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Holy Transfiguration Greek Orthodox Church of Marietta, GA
A Brief History
Founding Church Vision
On Sept. 18, 1988, sixteen people attended a meeting at Eftichia and Allen Macris’ home to discuss their need for establishing a local Greek Orthodox Church in the Northwestern suburbs of Atlanta. As the city grew and more Orthodox parishioners moved to the suburbs, more and more people found it difficult to travel to the Atlanta Cathedral for their spiritual and social needs. It became clear to these Orthodox Christians that a new parish was necessary to enable them to continue to be involved deeply with their families in the Orthodox Church.
Following this gathering, the first organizational meeting took place on November 28, 1988 at a bank building on Johnson Ferry Road. At this meeting the Northwest Metro Atlanta Hellenic Association was established and the first officers were elected. The Association proceeded to organize the first church services during Holy Week (April 23-29, 1989) at the St. James Episcopal Church in Marietta.
The process of organizing a Parish commenced; fifty families pledged their support to the project and on Sunday, August 6, 1989, the group celebrated their first Divine Liturgy as “The Holy Transfiguration Greek Orthodox Church of Marietta” at the Ray Thomas Memorial Presbyterian Church on Sandy Plains Road. A month later, the new parish moved into a renovated store-front in the Sprayberry Crossings Shopping Center were it worshiped until Christmas of 1993.
Within the first year the membership grew to 184 households and individuals.
New Growth and Future Plans
During the ensuing years, the growth of the parish was steady. The group attracted many new young families that were moving into the area. Both young and old, the people were generous in their support of the operations of the Parish and of the new plans for permanent buildings and facilities.
In 1991, through the generosity of Tony and Dora Manolius (in honor of Dora’s parents, Kimon and Despina Kutelis) the 7.5 acre tract of land on Trickum Road was purchased, which would eventually become the permanent home of the Parish.
On Christmas Eve of 1993 the Parish moved to their new location on Trickum road and into their new multipurpose facility, which they were able to build.
The efforts for growth continued and were finally crowned with the construction of a beautiful Byzantine Church. The opening of the doors took place in early January of 2004. This new leap ahead propelled the parish even further with the addition of over 100 new families. They celebrated the consecration of their Holy Sanctuary on April 27, 2013.
Today, the Parish has a membership of more than 400 families and continues its ambitious growth under the leadership of Fr. Panayiotis Papageorgiou, Ph.D. In the last few years, they have purchased 12 acres of adjacent land and embarked on a building project. At the end of July 2016 the parish completed the renovation of the older facilities and the construction of a new building, which includes new offices, new modern classrooms, a gymnasium/multipurpose hall, expanded parking and other pertinent parish spaces.
Holy Transfiguration of Marietta, stands as a beacon of Orthodoxy and Hellenism in Georgia as it provides classes for people interested in the Orthodox Faith as well as language classes for Biblical and Modern Greek. Among other things, it’s ministries also include a Hellenic Dance Program, which teaches all ages from 4-year-olds to adults. It’s Greek Festival, which takes place in May, is attended by close to 20,000 people every year and constitutes one of its greatest outreach efforts because it provides guided church-tours for thousands of visitors, exposing them to the Orthodox Faith and culture, while part of the proceeds is offered to support local charities.
Holy Transfiguration is currently in the process of establishing an Orthodox parochial school with the purpose of providing the parishioners, as well as the people of the nearby community, with a high quality elementary educational program based on a Classical and Orthodox Christian curriculum.
Glory be to God!
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