Orthodox Churches in South Carolina

Greek immigrants began arriving in South Carolina at the turn of the twentieth century, starting as pushcart merchants and soon opening confectioneries and restaurants. As permanent settlements formed, Greek Orthodox churches followed in the major cities and towns. In Charleston, the first Greek Orthodox liturgy was held in 1908 at St. John's Episcopal Church, and the community dedicated its first church, Holy Trinity, on March 25, 1911. A state-by-state survey of first Orthodox churches names Greek churches in Charleston and Spartanburg, dated 1911, as South Carolina's earliest. In Columbia, Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church began in 1936.

Holy Trinity in Charleston, which falls under the Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Atlanta, dedicated its present church in 1953. The building is a Byzantine design modeled on Hagia Sophia and holds icons made in Greece by Fotis Kontoglou. In Abbeville, the Paracletos Greek Orthodox Monastery, also part of the Metropolis, was started by Abbess Pavlina and two other nuns from a monastery in Greece. Metropolitan Alexios of Atlanta had invited them to establish a monastery in South Carolina.

Holy Apostles Orthodox Church in West Columbia began in 1982 as a mission parish, with a small group gathering for monthly services in Columbia. Its first full-time priest arrived in 1987, and the parish acquired its present building by 2003. The parish says its members include many cradle Orthodox from Eastern Europe and even more American converts.