PARISH HISTORY
In the 1920s, a small group of Greek Orthodox immigrants came to Norristown, an area adjacent to Jeffersonville, to establish a new life for themselves and their families. By the early 1960s, they founded the Hellenic Civic Association (“HCA”) with about 30-35 and almost 40 children. These families wanted to maintain and protect their spiritual and cultural values in America. Members of the HCA reached out to nearby Orthodox churches to help meet their spiritual and cultural needs. For example, the Saint George Cathedral in Philadelphia sponsored a Greek Language School twice a week for the children. In 1968, members of the HCA used the American Hellenic Educational Progressive Association (“AHEPA”) platform to establish Valley Forge Chapter 432 to provide the community with more resources and a base to get focused and organized. The AHEPA chapter is still active today.
In the 1970s, the HCA established its first spiritual home in the basement of the Commonwealth Bank in Norristown. Later, the community purchased a multi-purpose room on a property that also included five apartments that were rented for income. After seven years, the property was sold and together with hard work and personal savings, a church was purchased on Centre Avenue in Jeffersonville.
By 1980, the community had grown to over 80 families. At that time, this community had its first full time priest, Father Constantine Andrews, who served for the next four years. It was also at this time that the parish was chartered by the Archdiocese and one year later, the church was officially named Saint Sophia and Her Three Daughters, Saints Faith, Hope and Agape. In 1984, Father Spyridon Kehayes was assigned for the next five years and during his tenure, the parish purchased a 4.5 acre property on Marshall Street in Jeffersonville.
For the next several years, the spiritual needs of the parish were served primarily by part-time priests. Then, in July of 1990, Father John A. Limberakis was assigned to the parish. Father Limberakis brought with him the energy and enthusiasm to build a permanent site that would be appropriate for future growth and would provide stability to the local Greek Orthodox community. By that time, the community had grown to about 100 families. In 1991, these families, under the spiritual leadership of Father Limberakis, purchased the current eight acre property and two years later broke ground on a 16,000 square foot Cultural Center that was designed to serve multiple purposes. First and foremost, it was the home of the Saint Sophia parish. Second, it was a hall that could be rented for income and used for festivals. Third, with six classrooms, it could serve as a home for the parish’s Catechism School and Greek Language School. The funds for all this were raised from proceeds of the sale of the other properties owned by the parish, along with additional fundraising from the parish and a bank loan of almost $1 million.
From 2000-2005, Father James Pavlow was assigned to Saint Sophia and under his spiritual leadership, two significant events occurred. First, in 2003 the parishioners came together and developed a specific plan to begin the process to build a permanent church. Second, with the help of several important benefactors, the total debt of the church was paid off in 2004. After this, the community was served for a short period of time by Father Basil Kissel. In October 2008, through the generosity of one of our benefactors, Mr. Nicholas Bouras along with Presvytera Elizabeth Limberakis, this center was officially named the John A. Limberakis Cultural Center in honor of the great dedication and service Father Limberakis gave to the church and this community and all those he touched deeply.
Today, Saint Sophia is a growing parish of the Metropolis of New Jersey with almost 200 families. The parishioners of Saint Sophia have decided that now is the time to build a church proper along with additional facilities in order to further support this growth. In fact, the sister parishes in the area all have a church proper and their facilities currently operate at almost full capacity.
In 2006, in recognition of the future potential of Saint Sophia and the importance of a Greek Orthodox parish in the Valley Forge area, his Eminence Metropolitan Evangelos assigned Father Peter Thornberg, a dynamic young priest, as the full time proistamenos. His Eminence felt this parish needed a full-time priest to help grow the parish and build a church to support this growth. Father Peter brings energy and vision that have been well received by the community and is at the center of the strong commitment of the stewards of Saint Sophia to move forward with achieving its mission.
The church has active youth groups, with almost 100 students enrolled in the Catechism School in grades nursery through grade six. With ten dedicated Catechism teachers, these students spend each Sunday learning lessons that build on the week’s gospel lesson as well as the general teachings of the Greek Orthodox faith. Many of these students also participate in the Saint Sophia Greek Language School. In 2007, the school proudly announced its first students that succeeded in passing with Outstanding grades, the Greek Language Proficiency Test (Level I and II) offered by the University of Thessaloniki via the Greek Consulate in New York. Together, these classes provide the youth of the parish with the opportunity to learn about our culture, heritage, language and most importantly our faith. These essentials help further connect the youth with the Church and to help them build a strong sense of community and connection with the Greek Church and community.
