A Brief History of St. John of Damascus Church

The following is a brief history of St. John of Damascus Church.  A more comprehensive history booklet, with more detailed names, dates, places and events, is available.  Please contact the church office to obtain a copy of this booklet. 

In the Beginning

The History of the Church of St. John of Damascus, in the United States dates back to the early 1900s. In actuality, however, its frontier was in Antioch, where the Disciples were first called Christians. Our forbears, who emigrated to the United States from the Middle East, particularly from Damascus, Syria and Beirut, Lebanon brought with them the faith of their heritage. The migration, which was motivated in the aftermath of the Turkish persecutions, brought these freedom loving people to the shores of America. The majority of those who landed in Massachusetts settled in the South End of Boston, and were of the Eastern Orthodox faith.

Since their faith and religious observances were an integral part of the culture, heritage and very being of these immigrants, it was not long before it became evident that an Eastern Orthodox Church would have to be established within the community. It has often been said that "the hand that rocks the cradle, rocks the nation," and so it was in this God-loving immigrant community. A group of women started holding prayer services in their homes, and each woman in the community contributed 5 cents a week. With these funds, they were soon able to secure the services of a priest on a week-by-week basis, and thus the first seeds of the church were sown.

The First Executive Committee

Early in 1907, the Syrian Orthodox Christian Damascenes, who had settled in Boston, decided to found an organization to perpetuate the faith of their forbears and to establish a site of worship in their new country of liberty and freedom. Thirteen men comprised the original committee, organized as the Executive Committee of the Society of St. John of Damascus; the entire parish comprised the 'Society'. It is symbolic that our first pioneers chose thirteen men, correlating to the 13 original United States colonies, but more important it commemorates the fact the Patriarch of Antioch, was and is still considered the 13th Apostle of Jesus Christ. They adopted the name of St. John of Damascus not only because St. John was a Damascene who is honored and respected by all of Christendom, but his faith and patience was sought for guidance.

In the very beginning, the 13 men of the Executive Committee were self-appointed; later, The Standing Committee (the name which the First Constitution of the Church had bestowed on these men) were elected at the Annual Parish Meeting. (Thirteen men were elected, each to serve a one year term.)

The Executive Committee began collecting dues and secured a priest to administer the spiritual needs of the parish on a Sunday to Sunday basis. They rented a building located on the corner of Kneeland and Tyler Streets in Boston, which they reasoned would only be temporary quarters for this mission that was developing.

A Permanent Home of Worship

Hudson Street,  Boston

These pilgrims had many trials and tribulations which they had to overcome, one of which was the language barrier. Still, the dire need for a Church facility was a primary focus of this community, and in 1914, the Society of St. John of Damascus purchased its first piece of real estate, a house on 68 Hudson Street in Boston. Thus, in only a few short years, the Church of St. John of Damascus became a physical reality. The facility on Hudson Street housed the Pastor, Father Solomon Faineny and his family on the first floor, and the basement was fashioned into a church for worship. On December 28, 1914, The Society of St. John of Damascus was officially Incorporated, and then recorded with the Office of the Secretary of State of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. After the Articles of Corporation were officially in place, the Society was able to secure a bank mortgage and pay back in full the parishioners who originally underwrote loans in order to purchase 68 Hudson Street.

The Women’s Auxiliary

As it was growing increasingly difficult to maintain the church, the small group of women, who were zealous in their desire to perpetuate the faith asked permission of the Executive Committee to form a Women's Auxiliary. With the help of the parish priest, and several supportive members of the Executive Committee, an organization consisting of 13 women was duly structured and registered at the Archdiocese in Brooklyn N.Y. under the heavenly sponsorship of the Virgin Mary Society of the Church of St. John of Damascus in August, 1914. At its first meeting, each member donated $2.00 to establish a fund in the treasury. Every woman in the parish was assessed 5 cents per week, which was collected by members of the Virgin Mary Society, and used as remuneration for the parish priest.

The Young Peoples Association

The founders of the Church struggled through the years , but never. lost sight of their faith or their goals. The children of these immigrants also experienced some hardships as they strove to bridge the gap of "growing up in two cultures." The schools and the society into which they were being assimilated emphasized the 'American Way', but their parents clung to their ethnicity and heritage. The young people wanted to bring a little of this American culture into the parish of St. John's; with faith and love of their ethnicity, they were inspired to organize a Young Peoples Association. This was a very innovative concept for the parish; it marked the first time male and female youth of the parish would be meeting and working together, sharing experiences side by side, for the glory of God.

A Larger Home for the Parish

The parish grew by leaps and bounds, and it became increasingly evident it had grown beyond the capacity of the Hudson Street Church facility. For years the Executive Committee sought land and/or church facilities throughout the Boston area, and finally a parcel of land in the Fenway area (opposite the Museum of Fine Arts) was purchased. The construction of a new church facility was once more under way. On December 30, 1956, the new Church of St. John of Damascus was consecrated by His eminence Archbishop Antony Bashir. That move culminated almost 50 years of continuous growth, despite the traumas that had taken place in the Antiochian Orthodox Archdiocese as well as the Patriarchate in Antioch: the Great Depression, division of the parish and two World Wars.

Museum Road,  Boston

During the course of its tremendous expansion, many organizations came into being: The Crusaders, made up of young men and, women of the parish who had outgrown the YPA; the Church choir; Church Sunday School; the Church School Guild; and for a while, The Adult Fellowship. All these organizations came into being in answer to the needs which developed during the progress of the parish.

The thriving development and ever-growing needs of the parish, along with the due course of progress (a proposed Inner Belt Highway) were the motivating factors in purchasing property on Dudley Road in Newton, Massachusetts. In the early 1960's the state purchased the church property on Museum Road to make way for the proposed highway. However, the highway was eventually rerouted and the Church was purchased back from the state. However, the facility could no longer serve the growing needs of the parish, and the Museum Road Church was sold in 1981 to the School of the Museum of Fine Arts to be used as an extension to the School.

The Present Parish Complex

West Street, Dedham

From 1981 to 1985, the parish went through a "desert experience" much like the early pilgrims. Struggling to stay unified as a parish, they utilized diverse rented facilities in which to hold Divine Liturgy, Sunday School, Executive Board meetings, Parish meetings and Parish Functions. Perhaps, not since the original Society of St. John of Damascus had the desire and commitment of our people to worship together been so evident. After careful consideration, the property on West Street in Dedham, Massachusetts was purchased and the new Church of St. John of Damascus was built and consecrated by His Eminence Archbishop Philip Saliba on October 6, 1985.

Today, the Executive Board of the Church consists of 21 men and women who are the administrative body of the parish. The Virgin Mary Society has expanded to encompass all the women of the parish; St. George Memorial Society, which originally encompassed and encouraged members from the Parish at large to meet the needs of the bereaved, still serves the Church Community in that capacity; Teen SOYO includes young boys and girls from ages 13-19 and is the regional and national title of the original Y.P.A. Senior SOYO, developed in the wake of the demise of The Crusaders, is now evolving into the new concept (which the Archdiocese is implementing) of the Fellowship of St. John The Divine, and will embody the former members of the Adult Fellowship. The Church School has progressed and is proud of those children who have won awards in the Regional Oratorical Contests, as well as Creative Arts.