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The church started off with a few Greeks linked by their religious enthusiasm, this gave them the new goal of assimilating into the melting pot of a home they called New York. They came with the dream of one day opening a church. The  St. Demetrios community has been in around for 80 years and its progress has been extraordinary.  It is one of the fastest growing especially among the Parish.

The very first organized meeting of Greeks included also the residents of Corona and took place on December 18, 1923 at the Archdiocese which was then located on 30th Drive in Astoria. Immediately following these few Greek families received permission from Archbishop  of the time, Archbishop Rodostolou, to attend services in the Archdiocesan chapel of St. Athanasios on 30th Drive. At that time, the first Greek School was established.

The people then felt a need to organize their own Church and in 1927 the ground on which St. Demetrios stands today, was purchased for $3,500. An architect was engaged and a $25,000 structure was agreed upon which could later serve as a basement for the someday completed structure of their dream.

With only $306.00 in their treasury, these immigrant people gathered together in 1927 gathered together to form a charter with the State of New York and proclaimed the “Hellenic Orthodox Community of Astoria, St. Demetrios Inc.” as their official name. A few days after this a cornerstone was laid at the present site of our St. Demetrios Church and only a short six months later on in the year 1928 the basement was Consecrated as the first Church building of the Community with Metropolitan Germanos Polzoidis as its pastor.

From the inception of the Community an afternoon Greek School and S.S Program was organized to hold on to the Greek language, customs, traditions and religion.

For nine years the parish worshiped in small semi-basement Church. During holidays a tent was pitches on the grounds to accommodate the people. Meanwhile they yearned and planned for the time when they could realize their goal and complete the structure of St. Demetrios as they have originally dreamt of it. These were the years of the great depression and it wasn’t until 1936 before they could actually being building again. It took six years, but in 1942, the St. Demetrios Church as we know it today opened its doors. Five more years were needed to decorate the interior.

After much struggle in 1957 the Center was completed and consecrated. It was September of that same year when St. Demetrios opened up its first Day School, with 267 kids, grades Kindergarten through eighth. As those children crossed the threshold, they carried with them the wholes future of the community; the education of its Greek-American youth.

In their attempt to then attack the age old problem of enlarging the Church they realized that another site was inevitable and the 33rd Street property was purchased in 1968 for $150,000. A committee was formed to raise and build the $1,093,000 neo-Byzantine, three tiered structure. The ceremonial opening took place and the Consecration followed on October 26, 1975.

In 1967, along with all the plans for the new church, ways and means were being sought to alleviated the congestion at St. Demetrios School, and accommodate the many students on waiting lists. A study was made to renovate the large auditorium of the Community Center and divide it into classrooms. This idea was shelved as the community was still caught up in the building of St. Catherine and George. With this new building completed the kindergarten and first grades were moved to the classrooms there in September 1974.

Nevertheless, St. Demetrios School was still overcrowded. So in 1974 a building next door to St. Catherine’s was purchased for $125.000 to be renovated to create more classroom space. To further their aim to educate their young two more buildings were purchased on 30th Street for a cost of $130,000.

On May 9, 1982, the opening ceremony took place marking the opening of the last component, the new High School building.

On June 12, 1985, a letter was received by the church’s clergy leader announcing the elevation of the Saint Demetrios church of a cathedral.

Services:

• Marriage
• Holy Baptism
• Confession
• Blessing
• Divorce
• Funeral

Organizations:

• GOYA (sports teams)
• YAL – mission statement: Our group meets once a week for religious discussion and questions you have always wanted to ask a priest. Also, we participate in philanthropic events such as the Midnight Run that feeds and cloths the homeless, yearly pilgrimages to destinations such as Constantinople, Rome, Greece, Jerusalem, and various other social events.
• Philoptohos (charity organization)
• Sunday School
• Boy Scouts
• Girl Scouts

For more information on the organizations check out the St Demetrios website:

http://www.saintdemetriosastoria.com/cathedral/index.html

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