The Establishment
of the Newport Community – The First Settlers
By 1896 four Greeks arrived in the city of Newport, all from the
island of Skiathos, which lies in the Aegean Sea just east of the
city of Volos. Drawn by the lure of the sea, these men saw that
they could make a living in Newport’s small but thriving fishing
industry. Many Greeks soon followed these earliest Hellenic settlers
to Newport. The early settlers in Newport were mainly from the island
of Skiathos, though later they were out-numbered by Greeks from
the island of Lesbos. The demographic makeup in the community continued
to change over the next decade, however, despite the Greeks’
regional differences and preference, they all identified with the
Greek Orthodox Church.
In Newport the Greeks began gathering at the Friends’
Meeting House (now the Community Center) in 1914. The following
year they also held services at the United Baptist Church on Spring
Street. With some of the community’s younger children attending
services and Sunday school at Trinity Church, the oldest Episcopal
church in Rhode Island, a friendship between Greeks and Episcopalians
ensued, and through the efforts of Stanley C. Hughes, the rector
of Trinity, its Kay Chapel was made available to the Greeks and
became their principal place of worship until they purchased a church
of their own in 1924.
Meanwhile the Newport Greeks elected a parish council for the purpose
of incorporation, and on September 14, 1915, the state granted them
a charter empowering them, as the Hellenic Orthodox Community of
Newport, RI, to organize and maintain a church under the aegis of
the Holy Synod of Greece. Anthony Salonikios, Apostolos B. Cascambas,
Christos P. Petropoulos, Stamos Salonikios, Demetrios Damaskos,
and Lambros Brown (Argites) elected Nicholas Mitchell as their first
president and together they signed the articles of incorporation.
The Newport community promulgated its bylaws in conjunction with
its incorporation. This document identified the locale of worship
– namely, Kay Chapel at 27 High Street – and declared
the purpose of establishing a religious community under the jurisdiction
of the Church of Greece. (After the establishment of the Archdiocese
of North and South America in 1922, the Newport Greeks would become
the first of the three Rhode Island communities to receive recognition
from the Holy Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate.) Religious services
would, of course, be held “exclusively in the Greek language
by a priest appointed by the Holy Synod of Greece” after due
consultation with the parish council. St. Spyridon would be the
community’s patron saint, and this fourth-century wonder-working
hierarch would be commemorated annually on his feast day, December
12.
The first to sign the Newport document was the community’s
president, who signed the bylaws as Nikolaos Mintzelos and the articles
of association as Nicholas Mitchell. His status as an “established”
Greek, with an Americanized name and some knowledge of English,
weighed heavily in his selection as the community’s first
leader. It was at this time that the Newport Greeks also engaged
their first priest, a cleric from Mytilene named Efstratios Rigellis,
who remained in Newport until the community’s acquisition
of a permanent house of worship in April 1924. The documents pertaining
to the purchase were signed by Basil Constant, the then president
of St. Spyridon’s parish council, and Dionysios Demessianos,
the new priest. The Thames Street property today remains the community’s
permanent home.
The Establishment of a Greek-Language School
The responsibility for educating children in the Greek language
was at that time assumed by the priest. In Newport that responsibility
was initially entrusted to the subsequent priest of the parish,
the Reverend George Stefopoulos. Originally a carpenter by trade,
Father Stefopoulos – who would construct the church’s
bishop’s throne, altar table, and proskynetari, or reverence
booth (on which the icon of the church’s patron saint is placed)
– would be the first priest to remain in the Newport community
for more than five years.
The 1940s
The Newport community again received a new pastor, the Reverend
Constantine Theodore, at the outbreak of World War II. Though born
in Greece, Theodore was reared in Boston and became the first priest
of a Rhode Island Greek community to have graduated from the newly
established Holy Cross Seminary in Pomfret, Connecticut. In a curious
and not immediately evident way, his arrival marked a turning point
in the development of the Greek community, a shift in orientation
from the “Greek village” notions of the Church to more
Americanized customs. The war and its aftermath would result in
a relatively large number of “mixed marriages” in which
one of the partners was neither ethnically Greek nor Greek Orthodox
in religion. Such unions required a new kind of ethnic outlook,
one that also regarded English as an acceptable spoken language.
In December 1945 a major testimonial banquet, chaired by Apostolos
Cascambas, was held at the Viking Hotel in Newport to honor both
the pioneers of the Newport community and those who had served as
parish council presidents. Attended by representatives of the city
government and the Navy, numerous clergymen, and such prominent
Phil Hellenes as Maud Howe Elliott, this event proved to be an inspiration
for parishioners to work at bringing about needed repairs and improvements
in their house of worship.
The church building, a clapboard structure now nearly a hundred
years old, was beginning to deteriorate, and it was clear that something
had to be done if it was to survive. In 1946 Nicholas Spiratos devised
a plan, which the community quickly adopted: a brick veneer was
applied to the building’s exterior, the entrance was moved
from Brewer Street to Thames Street, and twin towers were added,
making the church visible from every point in nearby Newport harbor.
The work not only preserved the exterior of the church but also
made possible the redecoration of the interior, where the iconostasis
was expanded and additional pews and a large Austrian crystal chandelier
were installed.
When Newport author and women’s rights activist Maud Howe
Elliott died in 1948, the Newport Greek community eulogized her
as “a beloved benefactor of the Greek people,” one who
“gave fresh impetus in support of every humanitarian cause”
and maintained “until her last days the same vigorous tradition
of culture and benevolence, which were exemplified by her father,
Dr. Samuel Gridley Howe, in the war for Greek independence in 1821.”
The 1960s
Fr. Spyridon Papademetriou, was assigned to the Newport community
in the late 1950s, coming from the Annunciation Church in Newburyport,
MA. Fr. Spyridon was a positive force in the community for the next
15 years as he was constantly on the move spreading fellowship among
parishioners.
Up to this time, most parishioners still lived within walking distance
or a short taxi ride of the church, and as such, what little parking
was required could easily be found in the streets or private lots
near the church. In 1965, as this demographic began to change, with
the assistance of Mr. Greg Karabelas, a parcel of property containing
an automotive garage on the opposite corner of Thames and Brewer
Streets was purchased for the amount of $27,000. A second parcel
of land adjacent to that property was later acquired through the
assistance of the Order of AHEPA Maud Howe Elliott Chapter 245,
which donated $2,000 toward the purchase. The second parcel provided
limited community parking spaces.
The Fiftieth Anniversary
The Newport Greeks marked their fiftieth year in 1965 with a program
of observances chaired by Chris Caragianis and guided by Fr. Spyridon
Papademetriou. Toward the end of the sixties the community was thinking
about relocating, for its church was at that time in an undesirable
location. The Navy’s presence in Newport was a mixed blessing.
Brawls among inebriated sailors were not uncommon on upper Thames
Street, where the church is located, but when it was decided in
1973 that the Navy would withdraw many thousands of its servicemen
from Newport, the prospect loomed that the street would become deserted
and thus potentially unsafe, especially for the community’s
young. Before any decision could be made about relocating, however,
the city’s downtown underwent a notable revitalization, primarily
through the efforts of the Newport Redevelopment Corporation and
its chairman, Harold C. Petropoulos. Newport now began attracting
tourists in even greater numbers than previously, and upper Thames
Street, and the church, were in the midst of this bustling activity.
The only regret is that the community did not acquire additional
property in the area, which was offered to it (including by parishioners)
at extremely discounted rates. As such, the community has remained
limited due to the lack of parking and easy access for parishioners.
The Newport community had many things to rejoice about during its
fiftieth anniversary observances. The sons of the immigrant founders
were coming into their own. Dean Lewis’s election as Mayor
of Newport several years earlier and subsequent run for Governor
was a source of pride among the Greeks. Harold Petropoulos, the
son of charter member Christy Petropoulos, had been elected to the
City Council and the Chamber of Commerce. Nicholas Logothetes, whose
father, Stamos, had been an early president of the community, served
as Newport’s director of secondary education and assistant
superintendent of schools. Dean C. Brelis, a newspaper and magazine
reporter, war correspondent, and NBC news commentator, had just
completed his first book, ‘My New Found Land.’ Chris
Caragianis was the chairman of the Naval Affairs Council, the director
of the Chamber of Commerce, the president of the Navy League, and
the disaster chairman of the local chapter of the American Red Cross.
The 1970s
Fr. Spyridon continued to serve the community until he was reassigned
to St. Matthew Church in Reading, PA in the mid-1970s. Fr. Robert
Athas then served the community for a few years prior to the assignment
of Fr. John Theodore in 1976.
By the mid-1970’s, the Newport church facilities had fallen
into a state of disrepair. Chris Caragianis challenged his fellow
parishioners to rise to the task of restoring and beautifying the
church. His contribution of $50,000 was quickly matched by church
organizations and individuals, and James Georgiou was contracted
to perform the work. The first stage consisted of gutting and restoring
the adjacent parish center and kitchen, which had served as the
community’s only classroom, and constructing offices and classrooms
on the lower level, under the church. The second stage involved
the refurbishing of the church’s interior and the restoration
of its appointments, including the alter screen icons, by the Tinneys
of Belcourt Castle.
The 1980s
The few parking spaces in the adjacent property were no longer
adequate for the communities growing parking needs, as many parishioners
no longer lived in Newport or near and around the church. Many parishioners
now lived in Middletown and Portsmouth. Therefore in 1982 the automotive
garage building on the second church-owned parcel was taken down
to make room for more parking and the possibility of hosting fund
raising events.
In 1983 the community, with the assistance of Fr. John Theodore,
initiated its annual three-day Hellenic Fest, a major event that
has since become the church’s biggest fundraiser and a much-anticipated
Newport tradition.
Through the devotion and generosity of St. Spyridon’s parishioners,
important restoration projects were carried out at the Newport church
during the 1980s. These included work on the church’s interior
and the parish hall, and a complete organ restoration.
After eight years of service in Newport, Father Theodore was transferred
to St. Catherine’s Church in West Palm Beach, Florida, in
1983. The following year Father Stephen Kyriakou arrived from Boston,
where he was chancellor of the Boston Diocese, as his replacement.
Fr. Kyriakou remained in Newport until March 1987, when he was reassigned
to the Cathedral of the Annunciation in San Francisco, CA, where
he served as dean. His successor, the Reverend Thomas Chininis,
came to St. Spyridon after serving for four years as assistant pastor
at the Holy Trinity Church in Dallas, Texas.
The Consecration and Seventy-Fifth Anniversary
In 1990 the parish marked its seventy-fifth anniversary with a
festive banquet and the publication of a commemorative book. The
church was also consecrated as a prelude to the seventy-fifth anniversary
celebration (September 17, 1989) by Bishop Methodios, after it was
discovered that this had never taken place when the property was
first acquired. The church was dedicated and the relics of three
saints were deposited into the Holy Altar: St. George, St. Kyrikos
the Martyr and the Holy Fathers martyred at Sinai and Raitho. All
past living pastors of the parish returned for the consecration
ceremony.
At the consecration, instead of having the honor of Godparent of
the church going to only one individual, it was decided that any
member donating to the consecration would be considered a Godparent.
All names were placed in a box and one was drawn to represent all
of the honored Godparents. Mr. George Koulouvardis' name was drawn
as the representative NOUNO AXIOS!!
The 1990s and Beyond
Fr. Chininis left for St. Philip Church in Nashua, NH in the Fall
of 1994 at which time Fr. Peter Balkas arrived from the St. George
Church in Des Moines, IA to serve the community. Upon Fr. Peter’s
departure for St. Nectarios Church in Palatine, IL, Fr. Anthony
Evangelatos arrived in the summer of 2001 from St. George Church
in Eugene, OR and continues to serve as the community’s spiritual
leader to the present day.
In the early 1990s, the community began working toward a renovation
of the exterior of the church building in order to make it conform
more to Byzantine tradition and standards. The project was abandoned
when it became evident that due to the lack of parking in the area,
the fact that most parishioners no longer lived within walking distance
of the church, and the difficulty in getting downtown due to tourist
traffic during certain times in the year, the community would be
better served to invest in a parcel of land outside of the downtown
area in order to build a new church and community center. This remains
a challenge for the community, however, with a recent extraordinary
bequest by a past parishioner, the parish now again hopes to pursue
this option in order to better allow the community to grow and thrive
in the future.
