Parish History: The Decade of the Sixties - Laying the Foundation for Future Growth

As the decade of the fifties came to a close and a new decade was beginning, the post- war baby boom had its effect on St. Vasilios as well. The membership of the parish began to grow, and its composition was slowly changing. Mixed marriages became increasingly common, and the number of exclusively English-speaking parishioners rose proportionately. This combination of growth and change in the composition of the parish became a cause for concern among parish leaders. It was becoming increasingly apparent that new pastoral leadership, representing the next generation of American-born and educated priests, was needed if the demands of the future were to be met. After much soul searching, the board reluctantly decided to ask the Archdiocese for a change in priests. Fr. Xanthakis graciously stepped aside to become the much-loved pastor of St. Demetrios Church in Biddeford, ME, which he served until his retirement from the active priesthood. Upon his retirement, he returned to Peabody to live out his years and to serve as a pastor in residence for both the Peabody and Lynn churches. He remained active until his final illness and passed away on September 29, 1974. At that time, another historic first was marked. All other pastors who had served St. Vasilios had moved elsewhere at the conclusion of their pastorates. Fr. Xanthakis, therefore, became the first pastor of the parish to be buried from St. Vasilios Church. At his lying in state in the nave, many hundreds of parishioners paid their respects, and his funeral took place on October 3, 1974, with numerous civic officials, Peabody Clergy Association members and more than 30 diocesan priests in attendance. He was laid to rest in Cedar Grove Cemetery.

Fr. Xanthakis was succeeded by the Rev. Fr. Stanley Harakas on August 1, 1961. He arrived from the parish of the Annunciation in Lancaster, PA. Fr. Harakas was a focused, goal-oriented pastor who began to inaugurate changes immediately upon assuming his responsibilities. One of his first initiatives was to begin the publication of a parish bulletin, which first appeared during the pastorate of Fr. Paleologos. Fr. Harakas renamed the bulletin “Orthodox Life,” and it was mailed to each parish home on a weekly basis. In its early years, a committee of volunteers headed by Margaret Demas Fudala printed the bulletin in-house. After 10 years of continuous publication, however, the number of parishioners receiving the bulletin had grown dramatically, and it became necessary to have it printed commercially. Now in its 46th year of continuous publication, “Orthodox Life” is a multi-page monthly that has proven to be a vital tool of parish communication and education.

Fr. Harakas also turned his attention to the Church School, the choir and the P.T.A. and revitalized their contribution to parish life. At his suggestion, the Parish Council also undertook a study of the parish as a whole in order to determine how best to meet the needs of its future. Among the many topics which the survey committee, led by its chairman, James Xindaris, examined were estimates of future growth, long-term projections of building needs and possible expansions of the programs offered by the church to meet the needs of a rapidly changing parish demographic.

At this point the committee made an historic decision to engage the services of a professional church survey organization from the Boston University School of Theology. Working together, the church committee of volunteers, along with the professionals, was able for the first time to acquire an accurate statistical profile of the parish. In the course of their work, more than 3,000 personal census forms were filled out, over 350 parishioners were personally contacted and interviewed and much of the parish’s organizational leadership was consulted.

As the survey was being conducted, the Gargas property adjacent to the Greek School building became available, and on October 28, 1962, a General Assembly of the membership authorized its purchase. In January of 1963, the Spero property across the street from the recently purchased Gargas property became available, and the Parish Council voted on February 7, 1963, to take out a six-month option on the property, pending the approval of its purchase by the General Assembly. That approval was granted in May of the following year, and the property became available for possible future parish needs.

The survey committee continued its work throughout the summer of 1963 and completed its recommendations by the end of September. On October 22, 1963, the committee presented its findings to the trustees at a joint meeting of both bodies. The committee concluded that a major expansion of parish facilities was a critical need. It was important that the community construct a center that could house classroom space, as well as facilities for youth programs and various parish functions. It also recommended that the parish facilities be moved from Paleologos Street to a multi-acre tract of land located at 85 Andover Street near the North Shore Shopping Center. In offering its conclusion, the committee reasoned that the new location was more centrally located and afforded easier access, and, in addition, had the acreage available to meet any future, but as yet unforeseen, parish needs. The committee also pointed out that the new location, absent the current density and congestion of Paleologos Street, would be more aesthetically pleasing.

After considerable debate, the Board of Trustees accepted the basic recommendations of the committee and submitted them to the membership of the parish for its approval. The meeting was held on December 19, 1963, and was attended by a large number of parishioners. The presentation of the committee was extensive and detailed, and the discussion was also contentious and long. At its conclusion, however, the recommendations of the committee were decisively defeated, and the assembly then unanimously decided that “the church and school remain at their present location and that any building or land acquisition be confined to the immediate area.” Although the relocation of the church was rejected, the assembly did, in principle, accept the need for the construction of additional facilities and implicitly approved that the necessary planning begin.

On May 14, 1964, the General Assembly voted to authorize the construction of a new building including a multi-purpose hall, kitchen, meeting rooms and classrooms. It also approved the remodeling of the old school as well as of the church vestry. Finally, it authorized the purchase of the Spero property for $7,500 for future needs.

Following the historic vote, Fr. Harakas and the trustees sought to mobilize the support of the parish, and the necessary fund raising began in earnest. Two committees were formed. The first was the Building Committee, which was charged with the responsibility of supervising the actual design and construction of the new facilities. It worked under the chairmanship of Paul Apostolides. The second committee, chaired by Atty. George Leventis, was to lead the fund-raising effort.

The architectural firm of Kubitz and Pepi was selected to design the building, and ground-breaking ceremonies were held on March 28, 1965, with His Eminence, Metropolitan Iakovos of Philadelphia, a member of the Holy Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, presiding. On January 2, 1966, the St. Vasilios Educational Center was officially dedicated. His Eminence, Archbishop Iakovos, Primate of the Greek Orthodox Church in the Americas, presided over the weekend of celebration and ceremonies. The cost of the building, together with the remodeling of the existing church and school building, had been completed at a cost of $423,950.

As a direct result of the completion of this vital project, new programs were initiated, and activities that were formerly held elsewhere were now consolidated within the parish complex of buildings. Both the scope and number of parish activities increased substantially, and those that already existed were improved by the availability of the new facilities and space.

The year 1965 also saw the passage of the 1965 Immigration Act, which radically changed the rules of immigration. The quota system was abolished and replaced by preferences granted to family members wishing to be reunited with those already in America. As a result, the number of Greek immigrants rose dramatically, although it never reached the numbers witnessed in the earlier part of the century. These numbers were no doubt influenced by events far from America including a military coup in Greece and the Turkish invasion of Cyprus. Our new immigrants had the effect of delaying by at least a decade the increasing tendency of the parish to be assimilated and Americanized. Although these forces were slowed, they nonetheless proved irresistible, and the basic demographic of the parish steadily moved into the mainstream of American society.

The decade of the sixties was one of tremendous societal change. The parish, as a matter of course, was affected by this change. The internal dynamic of the parish, however, was the real catalyst for the remarkable progress that it experienced. A large measure of credit for this must be assigned to the person and leadership of Fr. Stanley Harakas. His organizational skills, his tireless work ethic and his visionary character inspired countless others to lend the time, talent and resources that made it possible.

But Fr. Harakas was not alone in his endeavor. The lay leadership of the parish also played a commanding role. The dynamism and commitment of that leadership was perhaps best personified in the person of James Xindaris who served as president during the four years that saw the planning and construction of the present parish complex. Mr. Xindaris was a talented leader, a tireless advocate and a prodigious fund raiser for the building program. During his years as president, it was not unusual for him to spend entire days working on behalf of the church without regard for his own livelihood. He inspired others, and by sheer force of will, was able to overcome doubters and obstacles that might have defeated a lesser man. St. Vasilios was fortunate to have him at a crucial time in its history and numbers him among its truly great presidents.

While pastor of St. Vasilios Church, Fr. Harakas had engaged in the pursuit of doctoral studies. When those studies were successfully completed, he achieved a lifelong dream and was appointed to the faculty of Holy Cross School of Theology as the professor of Christian ethics. In order to assume his new responsibilities, he submitted his resignation as pastor of St. Vasilios in order to accept an assignment at a much smaller and less demanding parish. On September 1, 1967, his pastorate ended, and he became the pastor of the St. Nicholas parish in Lexington, MA. During those epic years of his service, he also served with the following young pastoral assistants: Fr. Nicholas Triantafilou, Fr. Nicholas Nickolopoulos and Fr. George Tsoukalas.

The transition to new pastoral leadership, however, proved to be long and difficult. Immediately preceding the departure of Fr. Harakas, his pastoral assistant, Fr. George Tsoukalas, was transferred to the church in Nashua, NH. The Rev. Fr. Athanasios Chamberas was sent as his replacement, but the need to appoint a new pastor and avoid a leadership vacuum at a critical time was urgent. The Archdiocese designated the Rev. Dr. Demetrios Constantelos from the Holy Cross faculty to serve as a permanent supply priest as the search for a new pastor was initiated.

The Archdiocese began to offer a suggested list of potential candidates who were invited to interviews with the Parish Council. The month of September passed, and the search continued into October. With Fr. Chamberas exercising only a caretaker role, the parish was beginning to drift. The Parish Council under the leadership of James Kardaris was meeting constantly to administer the affairs of the church and to conduct the ongoing search for a new pastor. Their efforts were nothing less than heroic under increasingly difficult circumstances. As the month of November was starting, no progress was being made and the Archdiocese seemed unable to find a priest who was both able and willing to accept what was becoming an increasingly less desirable assignment. By the middle of November, twelve candidates had been unsuccessfully considered.

At that point in the search, Dr. Constantine-Ignatius Kostas, the Parish Council secretary, contacted the Rev. Fr. John Romanides, the professor of dogmatic theology at Holy Cross, and asked him to recommend possible candidates for consideration. Fr. Romanides recommended the Rev. Andrew Demotses who had graduated the seminary in 1965 but warned that his youth and inexperience made it highly unlikely that he would be considered suitable by the Archdiocese. Dr. Kostas contacted Fr. Demotses, spoke with him at length and felt that he was a viable candidate. Upon Dr. Kostas’ recommendation, the board sent a three-man delegation, consisting of William Ravaris, John Franggos and James Meniates, to Norwalk, CT, where Fr. Demotses had been assigned as pastor.

After participating in the liturgy, they had a lengthy conversation with Fr. Demotses and expressed a strong interest in his assignment to Peabody. Fr. Demotses demurred, citing his recent graduation, relative youth and inexperience, as well as his recent appointment to the parish in Norwalk, as reasons for declining. The three men returned to Peabody and urged the board to pursue the assignment. Repeated calls to the Archdiocese requesting its intervention had the desired effect. On December 6, 1967, Fr. Demotses was summoned to the Archdiocese and told that he was being strongly considered for the position in Peabody. He again argued strenuously against the assignment because of his relative youth and inexperience as well as the large size and difficult circumstances of the parish. 

Fr. George Bacopoulos, the Chancellor, reluctantly agreed, and the matter appeared settled. The unremitting pressure of the Parish Council, however, once again turned the tide and on December 12, 1967, Fr. Demotses was summoned to return to the archdiocese and was informed that His Eminence the Archbishop had made the irrevocable decision to assign him to Peabody. 

Assured that the assignment would end in one year, he was instructed to make the necessary arrangements. On December 31, 1967, Fr. Demotses celebrated the Divine Liturgy as the 39th and at age 26, the youngest pastor in the history of St. Vasilios Church.

It was a historic moment that involved a breathtaking leap of faith on the part of the Parish Council. Never before had a priest of Fr. Demotses’ youth and inexperience been sent to a parish as large and complex as St. Vasilios. The Archdiocese was doubtful but had relented under extreme pressure. It was a circumstance that had not occurred in the past and almost certainly would never be repeated again in the future of the Archdiocese.

Monday, January 1, 1968, was a truly momentous day in the history of St. Vasilios. It was the first official day of the longest pastorate in the history of the parish, one that was destined to last 39 years, and it was also the day on which a son of St. Vasilios Church, Nicholas Mavroules, took the oath of office as the newly elected mayor of the City of Peabody. Fr. Demotses did not celebrate the liturgy on that day in order to deliver the invocation and benediction at the inaugural ceremonies held in the auditorium of the Junior High School. Seventy years had elapsed from the time the first Greek immigrant had stepped foot in the city. Through decades of struggle and adversity, the community of immigrants had persevered and finally won acceptance. It had been woven into the fabric of civic life, and one of its sons had been elected chief executive of the city. In the person of Nicholas Mavroules, every immigrant in Peabody had found the expression and culmination of his greatest dreams. It is hard to imagine that there were many days in the life of St. Vasilios as significant and as happy as this one. 

The euphoria of that day, unfortunately, was quickly dissipated by clouds that were gathering on the horizon. The United States had become involved in a conflict in Vietnam, and the parish was once again called upon to send its sons into battle. This war, however, differed in a dramatic way from those that had preceded it. In previous conflicts, the nation had stood united behind its fighting men. This war, in contrast, found the nation badly divided and racked by dissension. A total of 64 men from the parish fought, and one, Nicholas Conaxis, was killed in action. When the war finally ended, the men arrived, not to a grateful nation, but to one that failed to acknowledge them as returning heroes. The battle, like all battles, had been difficult. In this case, however, the men who fought it returned to an ambiguous welcome. It was a burden that many carried for decades thereafter. 

The four months that the parish had remained leaderless between the departure of Fr. Harakas and the arrival of Fr. Demotses had also taken a terrible toll. The momentum of fund raising had been lost, and the sense of purpose in the 

parish had been dissipated. In spite of the 

heroic efforts of the board, a crisis loomed. The board had been forced to focus its attention and efforts on acquiring a new pastor-finances and administration were regarded, by necessity, as a lesser priority. 

Within weeks of Fr. Demotses’ arrival, it became apparent that the parish finances had deteriorated alarmingly. Reserves were being depleted to pay the mortgage on the newly constructed Educational Center, and operating revenues were not meeting budgeted expenses. For one full year, these dire circumstances forced Fr. Demotses to devote every spare moment not dominated by pastoral concerns to finances. He went to members of the parish who had demonstrated a generous commitment in the past and solicited their support in the present crisis. Going door to door, he advocated, begged and cajoled for the donations of parishioners. 

Thankfully, many parishioners responded generously. Although the list of those who gave is long, three families in particular distinguished themselves by their generosity. James and Ourania Meniates, Michael and Rena Orgettas and James and Penelope Scangas played a crucial and defining role in maintaining the parish’s financial stability. In a joint meeting with Fr. Demotses and Board President Arthur Drivas, they pledged to provide the necessary resources to meet the parish’s needs until its finances could be restored to health. On several occasions, they anonymously donated substantial sums to keep the general fund solvent and to meet current operating expenses. At other times, they purchased replacements for failing office equipment and provided additional capital funds for emergency needs and repairs. Through their generosity and the growing sense of stewardship, equilibrium was regained and by the end of 1969, stability was restored. 

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