With the beginning of the 20thcentury, several newly arrived Greek families settled on this 59 squaremile island at the entrance of New York harbor. The early settlers were from the islands of Lemnos, Kos, Crete, Cyprus and Nafpaktos, around Sparta and Asia Minor. Many took up farming, carting their produce to Manhattan and Brooklyn by way of the ferry boats while others opened stores and restaurants in the Port Richmond area of the island, working long hours and sacrificing for their families’ future.
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 Orthodox 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. Thus, on February 10th, 1927,“The Greek Educational Society of Aristotle, Inc.” was founded. Its immediate purpose was to care for the Greek education of the Island youth and, ultimately, to erect a Greek Orthodox Church. In the summer of 1929, a two-acre site was purchased on Richmond Avenue just off Victory Boulevard. Construction began on the new Church building in early 1930 and, on May 14th of that year, the opening ceremony took place followed by the inaugural Divine Liturgy. The Church was given the name of the Holy Trinity. Later, 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.
In the 50s, the original Church building was expanded, adding a narthex, a choir loft, classrooms and office space. The project was completed in 1955, laying a cornerstone on May 13th of the same year.
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 set aside as farmers began to sell off their land to developers.
Meanwhile, Holy Trinity – St. Nicholas was served by weekend, part-time clergy sent by the Archdiocese in Manhattan. Since many new members came to the Parish, the need for a full-time priest who would serve and live on Staten Island became a necessity.In 1965, Fr. Spyridon Macris accepted the pastorate and remained at the Church until his untimely death in 1989. Fr. Macris guided the construction of a new house of worship which is the present building. Groundbreaking took place in 1968 and construction began the following year. Archbishop Iakovos blessed the opening of the new Church on April 10th, 1970, and in 1971, the beautification of the interior of the Church began.
Another great event started in 1973 – the Greek Festival. It is a special event that continues to support the ministries and needs of the Parish as well as bring cultural knowledge and community to the Island.
In 1989, Rev. Nicholas Anctil succeeded Fr. Macris after his passing. Under his guidance, the Parish continued to expand and grow. Plans were begun for a new community center and some renovations were completed on the Church building. Fr. Anctil remained until the summer of 1996 when he was succeeded by Rev. Protopresbyter Nicholas P. Petropoulakos who accepted the pastorate and began his ministry on August 1st, 1996.
During his time serving our Parish, the plans for the new community center were completed and construction began in April 1997. The Hellenic Cultural Center houses new office space,a library/council room, 14 classrooms, a restaurant-size kitchen, a basketball court and storage space.The opening ceremony was conducted by the then Archbishop of America Demetrios on December 2nd, 2001.
”May The Spirit That Guided Our Past Shine Upon The Path To Our Future”
Jim Sidiropoulos, April 2001
A few years later, on June 1st-2nd, 2013, we witnessed the greatest event in the life of our Church – the Consecration (Enkainia), the sacramental initiation and sanctification of our House of Worship.
In June of 2024, after many years of service to our Parish Fr. Nicholas retired and he was succeeded as the new Head Priest (Proistamenos) by Rev. Protopresbyter Vasileios G. Apostolidis (PhD) who joined our community initially as Assistant Priest in 2023.
Now, in 2025, we are looking forward to the centennial anniversary of our community in 2027 with the fervent hope that our Parish continues to grow and prosper, serving the needs of all its people and glorifying God for His many blessings.