St. Peter’s Greek Orthodox Church, 116 Jefferson Ave

By 1943, with Danville’s Greek population growing, trustees for the congregation of Greek Orthodox worshipers announced the acquisition of a site for the future construction of a church. The lot was purchased as a partition from the lot of the Bruce James home at 803 Main Street and was conveyed to them by Dr. James’ widow, Annie Schoolfield James.

The congregation chose architect Robert W. Thompson to design the Gothic revival structure, and Thompson in turn chose to construct the building of stone quarried in Crab Orchard, Tennessee. Prior to the construction of the building, members met across the street in the basement of the Episcopal Church of the Epiphany. Here the group met for instruction in religion, Greek as a language, and the history of Greece.

The fate of Greece, it’s people, and their faith were subjects of much concern during the Second World War, and it was for the struggle of the Greek people during this time that the determination to have a building of their own found resolve. Congregants of 45 Hellenic-American families looked forward to formal services in a building that would honor their heritage, faith, and history. These families would gather from Danville, Schoolfield, Martinsville, and South Boston.

Construction of the new building began in March of 1946. The cornerstone was laid six months later, on the 18th of September. The ceremony was held across the street at the Episcopal Church in the mid afternoon to make allowance for the attendance of school children. The event shut down a majority of the cafes and restaurants in the area, since so many of the restaurant owners were Greek themselves.

The building, which was estimated to cost around $28,000, considering wartime inflation, ended up costing closer to $40,000, and with a name yet unchosen, the trustees came up with a clever solution—that being to “sell” the right to name the church at a public auction. Peter Maurakis won the honor with his winning bid of $3,300 and chose the name of St. Peter’s Greek Orthodox Church.

The building was completed in 1947, and the congregation attended its first services on the 21st of December 1947 with Rev. Carl Vouros of Roanoke conducting.

For more information about St. Peter’s Greek Orthodox Church, including a deeper history, beliefs, as well as a calendar and meeting times, please visit their website.

Sources:
Census and Vital records found at Familysearch.org
Images and vital information, including biographical sketches found at FindaGrave.com
Death notices and other information found in the Danville Register, Danville Bee and other newspaper archives at Newspapers.com and GenealogyBank.com
Census, Directory, Newspaper, and other information compiled by Paul Liepe