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1976: The Holy Archdiocese of America on the country's 200th anniversarytranslated

July 24, 2026 · 1 min read

Marissa Costidis writes

1976 was a special year in the history of the Holy Archdiocese of America. The great wave of post-war Greek immigration still had a strong presence in the life of the Church, while Archbishop Iakovos had already emerged as one of the most recognizable figures of Orthodoxy in the history of the United States. According to the records of the time and historical sources, the Archdiocese was then ministering to more than 250,000 Orthodox families, having almost reached the peak of growth brought about by immigration.

The Archdiocese in 1976 The coincidence in time of the Clergy-Lay Assembly with the bicentennial anniversary of the United States seemed truly blessed. As America celebrated its 200th anniversary, clergy and laity from across the Holy Archdiocese of America—whose jurisdiction spanned the entire Western Hemisphere—had gathered in Philadelphia to commemorate their own milestone: the gradual evolution of a Church of immigrant origins into an established and increasingly recognizable presence in the religious life of America. Particularly symbolic…

Source: Orthodoxia News Agency · Read the full story →

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Юлія Шевченко

I was impressed that in 1976 they served over 250,000 families. In Philadelphia then, with Archbishop Iakovos, the gathering must have been really big. We also had relatives in Poltava who immigrated to America at that time, and they tell me that the Church kept them very close to each other.

Галина Попова

Interestingly, in 1976 they already served more than 250 thousand families. After the war, Greeks from such waves also came to Kazan, and one woman, Aunt Maria, told how everyone gathered in Philadelphia then. It’s a pity that the text breaks off; I would like to know how exactly that Klerolaiki ended in the anniversary year.

Максим Голубев

It’s interesting about Aunt Maria from Kazan - it turns out that even from there people ended up in Philadelphia in those years. There were almost no Greeks in Samara after the war, but I remember how in the 70s they showed on TV that Archbishop Iakovos met with American presidents. How do you think that Klerolaiki could have ended if the text had not been cut off?