The First Decade - 1920
The journey began on the evening of November 28, 1924, the day after Thanksgiving Day. A group of men convened at Burns Hall, 3958 West Madison Street, and unanimously decided to lay the foundations of the dream of “founding a new Greek-American Community of Chicago and Western Suburbs” …. erecting a church, school, and community center for the benefit of the people. That night, they elected Trustees for their project and solidified their commitment by pledging $8000 toward establishing a church and community. (that amount is equivalent to approximately $141,850 today).
On January 6, 1925, after filing all the necessary civil and ecclesiastical documentation, the men searched for a suitable site to establish a church. Their efforts bore fruit on February 22, when the committee found and recommended a site on the southeast corner of Central Avenue and Harrison Street, where the street car ends- The Harrison Street car doubled back to the city.) A second committee negotiated the property, which comprised nine adjacent lots at $58,554.25 with a cash down payment of $20,000.
On April 5, 1925, John Koliopoulos signed an agreement to make the Greek community the owner of 5553-59 West Harrison Street, Chicago, Illinois. A temporary wooden structure ( a converted eight-car garage) was erected.
Figure 1-
Wooden Church
The Wooden Church was completed by August 1925, and Father Konstantinos Hatzidimitriou, Assumption’s first priest, presided over the first Liturgy on August 15, 1925.
In September 1925, Plato afternoon school opened with 141 students in attendance.
Figure 2 - Students, Teachers, and Father Papanicolaou with the church in the background
The dark gray wooden structure with dull green windows hosted many weddings. Parishioners began scheduling their wedding starting in September of 1925.
Figure 3 Christ Lekatsos and Stella Lekatsos (nee Alexopoulos) October 1925
Figure 4- Plato School Graduation ceremony in old Assumption Greek Orthodox Church
One of the few pictures found of the inside of the Wooden Assumption Church was a 1928 depiction of a graduation from the church’s Plato School. The seating arrangement was facing to the side of the altar rather than at the icon screen (iconostaion), a practical solution to accommodate as many people as possible within the space. In the background, the altar and the icons donated to the church by parishioners are decorated with flowers from the parishioners' gardens. These icons are now in St Catherine Chapel. ( the color pictures of these icons are on the church website).
The ladies organized the Assumption Women's Club on November 26, 1926. They raised funds and donated the first Epitafios (located in St. Catherine Chapel, behind the chantor's stand) and an Altar Table. A year later, on April 27, 1927, the Club sponsored its first Annual Dance, where they collected money to purchase desk chairs for Plato School. The tradition of philanthropy and service to the community began.
Father Konstantinos Hatzidimitriou was assigned as the first priest to Assumption. Reassigned from Saints Constantine and Helen, Father Konstantinos ministered to the new Assumption parish from 1925-1926. He was transferred to become the first priest to the new Orthodox community of St. Andrew's Greek Orthodox Church by the lakefront in 1926.
Father Konstantinos Papanicolaou, Assumption's second priest, served from October 1926 until 1936, when he returned to Greece with his Presvytera. Father Papanicolaou supported the growing church community in its nascent stages and ministered to the sixty families in his flock. He also assisted in Plato School, where he taught the upper-grade students. Father Papanicolaou is pictured at the top left of Figure 4.
