"Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!"
(2 Corinthians 9:15)

Getting Started

In the early 1990’s, families from Coweta and Fayette Counties in the southern metro area of Atlanta approached His Grace Bishop Philip of blessed memory and Fr. Petros Kopsahilis, Chancellor of the Metropolis of Atlanta. They sought the Bishop's blessings to establish a Greek Orthodox Church that would welcome Pan-Orthodox faithful in the South Atlanta metro area. Because there was only a limited number of families and no available clergy, the decision was made to defer action until a later date.
 
 In 2003, Fr. George Tsahakis, the new Chancellor of the Metropolis of Atlanta, with the blessings of Metropolitan Alexios, worked with those supporting a mission parish in Peachtree City, GA. His Eminence blessed the effort and assigned Fr. George to meet with interested residents and seek to build up a permanent church. Our first worship services consisted of Orthros and Divine Liturgy on Sunday, October 26, 2003 - the Feast of St. Demetrios, the Holy Great Martyr and Myrrh-Streamer.
 

Finding Somewhere to Call Our Home

Initially, the faithful met in temporary and limited space at the Fayette Family Branch Y.M.C.A. at 215 Huiet Road, in Fayetteville, Georgia. Gathering before 7:00 a.m. every Sunday morning, they worked together to unpack their cars loaded with liturgical items and church supplies. After church services and coffee fellowship, they re-packed them until needed for the following Sunday. Another local A.M.E. parish met after we cleaned up the Y.M.C.A. facility at 11:00 a.m. As nomads, we were eagerly praying for God to find us a home we could unpack and stay in while we planned our future and sought co-workers to assist with our mission.
 
 After worshipping at the Y.M.C.A. for one year, our parishioners offered their volunteer services (and sweat labor) as well as financial contributions to renovate a warehouse space at our present location, 313 Dividend Drive. This facility has served as an Orthodox oasis ever since for our Orthodox worship, fellowship, service, and witness. From here, we sought to grow and maintain our parish family.
 
 Upon His first visit, Metropolitan Alexios expressed to Fr. George His happiness for our church that offers a beautifully decorated space with traditional Orthodox furniture and liturgical items for worship. It also has fellowship space, classrooms and meeting rooms to support the ministries needed for our Orthodox witness. His Eminence challenged Fr. George to inspire his parishioners to seek to buy real estate and build a permanent church presence in the area.
 
 Our parishioners are grateful to Costas and Tammy Soulakos for renting us the current space at below market cost for the first few years. Likewise, we thank God for our faithful parishioners who have labored from the beginning to welcome and catechize seekers to the Orthodox Church and feed the flock of our Lord's Holy Vineyard. We have become a vibrant parish family, headed by our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. We welcome seekers to Orthodoxy and those moving into our area. We strive to ensure a strong and lasting presence in our Risen Lord's Name, and we offer His love, mercy, and hospitality to all who visit and choose to join us.
 

Seeking Solid & Fertile Ground on Which to Build Our Parish

From the beginning, our mission has resolved and committed to offer what all Orthodox parishes are asked to provide by the Uniform Parish Regulations of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America - among which include a willing Priest (who actively serves evenings and weekends - except for emergencies - due to his service as Metropolitan Alexios' Chancellor), a strong and active Parish Council composed of Fr. George and nine parishioners, a full program of Religious Education from Pre-K to adults every Sunday for ten months of the year, an active and engaged Ladies Philoptochos Society, youth ministries of HOPE, JOY, and GOYA, chantors and choir (that includes the later leading the congregational singing during each Divine Liturgy without an organ), and our other ministires that support the faith, spiritual growth and development of our parish. Active real estate, building, and fundraising committees were established and utilized.
 
 Inasmuch as Fr. George cannot be present for morning weekday services due to his schedule and duties with the Metropolitan in Atlanta, the Bishop has encouraged and blessed him to offer customary weekday services as a vigil in late afternoons, beginning with Vespers, and followed by the Divine Liturgy. Each evening service concludes with a voluntary community dinner that ends around 7:30 p.m. Families are encouraged to worship together and invite their friends and neighbors to witness and experience the Orthodox faith. Our community worship schedule is designed to ensure this outcome, along with providing educational, service, and fellowship opportunities that welcome all Orthodox Christians of every jurisdiction as well as non-Orthodox visitors to this growing part of Atlanta. Our parishioners and Fr. George have participated in the Peachtree City Good Friday Ecumenical Service for 15 years. He actively meets and participates in pastoral relations with our brothers and sisters in Christ and supports our parish's efforts to assist the Fayette Samaritans and other community ministries supporting the needy, abused, and forsaken of our area.
 

God's Providential Hand Guiding & Blessing Every Step of Our Journey

Through the grace of God, Charlie Masterpolis of blessed memory, who lived in Savannah, Georgia, discussed with Fr. George soon after our parish began of his desire to assist us and become a major benefactor of our parish. He asked our Bishop for the privilege of donating a major gift to assist us in purchasing a ten-acre parcel of land on Ebenezer Road a mile from the city limits of Peachtree City. With the blessings of Metropolitan Alexios, our preferred land site was approved. Likewise, Charlie's gift was accepted and added to our parishioners' substantial contributions to purchase our new property. The mission was named St. Christopher Hellenic Orthodox Church in honor of Charlie's beloved father, Christos of blessed memory. Our parish celebrates its Patronal Feast Day on May 9 - the Feast of St. Christopher the Martyr of Lycea.
 
 We are thankful for Charlie's trust and generosity, along with the generous financial and material support of others outside of our parish, including the Annunciation Cathedral of Atlanta, St. Paul's Church in Savannah, Georgia, the former St. George Church in Port Arthur, Texas, and the relatives and friends of our parishioners from throughout the U.S. Likewise, we gratefully thank the local businesses who have donated needed gifts to support our Philoptochos' charity appeals and annual parish fundraising efforts. May the memory of our departed parishioners and Charlie be eternal.
 
 In turn, since its beginning, our generous parishioners have supported local, Metropolis, Archdiocese, and Patriarchal ministries, charities, and relief agencies, including the St. Nicholas Shrine in New York City. We regularly participate in all Metropolis meetings as well as National Clergy Laity Congresses. Our parish supports the ministries of our National, Metropolis, and Parish Philoptochos Societies, along with The Assembly of Bishops' ministries, including OCMC, IOCC, Prison Ministry, and OCF. One of our members, Julie Skouteris, currently is on the Metropolis Philoptochos Board. A unique ministry was recommended and adopted from Susan Kleto by our Philoptochos Society. Thrice each year, our Philoptochos encourages parishioners to make prayer shawls and as they do so, to offer intercessory prayers Fr. George developed to address the known and unknown needs of God's creation in the world. Our prayer shawls have been shipped to numerous countries around the world. They remind recipients who receive them that God is wrapping His and our love around their shoulders, helping them feel secure and safe through our prayers for God's mercy upon them and their families.
 

Planning Our Future Permanent Home

Within three years of purchasing our ten-acre property soon after we moved to our present location on Dividend Drive, our parishioners paid off the mortgage and began planning the construction of a multi-purpose building to serve as their new worship space, classrooms, and fellowship hall. Knowing a permanent church will take years to plan and raise sufficient funds, our initial effort will follow other parish's examples of building a multi-purpose building first. It will accommodate our relocation from our current temporary space on Dividend Drive to our permanent Ebenezer Road property, with adequate worship space and room for on-site ministries and fellowship.
 
 Our parish community has grown to approximately 80-100 families, with 50-60 families actively engaged in the everyday life of the parish. During Pascha and other significant Orthodox Feast Days, St. Christopher services can reach upwards to 120 attendees, exceeding the capacity of our current space. With God's blessings and your support and prayers, we are moving forward to build our future House of God!
 
 Our parish leadership communicates regularly with its parishioners and seeks to involve them with our planning efforts for the future. With the support of the General Parish Assembly, our Parish Council has worked with the Parish Facilities Committee of the Metropolis of Atlanta to explore the possibility of adding additional land and fulfilling other due diligence directives it was given by the Metropolis Committee. It has welcomed the collective experience and guidance of our Bishop and His advisors as we plan and build for our future campus' construction. In the past couple of years, the General Parish Assembly ultimately decided to begin fundraising for our first phase of building a multi-purpose building as noted above on our church property. That campaign is actively underway. With our yearly GreekFests in September, the parish actively has been fundraising inside and outside of our parish body. We welcome your support by visiting the Stewardship and Building Fund section of our website to assist with making your pledge and donations. For specific questions on fundraising, email Tom Farmakis.

Presently, St. Christopher Hellenic Orthodox Church is pursuing its parish development with a goal of enlisting 100 percent of our parish families to pledge a financial gift and begin contributing now so that we can meet our target financial goals to build our new facility. This initiative is in addition to our families' annual stewardship pledges used to operate our day-to-day parish needs. With God's help and our Hierarch's blessings, we are committed to building Phase One - our planned multi-purpose facility. In turn, we pray that you and your family will consider making a financial pledge today. We invite you to ask your family and friends that might be willing to help us as well.
 

Ever Thankful & Full of Faith

We are thankful for these blessings from God, for the encouragement of His Eminence Metropolitan Alexios, and for the support of all of our parishioners, friends, and neighboring Orthodox parishes for their untiring efforts to help us build a future permanent church. Our mission is to proclaim, practice, and preserve the Orthodox Christian faith. We welcome all who seek salvation from our Lord Jesus Christ as we reach out and witness His sanctifying grace.