Call Number:

03

Repository:

Greek American Heritage Museum

Extent:

14.0 linear feet

Language:

English

Date:

circa 1929-2010s (bulk circa 1980s-1990s)

Creator:

Greek American Heritage Museum

Abstract:

The Greek American Heritage Society was founded in 2002 to preserve and promote Hellenic culture and to reconnect youth and adults to their Greek heritage. In 2013 the Society established the Greek American Heritage Museum in the historic Saint George's Greek Orthodox Cathedral in Philadelphia. The Greek American Heritage Museum collection on Greek churches and organizations, 1929-2010s (bulk 1980s-1990s), contains church committee records, minutes and member materials, property documents, newsletters, booklets, calendars, greeting cards, pamphlets, printed matter, and ephemera. Also included in this collection are photocopied materials, scrapbooks, convention booklets, directories, newsletters, and bylaws, as well as the administrative and financial records of the Greek Orthodox Ladies Philoptochos Society.

The Greek American Heritage Society was founded in 2002 to preserve and promote Hellenic culture and to reconnect youth and adults to their Greek heritage. The Society hosts educational and cultural programs and collects archival materials documenting the history of the Greek American community in greater Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. In 2013 the Greek American Heritage Society entered into an agreement with Saint George's Greek Orthodox Cathedral and relocated to a space in an office building adjacent to the Cathedral, where the Society established the Greek American Heritage Museum.

Many Greeks began immigrating to Philadelphia at the end of the nineteenth century. The Greek Orthodox Community of Philadelphia was established in 1901 to meet the spiritual needs of Greek Americans living in Philadelphia and to preserve Hellenic culture and tradition. The Greek Orthodox Community of Philadelphia purchased All Saints Episcopal Church on November 13, 1908 and renamed it Annunciation/Evangelismos Greek Orthodox Church. Old Evangelismos, as it is known today, was home to Greek Orthodox community of Philadelphia for almost seventy years until many of its parishioners relocated to the Philadelphia suburbs.

Some parishioners began worshiping at Saint Demetrios Parish in Upper Darby, Delaware County, Pennsylvania, while others attended worship services at 504 Elkins Avenue in Elkins Park, Delaware County. In 1969 construction was completed on the Hellenic Cultural Center in Elkins Park and on November 19, 1972 the new Annunciation/Evangelismos Greek Orthodox Church opened its doors to worshipers. Old Evangelismos was sold to a Baptist Congregation in 1967.

Philadelphia is also home to Saint George's Greek Orthodox Cathedral which was declared an historic site in 1964 by the Historic Commission of the City of Philadelphia. It was built in 1822 by noted architect John Haviland, originally as Saint Andrew's Episcopal Church. Saint Andrew's was purchased in 1922 by the Greek Orthodox Kathedrikos of Saint George and became the Cathedral of Philadelphia and the Delaware Valley in 1971.

Bibliography:

Annunciation/Evangelismos Greek orthodox Church. "Our History." 2016. Accessed June 7, 2016. http://www.anngoc.org/about-us/

Hidden City Philadelphia. "As Athens Burns in Protest, Reminders of Greek Philadelphia." 2012. Accessed June 7, 2016. http://hiddencityphila.org/2012/09/as-athens-burns-in-protest-reminders-of-greek-philadelphia/

Saint George Orthodox Cathedral. "About Our Parish." 2016. Accessed June 7, 2016. http://saintgeorgecathedral.org/

This collection consists of church committee records, minutes and member materials, property documents, newsletters, booklets, calendars, greeting cards, pamphlets, printed matter, and ephemera, dating from 1929-2010s (bulk circa 1980s-1990). Also included in the collection are photocopied materials, scrapbooks, convention booklets, directories, newsletters, and bylaws, as well as the administrative and financial records of the Greek Orthodox Ladies Philoptochos Society. Organizations represented in the collection include: the Chephalonian Society, the Greek Orthodox Church of St. Luke (Broomall, Pennsylvania), Evangelismos Church (Elkins Park, Pennsylvania), Hellenic American Educational Society, Pan-Hellenic Union in America, the Greek Orthodox Young Adult League, the North American Foundation for Modern Greek Arts, Greek Orthodox Society of North and South America, the Annunciation Ladies Educational Society of Philadelphia, Greek American Democratic Club, the Greek Orthodox Ladies Philoptochos Society, Hellenic Literature Society, and Pan-Macedonian Association, Inc.