As religious observers noted this week, the foundations of Orthodoxy in Utah go much deeper than the physical ones poured for Holy Trinity Cathedral and Prophet Elias Greek Orthodox Church.
Members of the two Salt Lake churches - an integral part of the Greek community that is estimated at between 5,000 and 8,000 in the Salt Valley alone - celebrated 90 years in Utah on Oct. 27-29.The community has its roots in Salt Lake City's Greek Town, which was once dotted with small brick and frame houses, coffeehouses and a Greek newspaper. The town, which was located along 200 South from about 200 West to 800 West, has disappeared.
Those who lived there, including miners, railroad and smelter workers and their families, have also long since disappeared from the vicinity near Holy Trinity Cathedral, 279 S. 300 West.
The church is the last vestige of Salt Lake's old immigrant district of the first 25 years of this century, says author and historian Helen Papanikolas, who addressed one of several gatherings last week in celebration the anniversary.
Although a few Greek immigrants found their way to Utah around 1875, most began arriving in Utah and the Salt Lake area around the turn of the century. They were perhaps the last of the ethnic groups from southern Europe to come to the United States.
By 1904, there were a sizable number of immigrants in the Salt Lake area. On Jan. 22, 1905, 200 of them gathered to organize the Greek community of Utah. And they made immediate plans to raise money to build a church, petitioning the patriarchate at Constantinople (now Istanbul, Turkey) to send a priest to Salt Lake City. The first priest was Parthenios Lynberopoulos, according to Constantine J. Skedros, parish his-to-ri-an.
The first church, located at 439 W. 400 South, was dedicated Oct. 29, 1905. By 1915, an expanding Greek population and increasing church membership prompted the construction of the church on 300 West. The first divine liturgy was held there Aug. 15, 1924. Constructed in the shape of a cross and topped with a dome, the church is patterned after typical Byzantine architecture.
Construction of the more modern-styled Prophet Elias Greek Orthodox Church was completed in December 1969 at 5335 Highland Drive, to meet growing demands of the parish.
The Rev. John Kaloudis, head priest of the community, says one of the distinguishing features of Orthodoxy is its "changelessness . . . we are essentially the same church that was started by Christ."
Another unique factor of the Orthodox Church, the Rev. Kaloudis said, is that "we have apostolic succession. The church was founded by Christ, and we can trace our lineage back to the original apostles."
Religious services are conducted in Greek and English at both Holy Trinity and at Prophet Elias Greek Orthodox Churches. A Serbian Orthodox Church was located in Midvale in the 1920s, but the parish was not able to survive, mainly because of a lack of funds. Many Serbians opted to join the Greek Orthodox Church, which is the same as the Serbian Orthodox Church, except for the language. Skedros said Holy Trinity's membership includes a number of Serbian and Russian families who immigrated to Utah.
The Greek community, the 14th oldest in the Archdiocese of North America, sponsors a yearly Greek Festival and operates the Hellenic Cultural Museum. It has Sunday schools, Greek (educational) schools, an extensive youth program, a Young Adult League, and the Philoptohos Society (means "Friend of the Poor"), which is somewhat similar to the Mormon Church's Relief Society. It has a Charities Committee, which distributes some of the festival proceeds to social and welfare organizations in the area.
Skedros says he sees a "very strong Greek Orthodox community to celebrate another 100 years."
Smaller Greek congregations in Ogden (Greek Orthodox Transfiguration) and Price (Greek Orthodox Assumption) each contain membership in the hundreds. Fluctuations in those local economies have kept membership fluid there.
Greek families, he said, believe in rearing strong families. They support strong educational programs and "in contributing something to the community, not taking away from it. The focal point of the community is, of course, the Greek Orthodox Church. It's their religion. We are attempting to keep this religion a going thing for the younger generation and for future generations."
The historian's son, James C. Skedros, a doctoral candidate at Harvard Divinity School, recently discussed the "The Future of Orthodoxy in America" at Prophet Elias Greek Orthodox Church.
He called for more lay member involvement in local parishes and said Greek Orthodox members "have been given a (great) legacy. It is the legacy of those who came before us, those who built our churches, organized a national archdiocesan administration, established programs and gave us the opportunity to learn our faith. As in the parable of the talents, we have a responsibility towards this legacy. The challenge is clear. May God guide us in our endeavor to meet the challenge."