The Assumption Greek Orthodox Church

Organized and built by the Greek immigrants of Carbon County. Dedicated August 15, 1916 by Reverend Mark E. Petrakis. Built in traditional byzantine style.

The Hellenic Orthodox Church of the Assumption is located at 61 South 200 East in Price, Utah and it was added to the National Register of Historic Places (#73001861) on April 11, 1973.

The following is from the nomination form for the National Register:

The Hellenic Orthodox Church of the Assumption at Price, Utah was dedicated August 15, 1916. The Greek immigrant was the last of the Europeans to come to America and the church at Price was the thirty-third Greek Orthodox Church established in North and South America.

In 1900 there were only three Greeks in Utah, During the Carbon County coal miners’ strike in 1903-1904 Greeks were first brought into the Price area as strike breakers. By 1916 there were 3,000 young Greek men working in the coal mines of Carbon County.

“To the Mormons the Greeks were interlopers among the ‘white’ population; they were clannish, would not marry outsiders, and thought they were an exceptional people with the only true religion on earth…. The Mormons were also clannish, would not marry outsiders, and thought they were an exceptional people with the only true religion on earth,” (Helen Zeese Papanikolgs, Toil and Rage in a New Land, p.143.) The result was a clash of cultures which was intensified by the abuses suffered by the Greeks in the coal mines and camps.

Plans were drawn as early as 1912 for a Greek Orthodox Church, however it was not until August 15, 1916 that construction had been completed and the church was consecrated.

The leaders of the movement to construct a church were Stylian Staes, Emmanuel Salevurakis and Gust Pappas. In 1914 a church had been established in Helper. During 1914 the Greeks from Price met with those of Helper in an effort to convince them that there should be a permanent church building erected in Price, (The church services at Helper were held in a Greek Coffee House.) Eventually the Helper Greeks agreed to aid in the construction of a church in Price.

An attempt was made to secure the donation of a plot of land by Price City, however this was voted down by the Price City Council The land was finally purchased from Lars and Sadie Gunderson for $800.00.

On March 7, 1916 bids were opened for the construction of the church, Lars Gunderson had submitted the lowest bid, $11,336,00, for construction of the church without a heating plant, and the bid of $968,00 for a furnace.

On the day of consecration special trains ran from all the coal camps bringing men to Price for the celebration. They were met at the station by the Sunnyside Italian band which escorted the men to the church. The procession to the church was characterized by shouting and the shooting of guns for good luck to the church.

The church was very important to the Greek population of the county. It gave them a sense of security and stood as a symbol that they had made a permanent settlement. This encouraged the Greek men to send for their wives or, for the majority who were single, to request that Greek girls be sent over for them to marry. In the beginning most of the Greek men had come to America with the idea of earning as much money as possible and then returning to their homeland.

The construction of the church was also significant because it came at a time when foreigners, especially Southern and Eastern Europeans, were regarded as an inferior menace to America. In this respect the church served as a sanctuary for the Greeks from both the intolerance of the American public and the abuses of the coal mines.

The immigrants served by the church were an important element in Utah history sharing in strikes, labor wars, attempted lynchings, Ku Klux Klan attacks, mine explosions and accidents, the Depression and war. In their own way the early Greek immigrants who built the Greek Church of the Assumption were just as much pioneers as were the Mormons who came to Utah more than fifty years earlier.

The original church was of traditional Byzantine construction in which the dome rests on a square supported by four pillars with the nave of the church in the form of a cross. It was built of yellow colored brick with a foundation of cement.

In 1940-41 a new entrance, two towers on the outside front, and an inside balcony were added. The original wooden columns were replaced by four cast Corinthian columns.

A fire in 1945 caused considerable smoke and water damage. The altar and environs were badly marred. A new tableau was built and the Rev. Zoygraphos of Texas, a Greek priest and iconographer, was commissioned to paint new icons for the entire church to replace the original ones ruined by the fire.

The icons, religious images painted on panels, have been called the “Bible of the Unlettered.” They cover the iconostasion or altar screen. The central large figure on the middle door of the altar m screen, the Royal Gate, which slides open to reveal the altar, is of Christ the Arch Priest, while other icons always include Christ on the right, Virgin and Child on the left, etc. The second and third rows above show scenes from the life of Christ and the twelve Apostles respectively. There are icons on the two sides of the church, while the four pendentives depict the Evangelists: Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, The most awe-inspiring scene of all fills the concavity of the top of the dome and is a symbolic representation of God the Father, surrounded by an angelic host, holding the world in His left hand. The vertical walls of the dome are covered by portraits of Old Testament prophets and contain numerous round, stained and leaded glass windows; they cast a subdued, even light on the contents of the dome.

Another artifact of singular beauty is the massive brass and crystal chandelier which hangs by a huge iron chain from the center of the dome. It was a feature of the original church and the sum of $560 was raised for it by the Greek miners of Hiawatha, a coal mining camp of southwestern Carbon County. It was also extensively damaged by the fire, but was repaired and restored at a cost close to its original value.

In 1961 the church was again enlarged, however the basic integrity of the church has been maintained in spite of two remodelings and one fire-induced renovation. In fact, these programs have added to and enhanced the structure while producing much-needed space. On each side of the church are three of the original stained and leaded glass windows. Another is in the east end of the church behind the altar. A dozen of the original small, round, stained and leaded windows augment the sides of the dome. The size of the building as it now stands is 87 feet 8 inches long by 43 feet six inches wide.