Holy Cross Greek Orthodox Church sits on Archer Road in Justice, Illinois, where it has been a spiritual home for the southwest suburban Greek Orthodox community since 1961. The parish is part of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, serving under the Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Chicago, and its weekly rhythm centers on the ancient Divine Liturgy celebrated each Sunday morning.
Sunday Worship and the Liturgical Year
Sunday mornings at Holy Cross begin with Orthros at 8:30 a.m., followed by the Divine Liturgy at 9:45 a.m. The services are primarily in English with Greek liturgical elements, in keeping with the worship of the Greek Orthodox tradition.
Services are livestreamed on YouTube, and recent services are archived there, including the Feast of the Universal Elevation of the Holy Cross, Great Vespers, and the Sundays of the Matthew cycle. A parish Google Calendar of all services and events is available for download so that visitors and members can follow the rhythm of the liturgical year.
The parish follows the full cycle of the Orthodox year: the Triodion period leading into Great Lent, Holy Week and Pascha, the Pentecostarion, and the long green season of the Sundays of Matthew and Luke through the fall. Each Sunday takes its name from the appointed Gospel reading - the Sunday of Orthodoxy, the Sunday of the Holy Cross, the Sunday of the Samaritan Woman, the Sunday of the Blind Man, the Sunday of the Myrrh-Bearing Women, the Sunday of St. Gregory Palamas, the Sunday of St. John Climacus, the Sunday of St. Mary of Egypt, and many more. Feast days such as the Nativity of the Theotokos, the Elevation of the Holy Cross, the Beheading of John the Baptist, the Synaxis of the Holy Apostles, the Presentation of Our Lord, and the Nativity of Our Lord are marked with Great Vespers and the Divine Liturgy.
A Parish Forged by the Argo-Summit Community
The story of Holy Cross begins not in Justice but in the neighboring village of Summit. In the 1930s, the Argo-Summit Women's Club began gathering Greek Orthodox families in the area. By May 1955, under the direction of Mrs. Katherine Kokkinos, the club obtained a state charter to function as a nonprofit organization. After meetings with Bishop Ezekiel, the community began fund-raising for a new parish in the autumn of 1960.
The first Easter Liturgical Services were celebrated in 1959 by Father Andrew Kleomenakis from the Assumption Church, held in a local hall with an enthusiastic response from the community. Roughly 125 families joined the fund-raising effort that fall, with the women hosting a dinner dance that gathered many pledges and donations.
Mrs. Kokkinos suggested the name Holy Cross for the new parish. The community purchased an existing church building at 5417 S. Hunt in Summit, along with the house next door for use by the Greek School and Sunday School, finalizing the purchase in February 1961. The unofficial opening came on March 2, 1961, with Great Vespers, and the first Divine Liturgy was celebrated on Sunday, March 5, 1961, by Father Chrysostom Selimos, the parish's first Proistamenos.
The early years were marked by milestones: the first wedding of Mr. and Mrs. Paul Karoubas, the first baptism of Georgette Koklanis, and the founding of the parish's Greek School, named "Sophocles" by its godfather, Mr. Michael Nickolaou. Desks and chairs for the school were obtained from Graves Elementary School in Argo.
The parish outgrew the Summit property by 1970, when the church and school buildings were paid in full. A fire on Saturday, November 13, 1976, gutted the church building entirely. Father Selimos held daily services in the undamaged school building next door and Sunday liturgy at Walsh School in Summit until a new home could be found.
In August 1977, the General Assembly voted to build a new church and Youth Center. Property at 7560 S. Archer Road in Justice was purchased through the efforts of Mr. Evans Nickolaou and Mr. Christ Dineff, with the blessing of Bishop Ezekiel. Father Jon Magoulias arrived on April 12, 1980, to lead the growing parish. In May 1980, after a pilgrimage to the Holy Lands led by Bishop Iakovos, a piece of the True Cross was given to Holy Cross and placed on the Holy Altar. Shirley Contos completed much of the beautiful iconography of the new church during this period.
Father Demetrios Kavouras succeeded Father Jon in September 1986, completing additional iconography and adding the dome and cross to the top of the church. Father Jim Gordon served as interim priest from October 1994 to March 1995, when Father John Kalomas began his ministry at Holy Cross on March 1, 1995. Father Kalomas served for nine years before being assigned to St. Andrews Church in Chicago. Father Michael Constantinides joined the parish on June 1, 2004, having previously served at Annunciation Church in Milwaukee for four and a half years. Father Athanasios Pieri followed on September 10, 2010, after six years at Assumption Church in Chicago. Father Kalomas has since returned to Holy Cross and continues to serve as Proistamenos.
Sunday School, Greek School, and GOYA
Religious education is at the heart of Holy Cross's ministry to the next generation. The Sunday School uses the Archdiocese curriculum and texts to teach the youth of the parish the basics of the Word of God. Classes run from the second Sunday in September through the last Sunday in May. Students attend the Divine Liturgy and, following Holy Communion, gather in the Cultural Center for their lessons. The Sunday School serves children from pre-kindergarten (age 3, if potty-trained) through high school, and dedicated teachers are always needed.
The annual Christmas Pageant is a highlight, with all classes participating as actors, singers, and readers, most in costume. Godparent Sunday invites children and their godparents to sit together in church and receive Holy Communion as a spiritual family, followed by a breakfast and luncheon in their honor. On the Sunday of Orthodoxy, children bring icons from home and walk in procession with the clergy and altar boys around the church.
The Sophocles Greek School offers instruction in the Greek language and culture to children of the community. Classes meet once a week for four hours on Saturdays from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., September through June, for students age four and up. The school is supported by the Hellenic Foundation, the Greek American Restaurant Association, and Joe's Champagne Wishes. On the first Saturday of each month, the P.T.O. offers a hot lunch at a cost of $3 per child. The March 25th program celebrates the dual holiday of the Annunciation and Greek Independence Day with patriotic songs, hymns, dances, poems, and skits, followed by a Lenten luncheon. Smaller programs mark Oxi Day on October 28th, Christmas, the Three Hierarchs on January 30th, and the final day of classes.
GOYA, the Greek Orthodox Youth Association, brings teenagers ages 13 to 18 together for fellowship, fun activities, and service projects. Meetings are held on the third Tuesday of each month and usually last about an hour. Goyans participate in parish, Metropolis, and Archdiocesan youth retreats, athletic programs, and summer camps.
Choir, Chanters, and Altar Boys
The Choir offers prayers by singing praises to Almighty God during the Divine Liturgy, Holy Feast Days, Holy Week, and Pascha. The choir sings from September through June, with no age restrictions and no requirement to know Greek. Tom Hatzis and George Villis serve as the parish chanters.
The Altar Boys serve every Sunday as well as Holy Week, Pascha, and major feasts. Young men of the Greek Orthodox faith from age six through eighteen assist the clergy and learn the meaning and order of each liturgical service through their participation. They wear the traditional στιχάριον, the vestments associated with διακονία (service), and their duties include attentiveness and prayer, participation in processions and entrances, and ensuring the preparedness of all that is needed during the liturgy.
Athletics: Basketball and the Junior Olympics
Athletics are a major part of parish life for young people. The Greek Orthodox Basketball League (G.O.B.L.) is the Metropolis of Chicago league, with middle school, high school girls, and high school boys teams. The season begins in mid-October and concludes with the championship game on Cheesefare Sunday.
For younger children, H.O.P.E./J.O.Y. Basketball is a parish league for pre-school through sixth grade that meets on Saturdays from 2:30 p.m. to 4:00 p.m., November through Cheesefare week. Children learn the basics of basketball while growing in Christian fellowship.
Each Memorial Day weekend, the Junior Olympics brings together more than 50 parishes from across the Metropolis for a three-day athletic competition hosted by Saints Constantine and Helen in Palos Hills, Illinois.
The Food Pantry, Philoptochos, and the Welcoming Committee
The parish Food Pantry is rooted in the words of Christ, "I was hungry and you fed me." All non-perishable canned goods are accepted, and all food collected is given to the Bridgeview food pantry, which distributes it to those in need every Friday.
The Holy Cross chapter of Philoptochos, the Greek Orthodox women's philanthropy organization whose name means "friend of the poor" (Φίλος των Πτωχών), serves those in need due to physical, mental, or financial challenges and supports the ministries of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, the Archdiocese, and the Metropolis. Philoptochos meets on the first Tuesday of each month. Members host coffee socials throughout the year, organize the annual Vasilopeta celebration to benefit St. Basil's Academy, make hospital and home visitations, and bake pastries for bake sales, feast days, and the parish festival. Membership is open to Greek Orthodox women at least 18 years of age.
The Welcoming Committee greets new members and visitors at services and offers church tours to Orthodox and non-Orthodox guests alike. The group meets as needed and is open to all who are interested in furthering the Orthodox faith.
The Men's Ministry
The Holy Cross Men's Group meets monthly and brings male members of the parish together for Bible study and discussion along with social events such as bowling. The group coordinates through a designated group chat.
The Justice Greek Fest
Each June, Holy Cross hosts the Justice Greek Fest, a beloved three-day celebration that has become a fixture of the south suburban summer calendar. The festival features authentic Greek food and pastries, amusement rides and games for children, Greek music and dancing, marketplace shopping, and a grand raffle. Souvlaki, chicken, salad, gyros, and pastitsio are among the food offerings, alongside Greek coffee and sweets at the cafe and beer, wine, and spirits at the taverna. The event typically runs Friday and Saturday evenings from 4 p.m. to 11 p.m. and Sunday from noon to 11 p.m.
The Orthodox Faith at Holy Cross
Holy Cross offers a home for all who seek Jesus Christ as expressed in Orthodoxy's ancient and living tradition. The parish maintains an unbroken apostolic succession to the faith delivered by Christ to the apostles, preserving not only essential beliefs but a transformative way of worship and daily discipleship.
The Orthodox Christian faith treasures the various cultures of its people without being bound to any particular culture or people. Christians of the Eastern Churches call themselves Orthodox, a word that means both "true teaching" and, more preferably, "true praise" - the fundamental purpose of blessing, praising, and glorifying God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Where the Western Christian tradition has emphasized the Passion of Christ and the sin of man, the Orthodox tradition emphasizes the Resurrection of Christ and the deification of man, with a more mystical theology rooted in the lands of the early Mediterranean Church.
The parish is connected to the wider Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America and the broader Orthodox Christian world through His Eminence Archbishop Elpidophoros of America, the eighth Archbishop of America since the establishment of the Archdiocese in 1922, and His Eminence Metropolitan Nathanael of Chicago.
Stewardship and Community
Stewardship at Holy Cross is described as a grateful and loving response to God's love, grace, and gifts - a personal commitment of time, talent, and treasure that supports the parish's liturgical life and ministries. Through Holy Communion, members are drawn out of themselves and embrace the mission of the parish, carrying the fire of God's love with the power to renew all things.
The parish office is open Monday through Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. and can be reached by phone at (708) 594-2040 or by email at office@holycrossil.org. A mailing list offers updates on parish life and upcoming events, and online giving is available for stewardship contributions.