About Our Parish

Around the turn of the century several Greek families settled on this 59 square-mile island found at the entrance to New York harbor. The early settlers were from the islands of Lemnos, Kos, Crete, and Nafpaktos, the areas around Sparta and Asia Minor. Many took up farming and would cart their produce to Manhattan and Brooklyn by way of the ferry boats.

For those Greeks who lived on the northern side of the island, attending church meant a trip across "The Narrows" to Brooklyn or a lengthier trip to Manhattan.  For those on the southern side the nearest church was in Perth Amboy, New Jersey.

As the Greek population grew, the need to organize a formal community and establish a Greek School became evident.  In 1927 the "Greek Educational Society Aristotle Inc." was formed.  This society was the catalyst for the future Parish.

In January 1930 construction began on the church building and on May 25 the doors of the Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church were opened. The name St. Nicholas was added in the late 40s because St. Nicholas is the patron saint of islanders and also to honor parishioner Nicholas Skunakis, who served as the volunteer chanter for 31 years until his death in 1959.

The opening of the Verrazano Bridge changed the life and culture of the island as many people moved to Staten Island from Brooklyn and the other boroughs. The farms were doomed as farmers began to sell off their land to developers. 

Many new members came to Holy Trinity - St. Nicholas which caused the Parish to hire the first full-time priest, Fr. Spyridon Macris. He served the Parish from 1965 until 1989, the date of his untimely death.  He was succeeded by Rev. Nicholas Anctil, who served until 1996.  The present Pastor is Rev. Nicholas P. Petropoulakos.

A new Church Building was opened in 1970 and a new Community Center with spacious office areas, 14 classrooms, a full service kitchen and a regulation-sized basketball court/multi-purpose room has been completed.  Church and Community center serve the needs of the nearly 1,000 Greek Orthodox families of Staten Island.

 

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