Albanian Church Reaches a Milestone
NATICK – Last Sunday, members of the Albanian Orthodox Church of the Annunciation gathered at the church, and afterward at the Natick Elk’s Club, to celebrate the 90th anniversary of the church’s founding.
The church started in 1919 and its first regular home was on top of Grupposo’s Market near the Natick Common. In 1938 the church moved its present home on Washington Street.
Originally the church drew only Albanian immigrants from the area, but the Rev. Joseph J. Gallick said now the church — which practices the Christian Orthodox faith — also has Russians, Ukrainians and converts to Orthodoxy.
Sunday the church welcomed Bishop Nikon, the bishop of Boston, New England and the Albanian Orthodox Archdiocese, who officiated the service.
The church wanted to have a celebration for those longtime members of the church, and to celebrate what has happened since the last big anniversary.
“We celebrated the accomplishments we have had since the 75th anniversary,” Gallick said. “Now we’ll be working toward our 100th.”
Along with the Bishop, some three former pastors attended the service: the Very Reverend Spero Page, the Very Reverend Michael Soter and the Reverend Father Mark Doku.
The service included a memorial litany for all the deceased members of the church and a litany for the health of all of church members, Gallick said.
“After that we blessed a number of ecclesiastical items donated by members,” Gallick said.
The items included: a gold and silver hand cross, alter server robes, a priest triple candle holder used during Easter services, a Holy Water bucket and brush, a candle holder for the Table of Oblation, a memorial candle holder, two alter server lanterns, a silver censer and an incense container and spoon.
About 130 people attended the service, Gallick said, and about 200 came to the banquet at the Elk’s Club. Along with dinner, music and dancing, the church received a proclamation from the Board of Selectmen, which was represented by Selectman Josh Ostroff.
Gallick noted the community efforts of church members in Natick.
“Our ladies group has done a lot of work,” Gallick said. “People donate time to the Natick Food Panty, and the church school students collect food for the pantry.”
The church recently assisted an Albanian speaking family who came to Natick because the boy needed open heart surgery.
“Our ladies volunteered recently as translators for the Natick Rotary Gift of Life program — Rotary sponsored a family,” Gallick said.
Vi Tutuny has attended the church since she was a girl. Her father was the first president of the church. Tutuny’s parents were first generation immigrants.
The Albanian community first arrived here around the turn of the last century, Tutuny said. That’s when her parents arrived.
“I think why they settled here primarily, because stuff going on in Europe in the early 1900s and they wanted a better life,” Tutuny said, who grew up in Natick, taught in the Natick schools for many years — eighth and ninth grades — and retired in 1990. “They heard of streets paved with gold, and they knew there were factories and places to work.”
The immigrants wanted to integrate into American society, Tutuny said, but they also wanted their own church, so one was founded in 1919.
“Our first time we organized and had a priest was 1919, then we had to stop for a while,” Tutuny said. “The first (permanent) priest came here in 1927.”
After several years using a space over Grupposo’s Market the church purchased its new home in 1938 from the Knights of Pythias.
The next big anniversary at the Albanian church is the Women’s Society, called Betetima, was founded 1935 and will celebrate 75 years next year, Tutuny said.
(Charlie Breitrose can be reached at 508-626-3964 or cbreitro@cnc.com.)
