The Ascension Greek Orthodox Cathedral is an Eastern Orthodox cathedral church in

Oakland, California Oakland is a city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area in the U.S. state of California. It is the county seat and most populous city in Alameda County, California, Alameda County, with a population of 440,646 in 2020. A major We ...

. It is located at 4700 Lincoln Avenue.

History

The original community, formed in 1917, worshiped in a rented hall until it built the first Greek Orthodox church in the

East Bay The East Bay is the eastern region of the San Francisco Bay Area and includes cities along the eastern shores of San Francisco Bay and San Pablo Bay. The region has grown to include inland communities in Alameda and Contra Costa counties. Wi ...

. The Assumption Greek Orthodox Church (in Greek, ''Κοίμησις τῆς Θεοτόκου''), opened on May 21, 1921, on Brush Street in

Downtown Oakland Downtown Oakland is the central business district of Oakland, California, United States. It is located roughly bounded by both the Oakland Estuary and Interstate 880 (California), Interstate 880 on the southwest, Interstate 980 on the north ...

. By 1960, the community, having outgrown its facilities, relocated to the present site in the Oakland hills and was re-dedicated to the Analypsis (the Ascension of Our Savior), on December 11, 1960. The church was elevated to the status of a

cathedral A cathedral is a church (building), church that contains the of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, Annual conferences within Methodism, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually s ...

in February 1992. The Greek Orthodox Cathedral of the Ascension has evolved from a predominantly

immigrant society The term immigration country describes a state whose population is growing rapidly due to immigration from other countries or in which immigrants make up a significant part of the population. The term is sometimes used as a political slogan. When ...

into one that now spans six generations, with over 1,200 parishioners, making it the largest Greek Orthodox community in the

Greek Orthodox Metropolis of San Francisco The Greek Orthodox Metropolis of San Francisco is an ecclesiastical territory or metropolis of the Greek Orthodox Church in the Pacific region of the United States, encompassing the states of Alaska, Arizona, California, Hawaii, Nevada, Oregon, and ...

Icons and events

The cathedral has a distinctive collection of Orthodox iconography. The icon of Jesus the

Pantocrator In Christian iconography, Christ Pantocrator (, ) is a specific depiction of Christ. or , literally 'ruler of all', but usually translated as 'almighty' or 'all-powerful', is derived from one of many names of God in Judaism. The Pantokrator ...

(or Almighty) is the largest Orthodox icon of Jesus in the Americas. Reverend Father Thomas J. Paris served as Ascension's pastor from 1971 until his retirement nearly four decades later. Reverend Father Tom Zaferes is now the pastor and dean of the cathedral. A new chapel, dedicated to the Assumption of the Virgin Mary, is currently being constructed on the church grounds. The Cathedral hosts an annual Greek food and culture festival, traditionally held the weekend after Mother's Day, on the church grounds. One of the largest festivals of its kind in the United States, the Oakland Greek Festival offers a wide variety of Greek foods, cultural exhibitions, Greek dancing, and live music.

References

External links

Ascension website

Official website

Oakland Greek Festival

Kivotos
Modern Greek Language school at the Ascension
Cathedrals of California
Cathedrals in Oakland, California European-American culture in Oakland, California Greek Orthodox cathedrals in the United States Greek-American culture in California Eastern Orthodox churches in California 20th-century Eastern Orthodox church buildings Christian organizations established in 1917 20th-century churches in the United States {{California-church-stub