Memoirs of Peter Boudoures Chapter 18 Bishop Kallistos Leaves for Chicago

Bishop Kallistos

As I mentioned before, the community was divided between two churches, the Holy Trinity on Seventh Street and the St. Sophia on Pierce and Hayes Streets. There were not enough Greeks to financially support the churches and Bishop Kalistos in San Francisco, so he went to Chicago where there were ten times as many Greeks.

The people at the St. Sophia community soon realized that they could never hope to build a big church, a school and a hall on Pierce and Hayes, even though it was a good location. In the late 1920's the community sold the Hayes Street property and converted the Valencia Theater, at 245 Valencia Street where the present church of the Annunciation is now located, into a church with a hall and school. They started having a little better attendance, but they also had acquired a lot of debt with a first and second mortgage. Up to that time I had not taken any active part in any church affairs other than bringing these people together to celebrate Greek Independence day. I attended church occasionally and I don't think I was even a member.