History

The Greek Orthodox community of Marlborough, Massachusetts made its first attempt to establish a parish in 1912, gathering in a hall at Liberty and Main Streets where the faithful built a small chapel. Economic hardship cut that effort short, but the community regrouped in 1916, calling all Greek Orthodox residents to a General Assembly where it was unanimously agreed to formally establish a community under the name The Greek Orthodox Community of Saints Anargyroi. A hall on Main Street was rented for the celebration of the Divine Liturgy, and a Constitution was adopted.

By 1924, the community was ready to plant permanent roots. On March 9th of that year, the membership voted to purchase a church building, and on May 1st, 1924, a property on Central Street was secured for $2,500. The Community received its official charter from the State of Massachusetts on August 14th, 1924, its stated purpose being the establishment of a religious society for the benefit of the Greek Orthodox residents of Marlborough. The cornerstone was laid on June 14th, 1925, and construction was completed by December of that year. The first Divine Liturgy in the new church was celebrated on Christmas Day, 1925. The following year, the first Sunday School was established and the first choir was formed.

The decades that followed brought steady growth and deepening roots. The church mortgage was paid off in full in 1941, leaving the community debt-free for the first time. A parish home was purchased in 1954, along with picnic grounds on Milham Road. A new altar and ecclesiastical furnishings were installed in 1956 through the efforts of the Ladies Society Enosis. In 1972, the community erected a spacious school and educational center adjacent to the church, and in 1974 the narthex was beautified with a striking new mosaic icon of Saints Anargyroi, donated by the GOYA.

The most devastating chapter in the parish's history came in February 2001, when a fire gutted the church. The addition housing classrooms and offices was completely destroyed, and the original edifice was ravaged. St. Mary's Roman Catholic Church of Marlborough graciously opened its doors, offering office space and a hall for services while the community worked to rebuild. Six months after the fire, the broader Marlborough community responded with an extraordinary show of solidarity. A fundraiser titled Together We Can Rebuild, organized by Marlborough Community Services and the Marlborough/Hudson Clergy Association, drew over 750 people to the Holiday Inn, with the hotel donating all the food. More than $30,000 was raised in a single evening. On November 1, 2003, the feast day of patron saints Cosmas and Damian, the parish came home to a fully restored and slightly enlarged church.

In April 2010, groundbreaking was held for a new Hellenic Hall on land adjacent to the church, funded through a unanimously approved $1.2 million appropriation. His Eminence Metropolitan Methodios of Boston blessed the completed hall on February 6, 2011, and later that year installed Fr. Gregory Christakos as the parish's presiding priest. Today, Saints Anargyroi continues to grow as a Christ-centered community at 9 Central Street, offering worship, fellowship, and outreach to the faithful of Marlborough and the surrounding region.