nothin Greek Fest Celebrates A Church’s Roots &… | New Haven Independent

Greek Fest Celebrates A Church’s Roots & Growth

Betsy Kim Photos

Spyros Condos at the construction site.

Mary Zafiris and Tina Karatzas at the festival.

The 1,000 people who attended this past weekend’s 13th annual St. Basil’s Church Greek Orthodox Cultural Fair were celebrating not just a rich tradition, but a commitment to continue building that tradition in New Haven.

The four-day festival took place on the church’s property on One Tower Lane, where St. Basil’s is planning to build a new $1.7 million basilica.

With Greek music playing, friends sat outdoors under an awning, ate, drank, and socialized in Greek and in English. People from New Haven and from around Connecticut enjoyed fresh homemade dishes of moussaka, pastichio, spanakopita, tyropita, souvlaki, gyros, Greek salad and desserts including baklava, kourabiedes and other traditional cookies. The women’s group, the Philoptochos or friends of the poor,” donated all food ingredients, cooked and baked on site, (with men volunteering at the grill), and served the food throughout the day and evening.

The food included souvlaki, tzatziki, and pita.

In 2016, the event raised $15,000 and similar proceeds are expected for this year. The fair provides about 40 percent of the fundraising that supports church operations, which includes salaries, utilities, and printing costs. The church pays no rent for its current space, in the building at One Tower Lane. This is provided free of charge by the non-profit organization, New Haven Greek Community, of which Spyros Condos serves as president.

Condos, who organizes the festival, which falls in the third week of September, said it has been growing each year, and demonstrates the Greek community’s faith in New Haven, as exemplified by plans for the expansion currently underway.

The planned new basilica structure will connect to the current facilities, which will be converted into the church hall. Designed by Kenneth Boroson Architects in New Haven, it will be 4,500 square feet (8,865 square feet including the existing building) and is scheduled for completion in April 2017. The New Haven Greek Community has taken out a separate equity loan for the construction, which is apart from the church’s cultural fair and operations fundraising. Construction is underway but by the time of next year’s cultural fair, the new building is expected to be standing.

Father Augusta and Condos.

We like to support the community. I get to see people I grew up with, people that I don’t see too often,” said Penny Vastokis, who came in for the festival from Glastonbury.

Charles and Effie Paindiris who live in Hartford came into New Haven, like several other diners, joining friends who are members of St. Basil’s.

Father Donat Augusta, the presiding priest, said that during the week, people from neighboring offices and many residents from the retirement community next door at Tower One Tower East stopped by for meals. He particularly enjoyed interacting with the community, opening the doors, and sharing food and hospitality. People would come into the church, say a prayer, light a candle.” Augusta said.

Condos, now retired, worked at Yale University’s School of Medicine in the Department of Surgery for 30 years. He emphasized the church with its determination to stay in the downtown area, along with the city and Yale University, together have made progress with a shared, steadfast commitment to the neighborhood.

He said currently between 30 to 40 percent of the church members are affiliated with Yale University.

The new basilica, under construction.

To Condos, the more than 100-year-old presence of the Greek Orthodox church in New Haven has always been a significant aspect of the city’s history. Originally, the Greek Orthodox Church, St. Barbara’s, was on Beers Street and later relocated to Dwight Street. When St. Barbara’s moved to the suburbs in Orange, a group of parishioners, including Spyros Condos and his wife, Athena, were determined to maintain a church in New Haven. The New Haven group moved to St. Basil’s current location at One Tower Lane, with authorization to build in 1986 but opening its doors only after building construction was completed in 1992. 

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