Anaheim, California Celebrates 50th Anniversary

The people of Saint John the Baptist Greek Orthodox Church in Anaheim, CA, marked the 50th Anniversary of their parish with a weekend of events celebrating Christian love and service to their fellow man in Orange County on October 8 – 9, 2011. The parish was honored with the presence of His Eminence Archbishop Demetrios of America and His Eminence Metropolitan Gerasimos of San Francisco during this celebratory weekend. Under the local leadership of Father John Kariotakis, Proistamenos; Father Nicholas Andrews; and 50th Anniversary Chairman Mr. John Ohanian, the community of Saint John the Baptist planned a full weekend to honor the past, celebrate the present, and plan for the future.

The festivities began with a Youth Rally on Saturday, October 8 with nearly 100 youth lining the walkway outside the church to eagerly greet Archbishop Demetrios and Metropolitan Gerasimos. The days’ program included presentations by the Youth Choir, Greek School, Oratorical Festival winners, GOYA, and Greek Dance groups. His Eminence Archbishop Demetrios also participated in a very engaging question-and-answer session where children and teens eagerly awaited the opportunity to personally address His Eminence and ask many in-depth questions about the Orthodox faith, Holy Scripture, as well as about the Archbishop’s personal journey to the priesthood.

The Disneyland Hotel served as the site for the Grand Banquet on Saturday evening which was attended by over 650 faithful who came together to celebrate this important milestone for the Saint John the Baptist parish, The community was especially pleased to welcome back two distinguished clergy whose leadership of the Saint John the Baptist Church was pivotal in its growth and development – Rev. Fr. Evagoras Constantinides and Rev. Fr. George Massouras. Though he was unable to attend due to current health challenges, recognition was also given to Rev. Fr. James Diavatis who served the parish for 30 years until 2010.

The culmination of the weekend was the Archieratical Divine Liturgy on Sunday morning where His Eminence Archbishop Demetrios led the faithful in worship. The Church was filled with prayerful and grateful stewards who joined together in prayer and fellowship giving thanks to God for the abundant blessings of the past 50 years, and honoring the founders who have fallen asleep in a Memorial Service following the Liturgy.

As the first Greek Orthodox church in Orange County, Saint John the Baptist has blazed the trail for Greek Orthodox Christianity in Orange County. Organizing meetings held during 1960 culminated in the incorporation of the Greek Orthodox Community of Orange County on October 20, 1961, with the Archdiocese granting a charter to the community in 1963. First worshiping in rented facilities, the community soon purchased land in Anaheim, finalizing real estate transactions in 1966 and 1967, and completed the building of a temporary wood church on their property with the labor of their own people before the end of 1967. Selecting Saint John the Forerunner and Baptist as their Patron Saint occurred in time for the celebration of the parish feast day in 1968. Construction of the parish’s permanent church culminated in 1974. His Eminence Archbishop Iakovos, of blessed memory, presided over the Consecration of the parish in 1985. Subsequent acquisition of adjacent land has more than doubled the property of the Saint John parish in Anaheim, with ongoing plans to construct new community buildings in the near future.

The growth of Saint John the Baptist has outpaced that of the larger Orange County population, with parish membership increasing more than tenfold from the 38 families recorded as pledging members in 1961 to over 400 families pledging today. As the county has grown and prospered throughout the decades, the families of Saint John Church also grew and prospered and a number moved from the Anaheim area of the parish to other Orange County cities. The Saint John parish also served as a catalyst for the establishment of other Greek Orthodox communities in Orange County including the Saint Paul Church in Irvine, CA, and the Mission in San Juan Capistrano.

The seeds sown more than a half-century ago by the founders of Saint John the Baptist Greek Orthodox Church have grown and multiplied, continuing to provide a rich harvest as thousands of families in Orange County seize the opportunity to practice their Greek Orthodox Christian faith and share their love in Christ with the larger Orange County community.

Photos by Cassandra Mellas