The History of Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church
Holy Trinity was founded by a group of Greek immigrants who wanted to establish a house of worship for the Orthodox Christian population of Roanoke, which began growing rapidly in the early 1920’s due to immigration from Greece and Syria (now Lebanon). Between 1924 and 1925 several attempts to organize a church failed. In November of 1928, the first continuous service was held with Rev. George Vasiliadis officiating over a meat market in downtown Roanoke. Services continued until 1932, when the Great Depression forced the termination of services. The early 1930's were the worst years of the Depression when unemployment reached 35%, and many of the church’s parishioners could barely support their families, let alone the church.
But by 1938, things had turned around again, and Fr. Demitrius Cassis was able to publish the 10th anniversary album with a brief history of the church. An enterprising and energetic man, Father Cassis was largely responsible for reactivating the church and for the acquisition of the first church building. And he was resourceful: on Sundays before church, he would visit all of the Greek-owned restaurants with a collection box and collect donations. The restaurants were open seven days a week, and thus many of the owners and employees could not regularly attend church — so the church went to them! According to records, Fr. Cassis' starting salary was seventy-five dollars a month. The first church building, purchased for $7,000, was formerly a Jewish synagogue located on 700 Franklin Road. Remodeled and redecorated according to Orthodox Christian tradition, it was officially dedicated on July 25, 1937. Father Cassis served until 1944, being one of the eighteen priests who have served Holy Trinity.
After 1937, and following the end of World War I in 1945, the years were uneventful. After the early 1950's, the return of veterans resulted in increased membership and a larger number of children. It soon became evident that the Franklin facilities were inadequate. The current property was purchased for $9,500 in 1955. By 1962 the board of trustees began moving ahead with plans for the new church building. Father Joseph Vasiliou, arriving in 1963, helped spearhead the new construction, after a formal resolution on September 22 of the same year. Ground breaking was held on November 1, 1964 with His Grace Bishop Aimelianos, and construction began the very next day. The total cost of both buildings in 1965 was $120,000. His Eminence Archbishop lakovos consecrated Holy Trinity in 1978 just a few short years after the arrival of Fr. Nicholas Bacalis, then a young man full of tenacious zeal and boundless energy, who would profoundly shape the growth and development of the parish.
A church is not the building but its people, always shepherded by their priest. Most of the priests that have served in the altar of Holy Trinity have gone on to their rest. May their memory be eternal. Frs. Vasiliades, Constatinides, Dionysiou, Statheros, Cassis, Kykides, Vouros, Lazarides, Vasiliou, Maheras, Leventis, Bacalis, Chioros, Papanikolau, Nastos, Day, Galanopoulos, and now Lyketsos have all ministered by the grace given to them for either small periods of time to many decades. Others like Frs. Keritsis, Theophilos and Gantt provided guidance and support during interim periods. All were instrumental to the growth of this community.
And the people who toiled in this vineyard were many. Some names have already been mentioned. Many had restaurants, too many to mention. Some ran cleaners, shoe stores, ice cream parlors. And while the signs at Lakeside Amusement Park read, "No Jews, Blacks, Greeks or Lebanese” the young men of Holy Trinity proudly fought for their country. Many came back to kiss their loved ones, while others came back and were kissed farewell by their loved ones.
During the past century that Holy Trinity grew as a community, it also grew as a family. We hosted events, dances, and concerts. We marched in parades, fed thousands in our Holiday in Athens. We shared our heritage, opened our doors to many. But most importantly we prayed and proclaimed the Gospel of Christ in as many languages as we knew: Greek, English, Arabic, Italian, French, German, Spanish, Latin, Russian, Romanian, Albanian, Ukrainian, and others. We are grateful to all those who came before us, priests, founders, presidents, council members, choir members, altar boys, mens' and womens' organizations, those who cooked and cleaned, known and unknown, named and unnamed, the Church militant here and the Church triumphant in heaven, who have contributed to Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church. The history ends here, but the story, through God's Grace, is only just beginning.
