Please excuse this page's appearance!  (it presently is under construction).  We are updating our Parish History section to earmark our recent 100th Anniversary milestone as a parish.

The Saint George Orthodox Church of Trumbull that we see today had its roots with the turn-of-the-nineteenth-century Albanian immigrants coming to the Bridgeport region. They began a legacy that is carried on by today’s parishioners, who look fondly at their house of worship.

ADD PIC OF ALBANIAN IMMIGRANT COUPLE

Karen Masek, who has been a choir director since she was 16 was asked: Why does she like Saint George’s? “Because it’s such a family community,” Karen Masek says. “Everybody somehow has a nice connection with each other.”

“I have very warm memories of a close-knit family in addition to the religious aspects,” says Gloria Athanas, another lifelong parishioner. “Our parents all knew each other. They crossed over the ocean with each other. The faith is what kept them together, and our customs.”

Explaining why the church is so important to the parishioners, Father Sergei Bouteneff, noted that by the early 20th century, at the time the community was forming, Albania had already been conquered and under foreign occupation for almost four centuries. “It was in America, for the first time in centuries, that the liturgy, the worship of the community, was conducted in their own language. So the church also became the center of their political and social aspirations.”

THE EARLY YEARS: SAINT THOMAS MISSION

Among the first Albanian immigrants to arrive in southern Connecticut were Charles James (Sotir Gjercheku), who settled in Southport around 1890, and Thoma Katundi, who came to New Haven around the same time. While it is hard for us to picture now, at that time Charles James peddled fruit and vegetables from a horse-drawn wagon in the Southport and Greenfield Hill areas.

During the first decade of the 20th century, Albanians from Korce settled in the area. Like other Albanian immigrants at that time, they came without their families, seeking to establish themselves financially before sending for their wives and children. During the 1920s, the community grew as the wives and children arrived. By the end of the decade, there were about fifty Albanian families in the area.

Visionaries of their day, the immigrants of this fledgling Albanian-American community understood the need for a spiritual home, one that could speak to their minds, their hearts, and their souls.

This hope was now made real. We were organized, but not yet established. For that first service, Louis Theodos, and his friends, organized “The Saint Thomas Albanian Church Society of Bridgeport, Connecticut,” and arranged for an Albanian-speaking priest to come from Ansonia and to conduct the services of Palm Sunday, Holy Week, and Pascha. Thus, in Bridgeport, the first Orthodox Church services in the Albanian language were organized. They began with Palm Sunday, April 12, 1925.

These services were held in the chapel of Saint John Episcopal Church, located at Park and Fairfield Avenues. The organizing committee consisted of Louis Theodos, President; James Vani, Vice-President; Philip Cotmil, Treasurer; and James Tallcouch, Secretary. However, as there was no Albanian bishop in the United States of America at the time, it was another ten years before a church could be organized and consecrated.

The response to these services made clear the need to continue preparations for a church. This was no easy task. In 1929 another step was taken: Thomas L. Tallcouch and a group of friends organized an Albanian American men’s social club, which they named “Ylli” (The Star). Membership increased rapidly until it reached over a hundred strong. The club sponsored picnics and plays to raise money for the future church.

The ladies of our community were not idle either. Between 1928 and 1930, many wives of the original settlers arrived from Albania. Often, they were homesick, missing the relatives and loved ones they had left behind, and lonely as their husbands had to work long hours away from home. The same Thomas L. Tallcouch, who formed the Ylli, organized the Queen Teuta Ladies Society in 1931.

The Teuta Ladies Society (still active in our community today), satisfied a deeply felt need for social interaction and provided the opportunity to share concerns and experiences. The first meeting was held at the home of Cornelia Soter in January 1932. The hostess prepared a delicious byrek for the occasion. [This dish, sometimes referred to as lakror in our community, continues to be the piece de resistance of our parish hospitality.] The first Executive Committee consisted of Cornelia Soter (President), Dhora Polena (Vice-President), Beatrice Tallcouch (Secretary), Kaliroi Dionis (Treasurer) and Emilia Stephan (Trustee).

These two societies formed the nucleus of our future church. The Teuta Ladies Society has always been at the heart of all church activities, sponsoring numerous social and religious affairs. Their contributions have been a blessing to us all.

FROM MISSION TO CHURCH

Ten years of sacrificial struggle only provided an irregular parish life. This would change as a result of events that occurred during the mid 1930s. In 1933-34, Ikonom (Archpriest) At (Father) Vasil Mandi arrived in Bridgeport with his wife Frosinsa and family.

Father Mandi was assigned to serve as associate pastor at a local Greek Orthodox Church. On January 1, 1935, a group of his Albanian friends gathered to celebrate his name day. Father Mandi expressed the hope that they would soon have a church of their own and offered to serve there without compensation. His generous offer was greeted with such enthusiasm that a committee consisting of Father Mandi, Philip Cotmil and Charles Demetri was immediately organized to find a place to hold Paschal services. Philip Cotmil contacted a local banker with whom he had business dealings, who offered the use of the hall on the second floor of the Staples Bank, rent-free, for as long as it might be needed. Under Father Mandi’s direction, Mr. Cotmil and Mr. Demetri, who were as handy at carpentry as they were at business, transformed the hall into an Orthodox place of worship.

The hall was packed with worshipers for the Holy Week services. The cantors were Trifun Mandi, John (Argir) Lazar and Steve Tallcouch. The “Saint Thomas Albanian Orthodox Church of Bridgeport” was here to stay.

Louis Theodos, who had helped many of the Albanian immigrants get started in business, now directed his zeal, experience and organizing abilities to the formation of a permanent church. Louis Theodos presided over the first committee that included Theodore Dionis, Peter Athanas, Philip Cotmil, Charles Demetri, Costa Vangel, George Polena, Peter Tallcouch, James Vani and Costa Jordhamo. Father Vasil Mandi was installed as the first permanent pastor. At that time, he was then seventy-two years of age!

FROM SAINT THOMAS TO SAINT GEORGE

The church moved twice during the next few years. Initially it was located on the third floor of a building at 286 Fairfield Avenue. Metropolitan Theophan (‘Fan”) S. Noli held a Hierarchical Divine Liturgy there. Then on May 16, 1937, Saint Peter’s Roman Catholic Church on Howard Avenue was purchased for $7,500.00, a goodly sum in those days. This was the home of the parish for more than forty years.

Ikonom (Archpriest) At (Father) Sotir Tollkuchi, came with his wife Helen and family. Having served as assistant to Fr. Vasil Mandi, he served as pastor from 1937 to 1946. During his pastorate a Sunday school was organized. It has been staffed, as it still is, by willing volunteer teachers, who pass on the treasures of Orthodoxy to new generations. Their long hours of selfless labor strengthen our church.

By the time the Howard Avenue Church was consecrated by Metropolitan Fan Noli on September 5, 1938, the mortgage had been paid and the parish was free of debt – a feat accomplished in a little over one year! It was consecrated as Saint George Church, renamed after George Dionis who was the highest donor. At the consecration, Metropolitan Noli was assisted by Fr. Vasil Mandi (the first pastor), Fr. Sotir Tollkuchi (the newly appointed pastor), Fr. Alexander Veniaminoff of Holy Ghost Russian Orthodox Church, Fr. Jacob Grigoriev of Three Saints Russian Orthodox Church of Ansonia, Archimandrite Elia Lafloufe of Saint George Antiochian Orthodox Church of Danbury, Fr. Lambi Floqi (Michael) of Southbridge, Fr. Nicholas Prifti of Philadelphia, and Archimandrite Thimi Theodos of Worcester. Col. Luke Bakoota of Holy Ghost Church directed the choir for the liturgy of consecration. The Pan-Orthodox nature of this consecration reflected Metropolitan Fan Noli’s vision for the future of the Orthodox Faith in America. It was this vision that set our parish’s destiny.

Our own choir was organized later that same year (1938) under the guidance of Father Grigoriev. Metropolitan Noli, who was a great lover of Russian church music, set Albanian and English words to the traditional Russian chants and compositions of the great masters. Thus the musical style of Saint George evolved. Our first choir director was Ilo Kovachi an accomplished musician who collaborated closely with Metropolitan Noli. Over the years the following have directed the choir: Mary Costa Wilan, Dorothy Kovachi Sementilli (Ilo Kovachi’s daughter), Steven C. Tallcouch (who later became our senior cantor), Karen Michael Masek (our current director), Evelyn Leka Kreta, Laura Bowe Chadwick and Lisa Tasi, as well as others who have filled in as substitutes. Over the years, many of the men from the choir continued the cantor tradition, including Van Michael and Charles Sotir.

During the Second World War, according to the History of the Albanian Orthodox Church (compiled by Metropolitan Theofan S. Noli), the Teuta Ladies did an outstanding job in selling Defense Bonds.

In the post-war years, Father Christo Costa was pastor from 1946 to 1950. In a time of uncertainty in the world, Father Christo kept the parish going.

FATHER ALEXANDER KOVACHI AND ARCHDIOCESAN CRISIS

Father Alexander Kovachi, his wife, Virginia, and two sons arrived in 1950. Father Kovachi served the parish for seventeen years from 1950 until his death in 1967.

These were difficult years for the Albanian churches. The new communist regime in Albania launched a vigorous religious persecution that first brought the Church under strict government control and finally almost eliminated it altogether (at least forced it “underground˜). The Patriarchate of Constantinople, who refused to recognize the new Albanian regime, decreed that all Albanian Dioceses were now subject directly to the Patriarchate. Some people supported this solution; others were firmly opposed. As far as the Saint George community was concerned, the Albanian Orthodox Archdiocese in America, like so many other churches of Eastern European origin located in America, became de jure, if not de facto, independent. The canonical crisis intensified when Metropolitan Theofan (“Fan”) S. Noli, the leader of Albanian-American Orthodoxy since 1908, died in 1965. The Church found itself without a head at the very time when it needed one the most.

It fell to Father Kovachi the difficult task of guiding the parish through these stormy days. He is fondly remembered by many in the parish. The struggle on the Archdiocesan level had its repercussions locally. On one hand, the parish struggled with the deaths of some of its benefactors and strongest supporters; on the other hand, providentially, George K. and Alexandra Polena willed their four-family home to the church and thus enabled the parish to eventually move to the campus which was to become the site for our current church.

The realities of this turmoil did not preclude the establishment of Pan-Orthodox Services in the Greater Bridgeport area – Saint George participating since 1954.

A TIME OF TRANSITION

The priest who followed Father Kovachi as our pastor was Father Stephen Barham. A celibate priest, he was the first permanent non-Albanian priest to serve our community (1967 to 1971). It was during his tenure that the liturgy began to be celebrated in the English language on a regular basis.

Also during this time, people in the parish were seriously talking about building a new church. With this goal in mind, Don Jordan took the initiative of uniting the men of the church into a viable force. He invited a group of men considered to be leaders in the church to join with him in this venture. Thus, the Saint George Men’s League was formed. That first group consisted of Nick Adam, Vincent Theodos, Paul Thanas, Steve Tallcouch, Richard Nichio and Richard Taylor, with Father Barham as the spiritual advisor. Membership soon expanded and over the years the Men’s League raised nearly $70,000 for the new church through a variety of activities, both financial and social. Once the new church was built and the mortgage paid off, the Men’s League disbanded.

In 1968, the parish purchased the Gorman estate in Trumbull. It consisted of some three acres and old Victorian house, one of the town’s better- known landmarks but in poor condition, as it had been vacant for several years. Unfortunately, the construction of a new church proved to be much more difficult than had been anticipated. Some local residents went to court to prevent the building of a church on this land. The case dragged on in the courts for over eight years!

Meanwhile, in 1970, the Russian Orthodox Church (“Moscow Patriarchate”) which had sent the first Orthodox missionaries to this country in 1794 and had ordained Fan Noli in 1908, in an effort to end the canonical crisis caused by the Communist regimes, granted full independence (autocephaly) to the Russian-American “Metropolia.” Parishes of other canonical Orthodox jurisdictions were offered the opportunity to become part of this new national church. The following year, delegates at the Albanian Archdiocese Convention in Boston voted unanimously to join the new Autocephalous Orthodox Church in America. With this decisive step, under the leadership of Bishop Stephen (Lasko), our Archdiocese and our parish were able to put past canonical problems aside and turn to the future. Anecdotally, Father Sergei, who was a seminarian at the time, was there at the reception of Bishop Stephen and the Albanian Archdiocese and was assigned as a support to Bishop Stephen at the services that followed the Archdiocesan reception into the Orthodox Church in America (OCA).

Father Eugene Vansuch and his wife Fran came to Saint George in 1971, raising their family with us. A recent graduate of Saint Vladimir’s Seminary, he was well qualified to reorganize the Choir, the Sunday School and other church organizations. To this day the Choir continues to sing from the books that Father Eugene established, and to sing acapella. During this period, parishioners worked hard to repair the Victorian house for use as the rectory and to develop plans for the new church building.

Even as our legal case was winding its way through the courts, in 1973, a Building Committee – Ligor Buzi (Chairman), Nicholas Adam, Harry Jordhamo, John Liolin, and Donald Tait -- was formed, charged with getting the church constructed on the lot. Peter Dionis and Van Michael were put in charge of fund-raising.

In 1976 Father Daniel B. Montgomery, former military chaplain and Chairman of the Foreign Language Department of Valley Forge Military Academy in Pennsylvania, became our pastor. Coming with his wife, Maria, he was a soft-spoken, gentle man who served our parish for 11 years. During his ministry, the community became more united and determined to face whatever challenges faced us in court.

NEED PHOTO OF 7 INDIVIDUALS ON BLDING COMMITTEE FROM 1973 (?)

In May of 1977, while the case regarding the use of the land was still in court, the parish took a daring step. The old church building on Howard Avenue was sold. For nearly two years after that, services were held on a regular basis at the Saint John the Baptist Church in Stratford (Silver Lane). On those special occasions when we needed more room, Saint Dimitrie Romanian Orthodox Church in Bridgeport, our friends from our “Korce past,” generously offered the use of its facilities. In the words of the Psalms: “How good it is when brothers dwell in unity. (Ps133:1)” How blessed we felt for the support of these Orthodox brothers and sisters. The court case, begun in 1969, was finally dismissed by the Connecticut State Supreme Court later that same year (1977). We were finally free to start construction of our church, to put our plans into action!

A NEW CHURCH, A NEW HOME

Before the start of Great Lent, in 1979, the church, while not yet complete, was ready for use. In September of that year, we hosted the Archdiocesan Convention downstairs while workers were installing the pews upstairs for services the next day. Metropolitan Theodosius (at the time the Archdiocesan Administrator) presided at the Hierarchical Divine Liturgy. As a temporary measure, the iconostasis was taken intact from the old church, but the pews and stained-glass windows were new. The iconostasis remains in the church today, serving as a bridge from the past to the present.

ADD PICTURE OF OLD ICONOSTAS IN NEW CHURCH

Finally, on April 20, 1980, the church was consecrated in an inspiring service celebrated by our newly consecrated Bishop Mark (Forsberg) of Boston, our Archdiocesan Bishop, and assisted by the V. Rev. Father Arthur Liolin, Chancellor of our Archdiocese. With the new church came new vision. As we looked at one another, we realized together that many non-Albanians had joined the parish through marriage, conversion and an influx of new members.

The community came to the realization that Saint George almost imperceptivity moved from an all-Albanian congregation to multi-ethnic community. Father Sergei explained. “We moved from an ethnic national expression to a spiritual expression,” Of “today’s” Saint George Church, he noted that they’re Orthodox Christians first, and whatever nationality second. Services are 97 percent in English, as he pointed out: “Now, people of Slavic, Irish, Italian, Greek, and Romanian backgrounds join in worship with the Albanians.”

Van Michael, a beloved cantor, who was a parishioner and devoted choir member until the time of his death shared, “Now as we’re getting more and more non-Albanians, we’ve continued to maintain our closeness and fellowship and we’re still committed to improving the parish and the life of the church.” His special memories included not only his marriage to wife Diana and their children’s baptisms (as well as grandchildren), but the marriage of their daughter and many others. “As a member of the Church Choir, I take great pleasure in participating in the ceremonies and singing during their weddings,” he said.

SETTLING IN

In the late 1980s, Father Stephen Siniari together with wife Margot and children arrived at Saint George. Although he was with us only a brief time (1987 to 1989), his ministry had a significant impact and made a lasting impression on younger members of our parish. His good humor enabled him to easily establish a rapport with the teenagers and young adults of our church.

Following Father Stephen’s departure, the community was blessed to have the priestly services of Archpriest Nicholas Kiryluk, a retired military chaplain.

The Archpriest Sergei Bouteneff, was appointed to the community in 1989. He came with wife Lisa and his three children.

Throughout Father Sergei’s ministry, the Saint George faithful were invited to become more active in the prayer life of the church, while at the same time putting that prayer life into practical, social action.

In the first iteration, Fr. Sergei focused on creating service booklets for the faithful to follow and to offer their participation in the various readings/responses. He also spent considerable time in successfully encouraging the faithful to participate in their personal eucharistic renewal, by coming more frequently to Holy Communion – included in this was the proper preparation through Holy Confession – offered through both personal and general (monthly) confession.

The Saint George Church had gone from being inwardly directed, to outwardly directed in terms of budget and service to the community. “We were trying to show we’re more responsive and responsible - in who we are as a Faith Group,” Fr. Sergei offered. A small step towards that was the establishment of a monthly “Charity Tray” that continues to these days.

Several other events prompted the expansion of that outreach.

One was the Special Olympics held in New Haven years ago. “When the church heard a group of individuals came from Albania with nothing, the community came together and made uniforms and got the stuff they needed to compete,” he said. “It was wonderful and inspirational.” Having provided for the team’s material needs, many of the faithful received these Albanian Special Olympians into their own homes, giving them a sense of home and connectedness.

Then, with the fall of communism in Albania, the church got the opportunity to send the country massive amounts of aid. “The church collected several tons of goods for orphanages, old age homes, churches, and those in need,” Father Sergei said.

The church was also called upon to help the Albanians immigrating to Bridgeport during the Kosovo crisis in the 1990s. George Barmashi spearheaded an initiative called “Project Assist” to support these new immigrants. “When the people were challenged with that, they accepted it,” said Bob Lazar, a lifelong member and member of the parish council. “That was a most important thing to me. We were helping people who were not of the Orthodox faith. It was more a generosity we were able to extend to people of other cultures and faiths. We were even getting substantial help from Catholics, Jewish people, and the mosques in Waterbury. The best part is helping people who need help – and it’s a manifestation of our faith. We offered similar assistance to the people in Russia, by helping one of our neighboring Orthodox parishes which has a predominant Russian constituency.”

ADD PHOTO OF NEWSPAPER ARTICLE ON KOSOVO AID

“Obviously the center of any Christian community is Christ,” explained Father Sergei. “The goal of any Christian is a two-pronged response: one is reaching out to Christ; and the other is to one’s fellow man and, to all creation. Even as our commitment to the liturgical life of the Church is manifest in the schedule of services, yearly the parish budget shows a growing commitment to the expression of charity.”

The large and active Church (Sunday) School and the dynamic, multi-generational choir (from age 7 to 70), assures that these “good things” can continue with a solid base. As Gloria Athanas, Teuta Ladies Society member, explained, “When you have a small church, I think all of these blend together - the Choir, Church school, the Parish Council, the Ladies’ Society. We become one when preparing and planning for a Holy day, or any function.”

ADD PICTURE OF CHURCH SCHOOL

In 1994, Saint George was honored to have the diaconal ordination of Father John Kreta-husband of Evelyn Leka Kreta, one of our former choir directors.

In 1995, for the upcoming 75th anniversary (and in the years following), the St. George commissioned a series of icons, 17 of which are now in place. On one side, they represent major feast days of Jesus Christ, including the Nativity, Presentation in the Temple and Theophany (“Baptism” of the Lord). On the other side, the icons depict major events in the life of Mary, from her Nativity to her Dormition. They are displayed chronologically in the order of their celebration on the church calendar. Across the rear wall depicted are the events before and after the Resurrection, including the Crucifixion and Pentecost. Also commissioned during this period was an exquisitely hand stitched depiction of the “Holy Shroud” (called the “Petafi” in Albanian).

One of the Icons in the church brings together saints associated with the Albanian Orthodox Church and the Orthodox Church in America: On one side of the central cross are Albanian saints like the Apostle Paul (who founded communities in Illyria, which is present day Albania) and Angelina of Serbia (an Albanian noble woman who married a Serbian prince). On the other side of the cross are Orthodox Saints in America: the teenaged Peter the Aleut, a martyr, Saint Herman of Alaska, and Bishop Raphael of Brooklyn (who was of Syro-Lebanese origin). Among the churches depicted in the background is the Albanian Orthodox Cathedral in Boston. “The icon represents who we are,” stressed Father Sergei, “people of various ethnic backgrounds committed to America: bring Orthodoxy to America, and America to Orthodoxy.”

In terms of parish life, in 2007 our community experienced two major events: the tonsuring of Charles Soter to assist as Chanter of our Church and a new internet-based presence with the introduction of our website. The website, as well as a parish Facebook page, have helped us to reach people and establish connection all over the world.

In January of 2010, after more than 21 years of serving St. George parish, and 33 years as a parish priest, Fr. Bouteneff retired from full-time ministry To date, his is the longest tenure as priest of our parish.

In the nine month-long period that followed, Saint George enjoyed the priestly services of Father Timothy Lowe (and occasionally, his son-in-law Father Sergius Halverson).

In September 2010, St. George welcomed the V. Rev. Fr. Dennis Rhodes as he began his ministry as pastor of St. George. Fr. Dennis came to us after serving as the pastor in a number of Orthodox parishes, including 18 years serving at two other Albanian Orthodox Archdiocese parishes – at St. Nicholas in Jamaica Estates, NY and St. John Chrysostom in Philadelphia.

At St. George, much of the focus of Fr. Dennis was with spirituality, education, and charity. Fr. Dennis showed his love for serving the church, serving the parish, and for all of the church services. Divine Liturgy was his priority, his vocation - and he worked hard to get parishioners to attend more services. He helped facilitate bringing in the Orthodox Natural Church Development Program to help stimulate the parishioners to think about church health and growth in new ways. The parish completed two surveys over the course of several years to identify areas of strength and areas for future development. In both surveys, the parishioners overwhelmingly identified “Loving Relationships” as the parishes greatest quality characteristic, which is evident when visiting the St. George community.

Fr. Dennis supported continued learning and education with his parishioners, along with his own continued personal development. Numerous education programs were held or scheduled including Bible Study, a Spiritual Book Club, outside guest speakers, lectures at local colleges, classes on Angels and Saints, and a mini-series on the Orthodox Christian Approach to 12-Step Recovery.

Emphasis and support of charity continued under Fr. Dennis, with expanded on-going support of a few new and local charities in the Bridgeport and Trumbull region. An on-going collection of canned and dry goods was initiated, Personally, he supported missionary programs in Albania by volunteering twice with a team serving the Home of Hope Orphanage of Shen Vlash, Albania.

In September of 2018, Fr. Dennis retired after 40 years of service.

TWO MONTHS (AND COUNTING)

In October 2018, by the appointment of His Eminence. Archbishop NIKON, Father Sergei Bouteneff returned to cover the liturgical/sacramental needs of Saint George community – at that time, His Eminence said “… two/three months…” a term that has gotten significantly longer. The life of the parish was able to continue with Fr. Sergei’s continued commitment to St. George.

Interrupting the natural flow/growth of the parish was the COVID Pandemic that forced the parish to shutter its doors. To overcome this challenge, Fr. Sergei embarked on a project that brought weekly sermons, as well as sermonettes for the Church School, all of which were housed on the parish’s YouTube site.

Stemming from that period of isolation, once permission to re-open the church was granted (under limiting conditions), the parish began to live-stream the weekly services on FACEBOOK, a practice that continues to this day. The Parish Council worked hard to provide guidelines that would allow parishioners to attend services in person once again while honoring all recommended safety protocols. In response to some the isolation felt by our parishioners during this trying time, the “St. George Elves” group was created, with a mission of bringing bags filled with holiday goodies to our sick and elderly parishioners who continued to remain mostly isolated. The Elves continue to make their holiday visits each year so these members of our parish family know they are not forgotten.

The Choir also continued their long-standing tradition of sending gift boxes filled with treats to help our college students during their final exams. Our students have also been supported through the generosity of parishioner Katherine LaBache, who established a scholarship to assist the children of St. George in their quest for higher education. We are a family caring for one another.

ADD PHOTO OF KATHERINE LABACHE

We were blessed by a very generous gift from the now shuttered Saint Mary’s Orthodox Church (OCA) in Waterbury, CT: two large icons depicting the Mystical Supper that grace the walls of our altar space.

For the past three years, Saint George started collecting frozen turkey and hams during the Christmas/Advent Season (and beyond) for distribution in February when the Food Pantries and Soup Kitchens experience a dwindling supply of meat. During this 100th Anniversary year, we have embarked on a goal of completing “100 Acts of Service” in honor of 100 Years of history. Activities like supporting the food pantry, making fleece blankets for children experiencing trauma, as well as many individual acts to help and support others are the focus of this initiative.

ADD PIC OF 100 ACTS OF SERVICE FOR 100 YEARS

The life of the parish continues to maintain the rhythm between personal salvation and the call to be the vehicles of Christ’s love towards all. The parish gathers weekly in prayer and fellowship – trying to discern God’s Will for the future of our community and ourselves.

Sources for much of the account of this history section is from:  1) the Fiftieth Anniversary Book of the Albanian Orthodox Church in America 1908-1958 – compiled by Metropolitan Theophan (“Fan”) S. Noli;  2) input by Father Daniel Montgomery for both a newspaper article in the September 10, 1978 THE SUNDAY POST (Bridgeport, CT) and from the St. George Trumbull CONSECRATION Program of April 20, 1980;  and 3) on the occasion of the 80th Anniversary of the founding of the St. George community,  updated history from a July 30, 2005 CONNECTICUT POST article that received input from Father Sergei Bouteneff.