Sweet Sanctuary
What are those gold domes along Dobson Road, south of Elliot Road?
St. Katherine Greek Orthodox Church, 2716 North Dobson Road, has just opened its sanctuary, the final piece of a three-phase construction complex designed by one of its members, Scottsdale architect Nick Tsontakis, AIA.
The congregation represents the East Valley parish of The Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, whose archbishop is in New York City and ecumenical patriarch in Istanbul, Turkey, as the leader of the Church of Constantinople. The church is allied with, but not identical to, others such as the Russian Orthodox and Serbian Orthodox, which maintain separate hierarchical leadership and adhere to similar but not identical tenets.
The three other Valley parishes are Phoenix (Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox), 1973 East Maryland Avenue; Scottsdale (Assumption Greek Orthodox Church), 8202 East Cactus Road; and Peoria (Saint Haralambos Greek Orthodox), 10320 North 84th Avenue.
The complex opened in three phases, explains Tsontakis, who immigrated to Montreal as a young man from native Crete, then moved to the Valley about a decade ago. The 11,600-square-foot community center was completed in 1999, followed by the 6,600-square-foot charter school in 2000 and the 12,000-square-foot church in 2008.
Founded in 1982, as the Chandler and East Valley continued to expand, the congregation is led by Father Phillip Armstrong, who joined the congregation in 1993. The first church occupied the former Bustos Elementary; a second adjacent acre was acquired three years later and a third in July 1987. Two additional properties have since been acquired.
The parish comprises about 200 to 300 families, about 500 to 700 people, and growing. “Our congregation is a diverse mix of second- and third-generation Americans,” Father Armstrong says. Many are Greeks, like Tsontakis and his family, while others are Lebanese, Palestinian, Russian, Serbian and Bulgarian. Other congregants trace themselves to Africa and Korea, and a few have converted to the Greek Orthodox faith.
About 500 parishes and an estimate 2 million members compose the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America. An eparchy of the central church, the American church is headquartered in the Archdiocesan District of New York City, headed by Archbishop Demetrios Trakatellis. The eight metropolises, or dioceses, are San Francisco (which includes Arizona), New Jersey, Chicago, Atlanta, Detroit, Pittsburgh, Boston and Denver.
The archbishop meets as an equal among equals with the Eparchial Synod of Metropolitans, each of whom oversees their dioceses. Metropolitan Gerasimos Michaleas, in fact, regularly visits Arizona and St. Katherine from San Francisco as part of his pastoral duties.
Built with insulated block construction for the walls and wood trusses on the roof, the community center is a multi-purpose hall including a high school basketball court/reception hall, a full-service kitchen, office, bathrooms and a 40-foot-wide elevated stage for performances and storage rooms. When the church isn’t using the hall for its events and festivals, it’s rented to neighborhood organizations and individuals for weddings and other activities.
Containing 10 classrooms for kindergarten through the eighth grade, the school comprises wood-framed exterior walls and roof with the interior partitions in light-gauge steel. The retention basin in the center of the site also doubles as the school’s exterior recreation space.
In 2002, Tsontakis designed the two-level church to have a structural steel and light-gauge-steel frame and a 10-inch-thick post-tensioned floor slab to reduce the possibility of cracking the concrete, which could affect the stone flooring. An elevator provides assistance for the handicapped and elderly. Bathrooms are off the narthex, the administrative office, priest’s office and confession room. There is also a brides’ room (sorry, grooms!), and a board room and bookstore on the upper level. In the altar area is the altar boys’ changing room and an additional priest’s room, with a bath. “We even have a crying room for children,” Tsontakis says, with a smile.
He ensured through the three phases that the buildings are tied aesthetically as well as connected with a covered walkway on the west side. Common features include horizontal stucco banding, stained split-faced concrete columns and walls, roof style and concrete roof tile as well as similarities in window geometry.
The Orthodox churches split with Rome in 1054 A.D.; as a result, there are a variety of doctrinal and ritual differences between them the Catholic Church as well as among themselves. Members believe in the Trinity as well as the seven sacraments, for example, in common with other Christian groups. However, while the patriarch in Istanbul is elected for life by the archbishops throughout the world, the Greek Orthodox Church does not believe in his infallibility.
“For Greek Orthodoxs, the significance of individual prayer is of utmost importance,” Father Armstrong says. “This ‘theosis,’ or union with God, is the centerpiece of our spirituality. And this wonderful Chandler complex, in an environment of religious freedom, is a material celebration of that.”
Written by David M. Brown
Photo by Scott Sandler
