Greek community celebrates church's 50 years

St. Paul's Greek Orthodox Church will be celebrating its 50th anniversary in September.

When Greek immigrants first came to Saskatchewan in the early 1900s, they were forced to sacrifice much of their culture. However, 50 years later, local Greeks had a place to embrace their culture.
Since 1961, the focal point of Regina's Greek community has been St. Paul's Greek Orthodox Church.
"We are celebrating the 50 years of having the church and all the history associated with that, " said Chris Perentes, president of St. Paul's. "I'm very proud of that. I feel that the people before



 me sacrificed a lot to build a church, which helped to bring the community together. I feel an obligation almost to continue that and keep the community going strong. It's a big part of my life."
Throughout the past 50 years, the Greek community has experienced significant changes and growth in Regina.
In 1976, the current St. Paul's Greek Orthodox Church and community hall were built on the same property located at 3000 Argyle Rd.
"(1976) was a very difficult time for a lot of these immigrant families," he said. "They had young children and lots of costs associated with that. In many cases, some of them gave up one or two of their monthly pay cheques to help pay for the construction of the building."
John Sirounis has been a member of St. Paul's for more than 50 years and served as president in the 1960s. He was 16 when he moved to Regina from Greece.
"We came here after the (Greek Civil War) and Greece was devastated," Sirounis said. "A lot of immigrants came at that time and I was one of them. We gathered all together and we built the church and everybody contributed."
Perentes has been going to the church since he was baptized there 45 years ago. He served as president from 2003-08.
"The first time I was called up to be an altar boy, I felt like we where part of a bigger extended family," he said. "Some of my best friends are the ones that I knew when we were children going to the church together."
Father Spyridon Vandoros has been a priest at St. Paul's since 1993. He lived in Greece his entire life before moving to Toronto in 1987.
"In Toronto, it's hard to find people to fill up your church," he said. "Here, people come to the church - they need it.
"It's my house. It's my community and my kids have grown up here. Hopefully, the young generation continue the same in a better way and keep the community going for 100 years."