 for $25,000, and construction of a new church building began. The lower level was completed first, serving as the space for worship until the full church was completed in 1951 and subsequently consecrated by Archbishop Michael in a three-day consecration celebration. For decades the parish flourished as one of Detroit's important Greek Orthodox communities.

By the mid-1980s, Detroit's declining population had taken a significant toll. Parish membership had fallen from 800 to 350 families, the result of the broader suburban exodus from the city. Security concerns at the Detroit location added further urgency, and the Parish Council voted to relocate. A demographic study confirmed that Troy had become more central to where the parish's members actually lived. In 1987 an eleven-acre tract of land in Troy was purchased for approximately $210,000, with the Dean Becharas family leading the fundraising effort through a major gift of $250,000. The Detroit church was sold to a Mormon congregation for $700,000, helping finance the move.

Groundbreaking in Troy was held in the spring of 1990, with architect Constantine Pappas commissioned to design the new complex. While construction proceeded, the congregation held services at a nearby elementary school for six months. In 1992 the administrative and classroom building was completed and services were held in its south wing. The marble liturgical furnishings from the Detroit church, including the altar, pulpit, baptismal font, and prayer stands, as well as the murals and iconography, were carefully transplanted into the new sanctuary. Opening Door ceremonies were held in 1994 with Bishop Timothy presiding, and the iconostasis was installed and adorned with new icons by artist George Philippakis. Groundbreaking for a cultural center followed, and that facility opened in 1995.

In 2016 the General Assembly approved a Phase III expansion completed in 2017 and 2018, adding updated classrooms with modern technology, a renewed community center, an updated bookstore, and on-site storage. The building complex was formally consecrated in 1996, completing the parish's transition from its Detroit roots to its permanent home in suburban Oakland County. Today, Saint Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church stands at 760 West Wattles Road in Troy as a parish of the Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Detroit, a community that carried its faith, its furnishings, and its spirit across more than half a century of Detroit history and into a new chapter on the north side of metropolitan Detroit.