History

Saint Basil the Great Greek Orthodox Church of San Jose, California was born from a vision of growth and outreach in Silicon Valley. In 1983, parishioners of Saint Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church in San Jose approached Bishop Anthony with a request to establish a Growth and Expansion Team to extend the reach of Orthodox Christianity into the rapidly developing southern reaches of the city. By 1984 that team had been incorporated as the Greek Orthodox Church of San Jose, and in late 1985 the fledgling community purchased a former Baptist church building at 6430 Bose Lane in the Almaden Valley neighborhood, the property that has been the parish's home ever since. In 1986 Bishop Anthony granted the community a charter designating it as a mission church, and the dedicated work of turning a Baptist building into a proper Orthodox sanctuary began. Parishioners foraged for icons, liturgical furnishings, and sacred items, including a cross and a window etched with the Annunciation that were acquired from Saint Nicholas Ranch and installed in the sanctuary, their placement a reminder of the community's God-given task of proclaiming the Good News of Jesus Christ.

In 1995 a significant remodeling and refurbishment of the Sanctuary and Community Hall was undertaken to create a more appropriate environment for Orthodox worship and to better serve the parish's growing Sunday School and ministries. Church architect Chris Kamages was commissioned to redesign the interior, with funding provided by parishioner George Elliot and the broader faithful of Saint Basil. The parish has grown across four decades into a diverse and outward-facing Orthodox Christian community, with services and studies conducted primarily in English, reflecting a congregation drawn from several ethnic groups who have gathered around the ancient faith in the heart of Silicon Valley.

Saint Basil the Great Greek Orthodox Church at 6430 Bose Lane in San Jose serves the Orthodox Christian faithful of the South Bay as a parish of the Greek Orthodox Metropolis of San Francisco within the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, a welcoming community committed to the authentic proclamation of Orthodox Christianity and the care of its neighbors in the tradition of the great saint whose name it bears.