The historic parish of Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church on Chicago’s northwest side is weeks away from foreclosure, according to an announcement made by Fr. Nicholas Jonas, the parish priest.
In the announcement, made via Fr. Jonas’ public Facebook page, he states that “Chicago’s 121 year old historic Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church, because of the economic and legal pressures hurled against her in recent years, has received a judgement of foreclosure.”
On December 14, 2018 at 10:30am, Fr. Jonas continued, “the title of the property on Diversey must be delivered to MB Financial Bank. Our Church, together with the building that until a few years ago was SOCRATES school, will unjustly go into the hands of the bank.”
Fr. Jonas has called for all of the people who have been touched by the parish over the decades, to come together for a special service the night before the bank is to take hold of the property.
The Pappas Post reached out to Metropolitan Nathanael, head of the Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Chicago for comment.
According to Metropolitan Nathanael, “The Metropolis has been working with the Church (Holy Trinity) on this matter for years, and that as the new Metropolitan, I established a special ad hoc committee, per Archdiocesan regulations, to determine the best path forward for the Church given the recent turn of events.”
Holy Trinity has weathered many storms during its century-plus history. In recent decades the composition of the neighborhood has changed and Greek bakeries, butcher shops and families have moved, altering the demographics of the once-thriving Greek neighborhood.
The parish also has an ongoing conflict with its school, the Hellenic American Academy, which was originally founded in 1907 as the Socrates School and was the first full time Greek school in the United States.
Numerous lawsuits over money and property matters have split the community, including a recent suit filed by the Church against the School and a former parish leader in late September.
Fr. Jonas’ full Facebook post:
*****
Will you become a Patron for as little as the cost of a cup of coffee per month?
Is The Pappas Post worth $5 a month for all of the content you read? On any given month, we publish dozens of articles that educate, inform, entertain, inspire and enrich thousands who read The Pappas Post. I’m asking those who frequent the site to chip in and help keep the quality of our content high— and free. Visit our Patreon page and start your monthly support today. When you become a Patron, you’ll also join an exclusive group of supporters that will have access to additional content and special offers that will be created just for you.
