Although the skyline of the city has changed with the competition to build the tallest building in Grand Rapids, one item remains the same – the many steeples of the churches that are the foundation of our ancestors who settled along the banks of the Grand River.
Each of these represents our past and the immigrants that settled in our area to give Grand Rapids the nickname “Furniture City”.
In this series you will follow the Steeple Chase throughout this great city and view the awe inspiring architecture of our forefathers. The distinct architectural styles represent the great churches of Europe from which these immigrants fled to find a new life in the United States.
This is not meant to promote any one religion, but to show how all have blended together within the City of Grand Rapids to make this one great place to live.
St. George Antiochian Orthodox Church
The parish of Saint George is the mother parish of all Orthodox Christian parishes in West Michigan. Its history can be traced back to the early 1900’s as Orthodox immigrants from Syria settled in Grand Rapids. Initially these immigrants made their living by selling their wares by peddling them door-to-door. As they were financially able, many opened stores of their own in the growing city. Others sought employment in the city’s furniture factories.
To serve the community of Orthodox immigrants, a traveling priest, St. Raphael Hawaweeny, visited the area and encouraged the members of the community to establish their own church. St. George’s was founded with St. Hawaweeny’s assistance in 1907.
The first church building was purchased in 1908 and incorporated as St. George Church in 1910. By 1923, there was a major split in the church by the “Russy-Antaky” dispute over church governance and organization that followed throughout American Orthodoxy following the Russian Revolution. As a result, a new church, St. Nicholas was established and St. George Church remained in its present location. (source: stgeorgegr.com)