HERRY HILL, NJ – The parishioners of the Greek Orthodox Church of Saint Thomas in Cherry Hill enjoyed an exciting and blessed day as the Church opened its doors on October 6 after being closed since May 21, 2019, celebrating its first Divine Liturgy in the newly renovated Church.
An Archieratical Divine Liturgy was celebrated by His Eminence Metropolitan Evangelos of New Jersey assisted by the Very Reverend Archimandrite Christoforos Oikonomidis and the Reverend Father Anargyros Fakinos, visiting from Greece. The liturgy not only celebrated the opening of the Church but also the feast day of its patron Saint Thomas. The Church renovation included the construction of a bell tower, a dome placed on the structure of the church building, reconstruction of the narthex, tiling the roof, and replacement of the brick with stone on the façade of the church.
The project began in 2016 when the facade was constructed which included a beautiful mosaic of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, the Theotokos, and Saint Thomas.
Planning immediately began for the renovation of the Church itself which began in March 2019 and ended in September 2019. The bell tower rang at the entrance of His Eminence Metropolitan Evangelos for vespers on October 5, which was attended by area priests, the Consul General of Greece Konstantine Koutros, Archons of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, and Supreme President of the Order of AHEPA George G. Horiates, Esq. A reception was held immediately thereafter. On October 6, the first Divine Liturgy was celebrated.
His Eminence recognized the hard work of past presidents of the Parish Council, Archon Demetrios Rozanitis, Archon Stathis Karadonis, and Archon George G. Horiates who all laid the ground work for the renovation. His Eminence also recognized the Very Reverend Archimandrite Christoforos Oikonomidis and Archon Anastasios Efstratiades, the Parish Council President, who devoted their full energies to the project and guided the parish through the entire renovation project. He also recognized the founders who constructed the church in 1967 saying that they did such a great job in the early construction that no structural changes were needed to accommodate the placing of the dome on the church structure.
A reception was held for all who attended and there his Eminence recognized the Bannett Construction Group, Scott Bannett, President, Fred Costa, Project Manager, Brian McGlade, structural engineer, and Nabil Mujali who supervised the construction of the dome on the church and bell tower. The event concluded with His Eminence Metropolitan Evangelos offering praise to Bannett and to the community.
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