For any Greek Orthodox community, the first celebration of Pascha is an important milestone. For the Annunciation parish of Little Rock, Arkansas, this took place in 1911. It took 10 more years of effort for the parish to be able to celebrate Christ’s resurrection in their own house of worship. This accomplishment would bring great joy to the faithful.

The Greek Orthodox community in Little Rock was not large compared to the great industrial cities of the Northeast and Midwest, but it was the largest concentration of Orthodox faithful in the state and in a region bounded on the west by Fort Worth and Dallas, on the north by Kansas City and St. Louis, with Memphis and Birmingham to the east, and New Orleans to the south. Annunciation in Memphis, about 140 miles away, was the closest parish.

The first celebration of Pascha for the Little Rock community took place at Christ Episcopal Church on Bright Tuesday, April 25, 1911. Fr. Michael Mandillas had been unable to leave Memphis until his obligations there were fulfilled.

When he performed the Liturgy in Little Rock, the church was filled to capacity. Reporters were impressed that the Orthodox parishioners stood through the entire two-hour service. Fr. Mandillas would return to Little Rock for baptisms, weddings and funerals, but the next Greek Orthodox Liturgy in Little Rock would not take place until Pascha, the following year.

In early 1917, the parish was finally able to obtain the services of a full-time priest. Fr. Kallinikos Kanellas was semi-retired. He had been the founding priest of Holy Trinity parish in Birmingham, Ala., and understood the needs of a fledgling parish. Under his leadership the parish grew rapidly, and fundraising for a church began. Fr. Kanellas was, however, in his eighties, and his health was not good. For a time, the therapeutic waters of nearby Hot Springs helped. In late 1919, he left for 10 months and consulted physicians in London and Liverpool. He returned in July 1920. After undergoing surgery at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., he was confined to a hospital in Little Rock.

In October 1920, the members of the Winfield Memorial Methodist Church decided they had outgrown their church building. The Greek Orthodox community purchased the stately structure, which had been built in 1889, but the Methodists did not vacate until the end of February. This left little time to convert the building into an Orthodox sanctuary and make preparations to celebrate Easter. Annunciation was the only parish in Arkansas and served the faithful throughout the state, so there was a heightened sense of urgency. It was important to everyone that the church be ready in time.

With Fr. Kanellas failing, his parishioners petitioned the Holy Synod of the Church of Greece in Athens for a replacement priest.

On March 4, 1921, Fr. Arsenios Priakos arrived in New York with his wife and two infant sons. Two days later, on March 6, after over 30 years service to the Church in America, Fr. Kanellas fell asleep in the Lord.

Priests came from Memphis and Birmingham to officiate at the funeral of this pioneering priest. At the end of March Fr. Priakos arrived in Little Rock to assume his duties. It would take three more weeks to complete the church renovation. In the rush to prepare, there was no time to order the candles for Easter by mail from Lowell, Mass. They took the unusual step of placing the order by telephone.

On Palm Sunday, April 24, 1921, Fr. Priakos celebrated the first Liturgy in the newly-renovated church. The parish had been able to obtain an epitaphion for Holy Week, but there had not been enough time to make arrangements for a procession through the streets of downtown Little Rock. It was not until the following year that the community would be able to hold the first Holy Friday procession.

Parishioners of Annunciation had worked hard to bring about the day when their own priest would celebrate Pascha in their own church. The efforts they made inspired many from outside the parish to contribute toward the purchase and renovation of the church. The parish treasurer gratefully acknowledged this help in the local press days three days before Palm Sunday: “We want to invite members of our church from all over the state to be present with us on the occasion of our first service.

Also we want to make it very plain that we will be very glad to have anyone attend our services. Little Rock businessmen and others who are not members of our church have been very generous in helping us buy the building and to remodel it. We want them to know that we will be glad to see them at any of our services…”

Fr. Priakos would not stay long in Little Rock. In 1922 after Pascha he was transferred to the Kimisis Tis Theotokou parish in Racine, Wis. There, on April 1923, he celebrated his third and last Easter in America. By August his health began to decline. His heart condition was worsening in the colder climate. He returned to Arkansas, where he died Feb. 13, 1924, at age 41. He had spent less than three years in America, but he had made a significant contribution to Annunciation parish. The church where Fr. Priakos celebrated his first Liturgy in America would serve as the home of Annunciation parish until 1983, when it moved to its current location.

The author thanks Fr. Nicholas Verdaris and Eleni Hronas of Little Rock; e-mail Dr. Samonides at [email protected]