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                                    February 2026                              
       
       Hellenic community returns to historic Holy Trinity Church stone wall
       to launch anniversary year
       
 (GIF) article photo
       
       By Antonia Macris
       
       
       Local Initiative Journalism Reporter
       
       In the heart of the city where a preserved stone wall stands as a silent
       witness to history, the Hellenic Community of Greater Montreal returned
       to its spiritual birthplace to inaugurate a year of commemorations
       marking more than a century of continuous presence in Quebec. The
       gathering at the modern hotel, built directly around the remaining
       stones of the original Holy Trinity Church, set a deeply emotional tone
       for an anniversary dedicated to honouring the pioneers who built a
       flourishing diaspora out of a modest basement. Surrounded by these
       original stones that once formed the foundation of the Holy Trinity
       Church and the surviving icon of Agios Nektarios saved from a fire in
       the 1980s, community leaders reflected on the immense evolution of the
       organization since its inception. Basile Angelopoulos, president of the
       community, asked attendees to consider the perspective of the early
       immigrants who gathered at the first church. “Could they have ever
       dreamed that that little community that they created, just up the street
       here on Saint Lawrence at 753 in 1906, with the creation or the
       establishment of the first church, Neva Gedizmos, where from there, its
       basement and its premises, they proudly began working to welcome more of
       their compatriots from Greece, to integrate them into the society, to
       help them get a job, build a business, build a family, build a life,
       build a future, and above all, build a community,” Angelopoulos asked
       the audience. He emphasized the current scale of the institution, which
       includes trilingual day schools across five campuses and six Greek
       Orthodox churches. The organizing committee detailed a vast array of
       cultural events designed to weave Hellenic heritage into the broader
       fabric of the city. George Tsantrizos, director general, affirmed the
       organization’s enduring commitment to the early immigrants. “We want to
       assure them that we have remained faithful to their mission to serve the
       Greek community of Quebec,” Tsantrizos noted. The press conference
       concluded with a formal end to the presentations as officials opened the
       floor to questions from the media.
       
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