A History of the Church
The history of The Greek Orthodox Community of Margate begins when it was founded in 1964. Greeks from Greece and Cyprus existed in the area many decades earlier
Ringleaders of the foundation of our Community and the Church were the late Archbishop Athenagoras (Kokkinakis) of Thyateira and Great Britain, the then Archimandrite and current Archbishop Gregorios, and the founder and first Chairman of the Community, Mr. Kyriacos G. Koureas
Before obtaining the church building, the Services took place initially in the residence of the first Chairman and then in the Anglican Church of All Saints in Westbrook. The existing Church was acquired in 1964 and was consecrated on 23 March 1969 by the late Archbishop Athenagoras
From that time the Community began to develop and was active in many sectors, such as sanctifying and charitable, and functioned as cohesive link between the Orthodox people of the area who are mostly immigrants from the island of Cyprus
The first Priest of the Community was Archimandrite Sophronios Papadopoulos. Afterwards our Community has been served by Archimandrite Chrysanthos Georgiou, Fr. Michael Pazinas, Archim. Anthimos Loizos, for short intervals by Fathers Dionysios and Athanasios, Fr. Michael Antoniou, the Protopresbyters Kyprianos Konstantinidis and Theodoros Aedonopoulos, and today Archimandrite Vissarion Kokliotis
Our Annual Celebration
On 8 November, our Church celebrates the Feast of the Holy Archangels. Traditionally each year the Feast of the Epiphany, with the Ceremony of the Blessing of the Seas, and the dive of the Holy Cross, takes place in the harbour of Margate. This event is presided over by the Archbishop of Thyateira and Great Britain, with the attendance of the local Authorities, the Consular Authorities of Greece and Cyprus, and the representatives of various denominations and many faithful people