The 125th Anniversary Capital Campaign
“Second to none
in America”
Archbishop Iakovos · Thyranoixia · November 19, 1972
That was the judgment of the legendary Archbishop Iakovos the day the doors of our current church opened for the first time. Fifty-four years later, this campaign's first priority is welcoming everyone all the way in. A parishioner who cannot manage stairs can already reach the pangari and nave of the church and the cultural center's entrance hallway — this campaign builds the elevator that carries them the rest of the way, to the social hall below and the classrooms above.
In 2026 the nation's 250th and the parish's 125th meet in a single year: the 250th anniversary of our nation's founding here in Philadelphia, and the 125th of this parish, founded in 1901 by Greek immigrants who arrived with little more than their faith. The 125th Anniversary Capital Campaign finishes what 1972 began — an elevator to every floor, a new roof that no longer leaks, a kitchen and cultural center equal to the work done in them, and the iconography the founders envisioned but could not fund.
Why 125 years matters
From a rented room on Chestnut Street.
Founded in 1901 by Greek immigrants who arrived with little more than their faith, ours was the sixth Greek Orthodox parish established in America and the first in the Philadelphia region. From a rented room on Chestnut Street, to a converted church on South Twelfth Street, to the sanctuary that rises today in Elkins Park, it has served the Delaware Valley without interruption for a century and a quarter.
Beyond this parish
Mother church of Philadelphia Orthodoxy.
Twelve sister parishes have since grown out of that small 1901 congregation, and Saint Demetrios of Upper Darby began as its own satellite. Every Orthodox Christian in the greater Philadelphia area can trace the roots of their faith back to this one parish. Read the full history →
The church that stands in Elkins Park today — a single copper dome over a sanctuary raised in the Byzantine style, opened in 1972 at the Thyranoixia conducted by the legendary Archbishop Iakovos of North and South America — was built the same way this campaign is asking donors to build now: in phases, funded as it went, by people giving what they could.
The parish is bound to the wider Church in a further way. Since the Archons of the Ecumenical Patriarchate were founded in 1966, the Order's members nationwide have been led by a single National Commander at a time. In sixty years there have been four; two of them — Dr. Anthony G. Borden (1976–1989) and Dr. Anthony J. Limberakis (1998–present) — have belonged to this parish, together leading the Order for forty-one of those sixty years. Read more about our parish’s Archons →
And from 1907 to 1916, this parish was served by Father Raphael Morgan — a convert from Jamaica, ordained at the Ecumenical Patriarchate — the first Black Orthodox priest in America.
None of that is history alone. The same parish today runs a kitchen that has fed the hungry for a hundred years, a food-pantry ministry, and a homeless ministry serving neighbors well beyond its own membership. See what the building is for →
Why now
Why not wait until the full six million dollars was pledged before starting anything? Because a parish that waits for total certainty before acting on real need serves no one in the meantime. This community has always built the way Phase One was built — in phases, beginning as soon as a phase is funded, not after the whole plan is paid for. Phase One is the proof: it was scoped, financed, and finished within a single year.
First, the loan
The only part of this campaign you can already walk through.
Phase One cost $1,500,000 and was financed by a bank loan. Parishioners have pledged $564,100 against it, of which $403,085 has been received. The balance of $1,096,915 is still outstanding, and the parish pays interest on it every month — money that leaves the building instead of going into it.
Debt is usually the hardest thing to raise money for, because there is nothing to see. That is not our situation. The work is done. You can stand in the renovated classrooms and the new entrance and see exactly what your gift pays for. Every dollar given toward the loan reduces what the parish pays in interest over the life of the note, which makes it the highest-returning dollar in the campaign.
Our vision
Our vision is to create a modern, safe, beautifully welcoming environment that inspires our faithful to fully participate in the spiritual and social lives of our community — so parishioners can safely enter the Church, gather in the Cultural Center for fellowship after Liturgy, and rely on modern, safe bathrooms and kitchen facilities. Our campus has served us well since opening in 1972, and the Byzantine Palaeologan architecture of our Church can be even more spiritually uplifting with expanded iconography illustrating additional saints and gospel lessons.
What the money does
Three priorities, in this order.
Create a modern, safe, welcoming environment that attracts and inspires our parishioners. Everything below serves that, and the order is deliberate — access first, then the building envelope and systems, then the beauty of the church.
Priority One
Safety and accessibility
No one — the elderly or the young, a widow with a cane or a mother with a stroller — should be kept out of the social hall below or the classrooms above by a flight of stairs.
- Elevator connecting the social hall and the classrooms above it
- Modern bathrooms for the cultural center
Priority Two
Facilities for the next fifty years
The complex was built for a parish of the 1970s. This work sets it up for the parish our grandchildren will inherit.
- Expanded kitchen for the cultural center
- Bell tower above the elevator
- Atrium over the cultural center entrance
- Dome repairs, a new roof over the church, and parking lot improvements
Priority Three
The beauty of the church
The 1972 iconography was begun by George Filippakis and George Gleatas and never completed. This continues their program — a significant undertaking whose full scope is still to be set.
- A major program of new iconography — additional saints and gospel lessons, inside the church and in selected exterior areas
Order of construction
- 1AccessibilityElevator, structure, ramps
- 2FacilitiesRoof, kitchen, cultural center, systems
- 3BeautyIconography
Share of the Phase Two budget
Significant enhancements to ensure everyone has access to a more beautiful and functional Greek Orthodox church and cultural center — all for the glory of God.
- 17% Accessibility — $700K–$900K
- 34% Facilities — $1.275M–$1.9M
- 38% Beauty — $1.525M–$1.925M
- 11% Engineering & site-wide — $450K–$550K
The order above is the order of construction, not the size of the investment. A full icon program for a church this size is the single largest line in the budget — but the elevator and the structural work behind it come first regardless, because no family should have to wait for beauty to have access.
Each phase begins only once it is funded — not after the whole plan is paid for. Work on the elevator and accessibility can start as pledges arrive; architectural and engineering work for the rest of Phase Two begins once pledges reach roughly $1.7 to $2 million. Publishing the sequence, not just the total, is deliberate: you should be able to see exactly what your gift starts next.
What the building is for
A kitchen is not an amenity.
The Cultural Center and the kitchen beside it are where this parish does its work in the world — the work that brings our children, parents, and grandparents together to share fellowship, expand our Greek Orthodox catechetical and Hellenic cultural education, and build lasting family memories full of kefi.
What goes out of these rooms
- Ladies Philoptochos Nausica — marking its own hundredth year — cooks out of this kitchen year-round: for the parish's own OPA Festival, for neighbors who are homeless, and for FOCUS North America and the Ronald McDonald House. Philoptochos means friend of the poor; for a century that has meant the hungry, the aged, the sick, the orphaned, the widowed, and the victims of disaster
- Our Matthew 25 program keeps area food pantries stocked through regular deliveries to partners including Seeds of Hope and Somerton Interfaith
- Our Homeless Ministry provides food, clothing, and backpacks to neighbors in need, and feeds local college students facing food insecurity
Why we need an elevator
Every one of those ministries operates out of rooms this campaign is asking you to repair. A hundred years of φιλανθρωπία is not an abstraction. It is women who have served this parish faithfully for fifty years, and who now cannot easily reach the floor where much of that service happens.
There are two ways down to the social hall today, and both are stairs only — one through the church and past the parish offices, the other a set of stairs from outside. This campaign replaces that outside stairway with a new structure carrying the bell tower above it, so for the first time there will be a choice: new stairs, or an elevator.
So the elevator is not a convenience added to a building. It is the difference between a ministry that continues and one that quietly but abruptly stops because the people who carry it can no longer get downstairs.
Why 2026
Five anniversaries meet in a single year.
Our patronal feast is the Annunciation — March 25th. It is also the day the revolutionaries of 1821 and Bishop Germanos chose to raise the banner of independence from four hundred years of Ottoman oppression. The Χαῖρε of the Archangel became the cry of a people, and faith and freedom have been bound together in the Greek heart ever since. That this parish should mark its 125th in the year Philadelphia marks the nation's 250th is not an accident of the calendar, but a manifestation of divine providence.
- 250The founding of the United States, here in Philadelphia
- 205Greek Independence, born on this feast day in 1821
- 125The Greek Orthodox Community of Philadelphia
- 100Ladies Philoptochos Nausica
- 60The Archons of the Ecumenical Patriarchate — two of the four National Commanders come from this parish
The goal
Six million dollars — together with every single family.
In 1968 this parish had no cultural center, no dedicated classrooms, no sanctuary built to its own design — only a converted Episcopal church that had served it for sixty years. Our grandparents did not have the money in hand when they decided to build what stands today. They raised it the way this page is asking you to now, and it worked. This campaign is not attempting something new. It is following a blueprint this community has already proven, once, at exactly this scale.
One hundred percent participation is not a slogan we added to the number. It is half the goal. A building that belongs to the whole community should be paid for by the whole community, and three hundred families giving what they can is worth more to this parish than a few families giving everything.
So the question is not whether your gift is large enough to matter. It is whether your name is on the giving list. Donate at whatever level is right for your household, and the campaign will publicly acknowledge and express profound gratitude for your gift.
There is a Greek word for what is being asked of you here. Philotimo — the love of honor, expressed through generosity and service. It has never been measured by the size of a gift. It is measured by what is in your heart.
As a guideline, not a requirement — this is nearly word for word what our own parish asked of itself in 1968, the last time we built at this scale:
“At least ten percent (10%) of one year’s income, or one percent (1%) of family net worth, whichever amount is greater — payable over a period not to exceed three years… The Bible clearly sets forth the tithe, or 10% each and every year. All we ask for the New Building Fund is 10% once, which spread over three years amounts to 3⅓% of yearly income for only three years. It has been about 67 years since we built Annunciation! Is 10% once in 67 years asking too much?”
It was not. They built it. It has been fifty-four years since they finished, and we are asking the same question of a new generation. The 1968 campaign explained its own guiding principle this way:
“The proper and Christian way is: ‘Equal sacrifice but not equal gifts.’ Some are blessed with many riches and high incomes — they should, of course, give more. But the church belongs to all of us, so we should all sacrifice equally. Large donors always have their names in corner stones and memorials — and we welcome and encourage all large donations, the bigger the better — however, all contributions, regardless of amounts, shall be appropriately and gratefully recognized. Hopefully, the widow’s mite, the average parishioner’s pledge, and the rich man’s substance will all harmoniously combine into one united, equal sacrifice, effort. It is not for this committee or anyone to dictate to any of you how much you should or must give toward the success of our New Building Fund Program. That decision is a personal one for each family to make as its love for God and prayerful consideration directs.”
“It is indeed an honor as well as a challenge to undertake the creation of a truly Byzantine Church, school and auditorium, so necessary for the survival of our parish and worship of God. Only with selfless generosity and brotherly love and unity will we be able to continue our faith and pass on our glorious heritage and ideals to our children,” wrote Dr. Anthony G. Borden, President of the Parish Council, in that same 1968 appeal. “Let us make the maximum sacrifice for a worthy cause. Let us be the new founders in this rebirth of our beloved community.” Their campaign closed with three words we are borrowing for our own: “We can. We must. We will.” Fifty-eight years later, they are still true.
Recognition levels
What each level of giving asks.
| Level | Minimum commitment |
|---|---|
| Distinguished Benefactor | $100,000 |
| Grand Benefactor | $50,000 |
| Benefactor | $25,000 |
| Grand Patron | $10,000 |
| Patron | $5,000 |
| Supporter | Any amount |
With gratitude
The families who have already stepped forward.
Listed by giving level. A household may always request that a gift remain anonymous in published recognition — see the pledge card below.
- Constantine and Anna Dalson and Family
- Doctors Anthony & Maria Limberakis
- Peter and Susan Gouris
- John and Catherine Avgiris
- Pantelis and Maria Sourias
Naming opportunities — Phase One
Specific rooms and systems, ready to be named.
These are the naming opportunities from the completed first phase — all but one still available. Some are a room or a system your name goes on; the Disciple designations sponsor a category of the work instead. Either way, the work is already built — you can walk through what you are naming.
The phases still ahead have not been fully scoped yet, so no naming levels have been set for them — and we would rather work that out with you directly than publish a price list before we know what the work is. If you are considering a gift at that level, call the church office at (215) 635-0316 or write to capitalcampaign@anngoc.org.
| Naming opportunity | Commitment |
|---|---|
| Hellenic Education Cultural Center Named — no longer available | $150,000 |
| Education and Safety Disciples Sponsors both the classroom work and the safety and access work | $75,000 |
| Education Disciple Sponsors the classroom work — new windows, heating, air conditioning and lighting | $50,000 |
| Church painting | $50,000 |
| Father’s office | $50,000 |
| Administrative office | $50,000 |
| Conference room | $50,000 |
| Internet and security systems | $50,000 |
| Church lighting systems | $25,000 |
| Classroom furniture and TVs | $10,000 |
| Safety Disciples Sponsors the safety and access work — exterior ramps and sidewalks with railings and seating, and accessible main-floor bathrooms | $10,000 |
The building itself
What a hundred and twenty-five years looks like.
Photographed in August 2026 — the church, the complex, and the details the campaign exists to preserve and finish.
Two ways to take part
A pledge and a gift are different things.
The campaign needs both. Choosing the right one keeps our records honest and lets the committee plan against real numbers.
Make a pledge
A pledge is your statement of intent — a total you commit to give over time, on a schedule you set. It is not a payment and no card is charged. Pledges are what let the committee sign contracts and start work.
Give now
A one-time or recurring gift processed immediately. If you have already pledged, this is how you fulfill it. If you are giving without a pledge, this is all you need to do.
Giving through a donor-advised fund, appreciated stock, an IRA distribution or an employer match? That works with either path — here is everything your fund or portal will ask for.
Work in hand
Some of this is already finished.
The campaign is not a proposal. The first phase was completed over the summer and fall of 2025 — finished, in use every week, and paid for with a bank loan the parish is still carrying. Retiring that loan is the campaign's first task. What follows it is the second phase.
Safety, access, and the education wing
- New bathrooms on the main floor
- New main entrance with ramps and seating areas
- Electronic security system
- Classroom renovation — new windows, heating and air conditioning, lighting
- Office upgrades, Philoptochos area, additional storage
- Church plaster repairs, fresh paint, new lighting systems
The elevator, the roof, the cultural center, the icons
- Elevator connecting the cultural center's social hall and classrooms
- Modern bathrooms and expanded kitchen for the cultural center
- Bell tower over the elevator; atrium over the cultural center entrance
- Dome repairs, a new roof over the church, and parking lot improvements
- A major program of new iconography — expanded imagery illustrating additional saints and gospel lessons, inside the church and in selected exterior areas. A significant undertaking in its own right; the full scope is still to be set.
Campaign progress
A legacy of faith.
A brighter tomorrow.
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Committed toward our — goal
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Received to date
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Gifts and pledges
A growing community of support
The pledge card
Your commitment, in your own hand.
A pledge is a statement of intent, not a contract, and it can be revised at any time by contacting the church office. Pledge information is held by the campaign committee and is not circulated to the Parish Council or the clergy.
Prefer paper? Download the pledge card as a PDF to fill out by hand and mail, or bring to church.
Received
Thank you.
Your pledge has been recorded, and a written confirmation is on its way to your email. If it has not arrived within a few minutes, please check your spam folder, or call the church office at (215) 635-0316 and we will confirm your pledge was recorded. If you would like to make your first payment now, you can do so below.
Give now
Make a gift or fulfill a pledge.
Gifts are processed securely. Bank transfer carries the lowest processing cost to the parish, so more of your gift reaches the work.
Questions
What parishioners ask.
Do we really need this, or could we make do with what we have?
This parish asked itself the same question in 1968, before it built the sanctuary that stands today: “The bricks and mortar are always subordinate to the educational, spiritual values and progress in truly great churches.” The building itself was never the point — what it makes possible was, and still is. An elevator does not replace faith, but it decides whether a widow with a cane can still reach the social hall or the classrooms above it. A roof that no longer leaks does not replace scripture, but it decides whether the icons beneath it survive to be seen by the next generation. The 1968 campaign closed its case with a line that still holds: “The grandchildren born to our immigrant parents are now knocking at the doors of our hearts and minds — our new church — to let them in. We must not remain deaf to their call.” Ours are the grandchildren of that generation, asking the same thing of us.
How much should I give?
There is no set amount — one hundred percent participation is measured in families, not dollars, and a pledge of any size moves the campaign toward that goal. $25 a month for five years is $1,500, and it counts toward participation exactly as any other gift does. If a larger gift is out of reach as a single payment, consider spreading it over the campaign's five-year window instead: $25,000 over five years is $5,000 a year, well within reach for many households who could not give that amount at once. See Recognition levels for what each level of giving asks.
Is my gift tax deductible?
Yes. Annunciation – Evangelismos Greek Orthodox Church is recognized by the Internal Revenue Service as a tax-exempt organization under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code (EIN: 23-1649239). You will receive written acknowledgment of your gift for your records. Contributions are tax-deductible to the fullest extent permitted by law; please consult your own tax advisor regarding your individual circumstances.
With the Internal Revenue Service the parish is registered under its corporate name, Greek Orthodox Community of Philadelphia — so that, rather than the name on the sign, is often what a receipt or a giving platform will show. See the name and tax ID to use for the exact wording.
What name and tax ID should I use for a donor-advised fund, IRA distribution, stock transfer or matching gift?
Use the registered name and EIN exactly as they appear here. Donor-advised fund sponsors, brokerages, IRA custodians and employer matching-gift portals all search the IRS register, where this parish is recorded under its registered corporate name rather than the name on its sign. For the capital campaign, use exactly this:
- Registered name
- Greek Orthodox Community of Philadelphia
- Second name on file
- Annunciation Church
- EIN
- 23-1649239
- Address
- 7921 Old York Road, Elkins Park, Pennsylvania 19027
Please note — there are two listings
The parish also has an Annunciation Evangelismos Endowment Fund, EIN 83-3399560, registered at this same address. It is a separate organization and has nothing to do with this campaign: a gift made to the Endowment does not reach the 125th Anniversary Capital Campaign.
It is also the listing you are more likely to find. Its name carries both “Annunciation” and “Evangelismos”; the parish's registered name carries neither. Whatever name your platform shows you, confirm the EIN reads 23-1649239 before you submit.
Many platforms run the two names together and show Greek Orthodox Community of Philadelphia Annunciation Church. That is correct, and it is this parish — the same Annunciation – Evangelismos Greek Orthodox Church named everywhere else on this page. Searching by the EIN is the surest way to find us; if your platform still cannot, call the office at (215) 635-0316 and we will work through it with you.
Please ask that “125th Capital Campaign” be noted as the purpose of the grant or transfer, and tell the office that it is on the way. Gifts from donor-advised funds and brokerages often reach us with no donor name attached, and we would much rather thank you properly than guess.
Everything your fund or portal will ask for → — the fields above plus the grant purpose, recurring gifts, and what to do if your fund’s charity search cannot find us at all.
Back to the pledge card · Back to Give now — anything you had already typed is still there.
Six million dollars is a great deal of money. Is it realistic?
The first phase — $1.5 million — is built, but it was financed by a bank loan the parish is still paying down and still paying interest on; retiring that loan is this campaign's first task, not a finished one. The second phase is costed, and the campaign is built on broad participation rather than a handful of very large gifts — which is why one hundred percent participation sits alongside the dollar figure as half the goal.
How is this different from my stewardship?
Stewardship funds the daily life of the parish — clergy, utilities, catechism, everything that happens week to week. The capital campaign is a generational investment in long-term facilities — the building itself, not the year-to-year running of it. A capital gift is in addition to stewardship, not instead of it.
Who sees my pledge?
Only the small designated campaign team that maintains the pledge ledger. Individual giving records are not circulated to the Parish Council as a body or to the clergy.
Can I change or pause my pledge?
Yes — unforeseen events can always occur that may cause you to consider reducing, or possibly even increasing, your pledge. Please remember that we plan and execute activities and enter into financial obligations on the basis of pledged amounts, so we ask that you honor your pledge to the fullest extent possible. Contact the church office whenever an adjustment is needed. The same goes for a recurring monthly card gift set up through “Give now” — it can be changed or stopped at any time by calling the office at (215) 635-0316.
What if I would rather give by check?
Make checks payable to Annunciation – Evangelismos Greek Orthodox Church with “125th Capital Campaign” on the memo line, and mail to 7921 Old York Road, Elkins Park, Pennsylvania 19027. If you would also like your intent recorded — for recognition, or simply so the committee knows to expect it — the pledge card above is there for that, but it isn't required to give by check.