Afieromata Katochous Keri

The first documented Greek Orthodox Christian families arrived in Richmond in the mid-1890s.

Greek families congregating for fellowship and celebration of Church and Greek holidays decided to form a Church community in 1917. Originally located downtown, a 1957 fire destroyed this first sanctuary and the Church sold the land for redevelopment. By 1959 the Church acquired a new building site on Malvern Avenue and completed construction on the Cathedral of Saints Constantine and Helen in 1961.

In the Eastern Orthodox Church, candles are lit before certain icons. These votive candles are placed in containers, having either sockets to hold the candles, or in a container filled with sand, in which the worshippers place their candles.