History

Saints Constantine and Helen Greek Orthodox Church of Newport News, Virginia traces its origins to the post-World War II years, when the Greek Orthodox community of the Virginia Peninsula established its first permanent house of worship. Ground was broken in January 1947, and the Byzantine-style sanctuary was completed in 1949, giving the Peninsula's Greek community a spiritual home for the first time. That original downtown church stood on West Avenue near the Victory Arch in Newport News, its Byzantine architecture making it one of the most distinctive religious buildings in the city.

Through the following three decades the parish grew and thrived in its downtown location, hosting one of the region's most beloved community traditions when the Newport News Greek Festival was launched, celebrating its fiftieth year in 2017. By the early 1980s, however, the community had outgrown its original building and the surrounding downtown had changed significantly. A new church was constructed between July 1981 and 1982, designed by architect Forrest W. Coile with Steven P. Papadatos serving as consulting architect, at a cost of $1.6 million. The original downtown sanctuary was vacated and eventually condemned in 1989, sold to the local Redevelopment and Housing Authority and subsequently proposed for redevelopment as part of broader Newport News revitalization efforts. The building's place in the city's history was recognized when it was included in a newly designated historic district, and plans have been developed to renovate it for dining and community use as part of the Yard District waterfront redevelopment.

Since 1982, Saints Constantine and Helen has served the Greek Orthodox faithful of the Virginia Peninsula from its home at 60 Traverse Road, where the community continues to gather for the Divine Liturgy, a semiannual Greek Festival drawing visitors from across the region, and the full round of Orthodox Christian worship and community life.

Saints Constantine and Helen Greek Orthodox Church at 60 Traverse Road in Newport News serves the Orthodox Christian faithful of the Virginia Peninsula as a parish of the Greek Orthodox Metropolis of New Jersey within the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America.