Please Note: The Archdiocesan Archives, as a repository for historical texts and ephemera, serves the professional, academic, and theological community. The Archives do not contain sacramental records (such as marriage and baptism certificates), and cannot provide such documents, nor does the archives provide genealogical services. Please visit the Registry Department for such matters.
Contact Information
8 East 79th Street, New York, NY 10075-0106
Tel.: (212) 570-3517
Email: [email protected]
Web: archives.goarch.org
Mission
The mission of the Department of Archives & Resource Center is to systematically collect, organize, catalogue, and maintain the documents relating to the history of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America and the Greek-American Community. As a repository of select resources, the department’s goal is to preserve our indelible past, chronicle our present and to provide a valuable resource center for future generations interested in the unique history of our Holy Archdiocese, the vast richness of our Greek Orthodox Faith and Hellenism in America.
Introduction
The Department of Archives is one of the most important ministries of our Holy Archdiocese. It is and has great potential of becoming a repository of select resources that bear witness to the unique history of our Holy Archdiocese and the vast richness of our Greek Orthodox Faith in the Americas. The Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America has amassed a unique and valuable collection of materials relating to the history of the Greek people, their culture and religion in the Americas. This material continues to be an important linchpin to the present-day life of the Community.
Historical Development
Since the establishment of the first Greek Orthodox Church in 1892, the evolution of the Greek American community has become a primary concern of the Church and her leadership. Thus, through the work of this vital department, the preservation of historical documents of the Greek Orthodox Church and Hellenism in the Americas has become a priority. Established more than thirty years ago, the Department of Archives has undertaken the task of systematically evaluating, organizing and classifying voluminous files, dating as far back as 1905. These documents, which preceded the formal establishment of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of North and South America, record the history, progress and growth of the Church and her institutions, the Greek American community and numerous fraternal, social, cultural and educational organizations. The Department of Archives, once envisioned only as a dream, has now become a reality. After many years of work, the records of our history represent a professional approach to the preservation of our Greek Orthodox heritage in the Americas. The Department of Archives has undertaken a long-term project to digitize documents, photographs, artwork and objects that reflect the history of the Archdiocese and its members. The digital preservation of the Archives has been made possible through generous grants from the Niarchos Foundation, the Stephan and Catherine Pappas Foundation and the Archbishop Iakovos Leadership 100 Endowment Fund.
Saint Athanasios Theological School,1922, Astoria, NY