Archbishop Demetrios, the highest ranking cleric in the Greek Orthodox Church in the United States, will be in Little Rock this weekend to celebrate the centennial of Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church.
The archbishop, along with Metropolitan Nicholas of Detroit and the Rev. Nicholas Verdaris, priest at Annunciation Church, will lead worship services tonight and Sunday morning.
Orthodox worship services are highly liturgical, filled with singing, prayers and Scripture readings. Worshippers stand through much of the service while participating in a back-and-forth liturgy with the priest. There are candles, icons of saints and holy figures, and incense.
It’s worship that incorporates the senses, said Verdaris, who has been priest at Annunciation Church for 14 years.
“It’s an immersive experience,” he said. “The walls of the church are lined with these icons of holy people throughout the history of Christianity as well as scenes from the Scriptures that nurture the mind or help the eye focus on the prayer. There are beautiful, ancient hymns sung - many date back to the first centuries of Christianity.”
Incense is used to symbolically lift prayers to heaven.
“When we pray in the service, part of that immersion is all our senses are tuned to the prayer,” Verdaris said. “The sights and sounds, even the sense of smell, pulls us into that experience.”
Verdaris said the archbishop’s visit is the perfect opportunity for the public to see what Orthodox worship is like. The main worship service will be the Divine Liturgy at 10 a.m. Sunday.
“If they’ve ever wanted to see a high liturgical service with all the ranks of clergy in one place, Sunday would be the service to attend,” Verdaris said. “It’s a rare occasion, even for us, to have an archbishop, a metropolitan, deacons and a priest. Everyone is represented.”
Seminary students from Hellenic College Holy Cross in Brookline, Mass., will also participate.
In a statement issued by the archdiocese, Archbishop Demetrios said he was “filled with joy” over his visit to Little Rock to celebrate the centennial.
“For one hundred years, the faithful of the Church of the Annunciation have dedicated themselves and their ministry to Christ, the true hope and savior of man and history,’’ he said. ‘‘I offer my heartfelt congratulations on reaching this momentous milestone and extend prayer and hope that their work as a faith community continues for many more years of service to God, His Church and His people.’’
The Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America has 800 priests and encompasses 540 parishes, with membership of 1.5 million. The archdiocese includes the Archdiocesan District of New York, as well as eight Metropolises or dioceses. Annunciation Churchis included in the Metropolis of Detroit, which is overseen by Metropolitan Nicholas.
The history of the Little Rock church dates to 1892, when the first Greek residents began to settle in the area.
“Now there probably were others at different points in time but this was the first time a group came together and started the process of forming a church, a parish here, in the center of the state,” Verdaris said.
Verdaris said the immigrants left their home country of Greece and somehow found their way to Arkansas as they searched for better economic opportunities.
“They then told family and friends back in the old country of the opportunities that could be found in the United States,” Verdaris said. “Slowly, more started to come.”
Verdaris said the early settlers must have had incredible courage.
“These were people who, for the most part, didn’t speak English very well. They didn’t come as doctors and lawyers with high skills where they could plant a seed anywhere. They were impoverished and they had to learn a brand new culture, the ways of a new country,” he said. “They also knew for the most part they were never going to see the family they left behind ever again.
“In the beginning, it was the church that bridged that sorrow.”
Following the same worship rituals as their ancestors, the newcomers were able to stay spiritually connected to their friends and families back home, Verdaris said.
By 1905 their numbers had grown and the group began searching for a priest. Visiting priests from Memphis served the congregation for several years, until the growing group received their first resident priest, the Rev. Kallinikos Kanellas, in 1913.
Verdaris said Kanellas was one of the first Orthodox priests to come to the United States and his final assignment was for Annunciation Church. He died in 1921.
By 1920, the community had solidified its presence and bought property at 1500 Center St., Verdaris said. The location was home to the parish until 1983, when they moved to Napa Valley Drive.
Over the years, Verdaris said others not previously affiliated with the Orthodox Church began to discover Orthodox Christianity and were drawn to the parish.
“So it was a combination of immigration and spiritual growth that led to the church being part of the fabric of Arkansas and Little Rock, and how it survived,” he said.
Today, the parish includes about 200 families of “every conceivable ethnic background,” Verdaris said.
“It reflects the American melting pot,” he said. “What draws us together is not our ethnicity but our faith and our love of the Lord and each other.”
A Hierarchical Great Vespers service will begin at 5 p.m. today and will be followed by the blessing of the Centennial Memorial Courtyard and Fountain. On Sunday, Matins, a prayer service, will begin at 9 a.m. followed by Divine Liturgy. A time of fellowship will follow.
Verdaris said a visit by the archbishop isn’t an everyday occasion. Archbishop Demetrios visited the parish for the first time in 2002. Before that, it had been almost 40 years since an archbishop had visited the church, and that was for the 50th anniversary.
“We are so honored to be able to have him come down for it and really join in the celebration,” Verdaris said.
The church is at 1100 Napa Valley Drive. Information is available online at orthodoxchurch.com.
Religion, Pages 12 on 09/21/2013