By: Markos Papadatos, Senior Editor
The Saint Sophia Greek Orthodox Cathedral is a Greek Orthodox church that was built in 1952. It is located at West 15th Street and South Normandie Avenue in the Byzantine-Latino Quater of Los Angeles. To learn more about its history and how it was built, click here.
This is the largest Greek Orthodox church in the city of Los Angeles. The mission of the church is to proclaim and teach the Gospel according to the Greek Orthodox Christian faith, as well as to foster, sanctify, and enhance the spiritual life of the faithful through Orthodox Christian worship; moreover, to receive people into the church through instruction, baptism and/or chrismation.
Particularly impressive about this cathedral is that it is the result of a Hollywood success story. When Charles Skouras and his brothers, Spyros Skouras and George Skouras, were still trying to get ahead in Hollywood, Charles made a vow to God that he would build the most majestic cathedral if God would grant him success in show business. He became head of Fox West Coast, so he built the Saint Sophia Greek Orthodox Church in Los Angeles.
In 2005, at the 36th Biennial Clergy-Laity Congress of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, the liturgy was given in Spanish, English, and Greek, with Orthodox children from a Tijuana, Mexico, orphanage providing music.
The cathedral still draws its predominantly Greek congregation of as many as 1,000 from a 50-mile radius throughout Los Angeles and Orange Counties. Los Angeles’s Greek community has never been centralized, as in other cities such as New York City and Chicago.
Members of the church congregation have included Hollywood actors such as Telly Savalas, whose funeral was held there. Over the years, Tom Hanks and his wife, Rita Wilson, as well as Nia Vardalos have celebrated the Greek Easter festivities there.
In popular culture, the Saint Sophia Greek Orthodox Cathedral has been featured in films, television shows, as well as in music videos. The church gives wonderful tours to people visiting in the area.
To learn more about the Saint Sophia Cathedral in Los Angeles, visit its official homepage.
