THE CHURCH OFFICE Our Church Office is open daily, Monday through Friday from 8:00 AM to 4:00 PM. After hours, you may leave a brief message: your name, phone number, and purpose of your call, and your call will be returned. The Church Office is the communication center of your parish. Our Church secretary is trained to answer all your inquiries regarding meeting dates, schedules, procedures, and the whereabouts of any Church personnel. She will be happy to put you in contact with the proper spokesperson of every parish or community organization. THE PRIEST’S OFFICE Your priest is at his office on weekdays from 8:00 AM through 4:00 PM, or by arranged appointment at other times during the day or night. If you wish to see your priest at times other than his regular office hours, kindly call the Church Office for an appointment. Your priest has many obligations and his program is wide and varied. It is advisable to call him. He is a servant to God and will minister at any time of the day or night. In the event of an emergency, the priest can be reached at his office, at his residence after hours, or by mobile phone either through the Reverend Deacon, the parish President, or through the Church secretary. You are encouraged to visit your priest when you are facing serious problems. He has been trained to help people with their personal, family, and even business problems. The impartial judgment of a spiritual leader, together with his prayers for Divine guidance, will help you face your difficulties with renewed confidence. WHAT IS THE CHURCH? The Church is far more than an occasional Baptism, Wedding, or Funeral. It is the Body of Christ on earth, the Church militant, and the fellowship of the faithful. It is the Ecclesia – a gathering of the people – who come to worship together the Triune God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We have chosen to help and love one another as Christ Himself commanded. As a consequence of our belief in Christ, as Son of the living God, we have been baptized and receive his precious Blood and Body regularly. We participate in the programs, philanthropy, and financial support of our home church. We seek God’s help and the moral support of our fellow believers to lead a more Christian life. DO WE NEED THE CHURCH? If our faith needs practical expression, then we need the Church. A vague belief in God, a few occasional moments of devotional feeling, and a good deed once in a while, are hardly real expressions of our Faith. Some people talk a lot about being able to pray and do good without the Church, but they seldom do. To do a good, thorough, and systematic job of anything, requires organization of some sort. Every worthwhile cause, whether religious or civic, needs organization to express it, even if that organization may not be perfect. The Orthodox Church is a treasury, a storehouse of centuries of accumulated wisdom in man’s efforts to relate to God and his fellow man. None of us is so expert in our Orthodox Christian Faith that we can afford to ignore the Church. Truly, what we know of our faith we have ultimately received from the Church. Those of us who have received and cherish this heritage have an obligation – a duty – to pass it on to future generations. It takes that organization we call ‘Church’ to give Orthodox Christianity to those coming after us. To think only of us today and not be concerned for others tomorrow is selfish. This is why we need the Church and why we need to be ‘active’ and ‘concerned’ members of Christ’s Body … the Church He founded! As you travel through this website, please reflect on what we are trying to accomplish in our parish of St. George in Fresno. Your support, your concern, your prayers, and your commitment are necessary for us to continue our work in the Lord’s Name. Bear in mind His exhortation that: "Every man shall give as he is able, according to the blessing of the Lord, Your God, which he has given to you". (Dueteronomy 16:17) FOUNDING OF THIS PARISH At the turn of the 20th century, the first Greek immigrants began to arrive in Fresno. They were mostly young, single men who migrated here for work on the Southern Pacific railroad, lumber mills, and in agriculture. And as time passed, wives and brides-to-be began arriving from their homeland. Soon they created Greek-American families who became the nucleus of the Fresno Greek Community. As the community increased in numbers, the need grew for the establishment of a church. The Greek Orthodox Community of Fresno was formally organized on May 6, 1923. In December of the same year, a budget of $5000.00 was voted upon for the construction of a new church at 740 Fresno Street. St. George was adopted as the patron saint of the Fresno Greek Orthodox Community. As the community continued to grow, the need for additional facilities for conducting Greek School and Sunday School classes and for social activities became evident. In 1953 the community purchased five acres on the corner of North Orchard and Yale Avenue. Construction on our present site began in May 1954 and was completed in January of 1955. The first Divine Liturgy was celebrated in our present church on Sunday, February 27, 1955. His Eminence Archbishop Iakovos conducted consecration of the new edifice on Sunday, November 22, 1959. St. George Greek Orthodox is a member parish of the Greek Orthodox Diocese of San Francisco and of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America. The dioces and the archdiocese are under the jurisdiction of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople. OUR PATRON SAINT St. George the Great Martyr was born about 250 AD of noble Christian parents in Cappadocia. He excelled as an officer in the Roman army. During the persecutions against the Christian by the Roman Emperor Diocletian (c. 300 AD), St. George courageously confessed his faith in Christ before the Emperor and consequently underwent many tortures. He was eventually beheaded in 300 or 303 AD. Because of his zealous testimony against his informers and persecutors, and his many sufferings as a martyr for the Lord, he was given the title of "Megalomartis", meaning Great Martyr. He is therefore classed in the Eastern Orthodox Church among the greatest of martyrs. Most sources consider Lydda (also called Diosopolis) in Palestine, as the place of his martyrdom since it is the resting-place of his remains. Constantine the Great erected a church in his honor over his grave in Lydda (Lod, Israel today). The Church celebrates the feast of St. George on April 23 when he was martyred. The hymn of St. George describes characteristically the virtues of the saint, thus making his popularity and veneration easily understood. "As liberator of prisoners and a guardian of the poor, a physician of sick, a defender of Kings, O trophy-bearer. Great Martyr George, intercede to Christ God to save our souls."