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Holy Trinity Orthodox Church
Altoona
PA
16601
- Orthodox Churches in Altoona, PA
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Who we are
We welcome you to celebrate the Divine Liturgy with us. Whether you are an Orthodox Christian, or this is your first visit to an Orthodox Church, we are pleased to have you with us. Although Holy Communion is reserved for baptized and chrismated (confirmed) Orthodox Christians, all are invited to receive the “antidoron” which is not a sacrament, but is a reminder of the “agape feast” that followed worship in the early Church. After the Divine Liturgy, please join us in the Church Hall for fellowship and refreshments. We hope you will return often to worship with us, to grow in Christ and in our Orthodox Faith.
Location of worship / Church Address
1433 Thirteenth Avenue
Altoona,
PA
16601
United States
Phone: (814) 943-0091
Download Holy Trinity Orthodox Church vCard with Service Times
Church Pastor
Fr. John P. Hutnyan
Priest
1433 Thirteenth Avenue
Altoona,
PA
16601
United States
Phone: (814) 943-0091
Download Priest Fr. John P. Hutnyan vCard
Quote of the Day
Ephesians 6:10
Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.
Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.
Denomination
Orthodox Church
Orthodox Churches in Altoona, Pennsylvania, United States
Orthodox Churches in Pennsylvania, United States
Orthodox Churches in United States
All churches in Altoona, PA
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Fr. John P. Hutnyan
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Holy Trinity Orthodox Church Leadership Photos
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Driving Directions to Holy Trinity Orthodox Church
Travel/Directions Tips
Coming from I-99...
- Take exit 33 for 17th St
- Turn west onto 17th St
- Turn right onto 12th Ave
- Turn left onto 15th St and Holy Trinity is on the right (corner of 13th Ave and 15th St)
- Take exit 33 for 17th St
- Turn west onto 17th St
- Turn right onto 12th Ave
- Turn left onto 15th St and Holy Trinity is on the right (corner of 13th Ave and 15th St)
Parking
Holy Trinity Orthodox Church Altoona Service Times
Divine Liturgy Sunday 10:30am
Service Times last updated on the 16th of April, 2023
Service Times last updated on the 16th of April, 2023
Worship Languages
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Altar Bread (Prosfora)
Those who wish to make the altar bread (prosfora) for the Divine Liturgy, please see Fr. John. This is a very worthwhile ministry within the church. The recipe/article on prosfora is on our back window pamphlet stand.
Church Reminders…
Holy Communion: During Holy Communion, we ask that everyone stand quietly in the pews for it is disrespectful to talk during this Holy Sacrament. When receiving Holy Communion, please make sure you state your baptized name after Fr. John states “The servant (or handmaiden) of God…” We also ask that you hold the red cloth underneath your chin in case an accident should happen. As always, we ask that children come first to receive Holy Communion, then the adults.
Clean-up: As always, we ask you to please be considerate of how you leave the pews after Sunday Divine Liturgy. Clean-up any crumbs or garbage left by family members. This will keep our church beautiful and neat!
Bells: Please keep in mind that when we hear the bells starting to ring in church before the Divine Liturgy, we are to immediately stand because the censing will begin by Fr. John and then the singing of the Great Doxology. Please be respectful of this beautiful tradition as followers of Christ Jesus. There is to be no talking during the censing or the singing of the Great Doxology.
Candles: The fire of the burning… candles and lamps, like the censer with its hot needles and aromatic incense, serves as a reminder of the spiritual fire — the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit descended upon the Apostles in the form of tongues of flame. It scorches our sinful misdemeanors, illuminates the minds and hearts, kindles our souls with a love for God and towards each other. Lite a candle on Sunday for your loved ones or friends, both living or deceased.
Books: There are many interesting books in our church library. Why not take one out and see the wealth of spirituality that might be missing from your life. Please see Alice Kotala to take that certain book out, but we ask that you please return them on the specified date so that others may enjoy it also.
Those who wish to make the altar bread (prosfora) for the Divine Liturgy, please see Fr. John. This is a very worthwhile ministry within the church. The recipe/article on prosfora is on our back window pamphlet stand.
Church Reminders…
Holy Communion: During Holy Communion, we ask that everyone stand quietly in the pews for it is disrespectful to talk during this Holy Sacrament. When receiving Holy Communion, please make sure you state your baptized name after Fr. John states “The servant (or handmaiden) of God…” We also ask that you hold the red cloth underneath your chin in case an accident should happen. As always, we ask that children come first to receive Holy Communion, then the adults.
Clean-up: As always, we ask you to please be considerate of how you leave the pews after Sunday Divine Liturgy. Clean-up any crumbs or garbage left by family members. This will keep our church beautiful and neat!
Bells: Please keep in mind that when we hear the bells starting to ring in church before the Divine Liturgy, we are to immediately stand because the censing will begin by Fr. John and then the singing of the Great Doxology. Please be respectful of this beautiful tradition as followers of Christ Jesus. There is to be no talking during the censing or the singing of the Great Doxology.
Candles: The fire of the burning… candles and lamps, like the censer with its hot needles and aromatic incense, serves as a reminder of the spiritual fire — the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit descended upon the Apostles in the form of tongues of flame. It scorches our sinful misdemeanors, illuminates the minds and hearts, kindles our souls with a love for God and towards each other. Lite a candle on Sunday for your loved ones or friends, both living or deceased.
Books: There are many interesting books in our church library. Why not take one out and see the wealth of spirituality that might be missing from your life. Please see Alice Kotala to take that certain book out, but we ask that you please return them on the specified date so that others may enjoy it also.
Holy Trinity Orthodox Church Photo Gallery
Holy Trinity Orthodox Church History
The Greek community was established in Altoona in 1898, when A. A. Notopoulos initiated the Greek Settlement. By 1933, as it celebrated its 35th anniversary, the Church was comprised of 400 men, women and children, 200 of who were American citizens. Subsequently covering a four-county area, its membership expanded to at least 500 persons. The Greek population peppered the Altoona landscape in those early immigrant days with restaurants, lunch rooms, bars and taverns, grocery stores, bakeries, business enterprises, and real estate investments.
When the church building fund reached a little more than $28,000, the Commonwealth was petitioned for a State Charter for the Hellenic Community of the Holy Trinity—Agia Trias—of Altoona, Pennsylvania. In 1924 the Mountain City Hebrew Reform Congregation sold its synagogue to Mr. Notopoulos and Charles Miles on behalf of the Greek Orthodox Congregation for $37,500, and the sale included the three adjacent houses.
When the building was converted to a Greek Orthodox Church it was described as the "most elegant church between Pittsburgh and Philadelphia." The crystal chandelier, imported from Czechoslovakia, was purchased by the Congregation in 1925. In the 1930s, Holy Trinity supported a resident priest with his family, a psalti and Greek School teacher. During World War II, women of the congregation supported the Greek War Relief effort by holding fundraisers and collecting clothing to be sent to Greece. When the war ended, returning servicemen were honored at a dance in the Penn Alto’s Logan Room.
In the decades after the war, when the employment situation in Altoona drastically changed, the population of Holy Trinity started a sliding decline, and with the exodus for employment elsewhere and natural attrition, the congregation reached a point when it could no longer afford a full-time resident priest. Continually since 1982, the Metropolis, through his Eminence Metropolitan Maximos, has blessed Holy Trinity with priests to serve the community on a Sundays-only basis, with special arrangements for other needs.
Excerpt from Blair County’s First Hundred Years 1846-1946…
When in the latter part of the Nineteenth Century the Greek began to leave his homeland to emigrate to the western world, he brought with him his ideals, customs, and spiritual beliefs. Next to his home, the Greek lobes his church; in fact, his home and church are one and inalienable in his thoughts and daily life. He adheres loyally to his religion because he is born to it, because his church has limned its character in his soul and ramified its dogmas in every part of his spiritual being.
In the years directly following the turn of this century, a number of Greek families migrated to Altoona to establish their homes. There were approximately twelve families, and as there was no Orthodox place of worship in the city, they worshipped separately or in small groups in their individual homes. This was not the type of worship to which they were accustomed, and therefore not what they wanted to continue tin their newly organized colony. Desiring unity, the banded together under the leadership of Mr. Anastasius Notopolous and his wife, and the unorganized Greek colony soon became an organized Orthodox community.
By the late ’teens this movement was progressing rapidly. A third floor hall on the main street in the vicinity of Fifteenth Street was rented and converted into a chapel. Selected by his fellow Greeks to act as their religious guide, Mr. Notopoulos secured the first priest on the newly acquired chapel. Priests from the surrounding communities were invited to journey to Altoona to administer to the congregation. And so the church was established.
Naturally the congregation was desirous of owning and worshipping in a regular Orthodox church edifice. A church fund was inaugurated, which was soon large enough to justify looking for a site. At a general convention a committee was nominated with Mr. Notopoulos as chairman. A petition was made to the state for a charter. It was to be known as the Hellenic Community of the Holy Trinity Agia Trias of Altoona, Pennsylvania.
As the Hebrew Synagogue on the corner of Thirteenth Avenue and Fifteenth Street was being offered for sale this appeared to be an excellent opportunity, and negotiations were immediately made for its purchase. In 1924 this edifice, said to be one of the most elegant of its kind, became known as the Holy Orthodox Hellenic Church of the Holy Trinity.
Thus the struggling Greek colony of less than half a century ago is today one of the leading religious organizations in the community, numbering among its small congregation some of Altoona’s most prominent citizens. Although the enrollment has increased gradually, there are approximately fifty Greek families affiliated with the church at the present time.
Reference:
Notopoulos, Victor A., "The Greek Orthodox Church", Blair County’s First Hundred Years 1846-1946, The Blair County Historical Society, Hollidaysburg, PA, 1945, pg 200-201.
When the church building fund reached a little more than $28,000, the Commonwealth was petitioned for a State Charter for the Hellenic Community of the Holy Trinity—Agia Trias—of Altoona, Pennsylvania. In 1924 the Mountain City Hebrew Reform Congregation sold its synagogue to Mr. Notopoulos and Charles Miles on behalf of the Greek Orthodox Congregation for $37,500, and the sale included the three adjacent houses.
When the building was converted to a Greek Orthodox Church it was described as the "most elegant church between Pittsburgh and Philadelphia." The crystal chandelier, imported from Czechoslovakia, was purchased by the Congregation in 1925. In the 1930s, Holy Trinity supported a resident priest with his family, a psalti and Greek School teacher. During World War II, women of the congregation supported the Greek War Relief effort by holding fundraisers and collecting clothing to be sent to Greece. When the war ended, returning servicemen were honored at a dance in the Penn Alto’s Logan Room.
In the decades after the war, when the employment situation in Altoona drastically changed, the population of Holy Trinity started a sliding decline, and with the exodus for employment elsewhere and natural attrition, the congregation reached a point when it could no longer afford a full-time resident priest. Continually since 1982, the Metropolis, through his Eminence Metropolitan Maximos, has blessed Holy Trinity with priests to serve the community on a Sundays-only basis, with special arrangements for other needs.
Excerpt from Blair County’s First Hundred Years 1846-1946…
When in the latter part of the Nineteenth Century the Greek began to leave his homeland to emigrate to the western world, he brought with him his ideals, customs, and spiritual beliefs. Next to his home, the Greek lobes his church; in fact, his home and church are one and inalienable in his thoughts and daily life. He adheres loyally to his religion because he is born to it, because his church has limned its character in his soul and ramified its dogmas in every part of his spiritual being.
In the years directly following the turn of this century, a number of Greek families migrated to Altoona to establish their homes. There were approximately twelve families, and as there was no Orthodox place of worship in the city, they worshipped separately or in small groups in their individual homes. This was not the type of worship to which they were accustomed, and therefore not what they wanted to continue tin their newly organized colony. Desiring unity, the banded together under the leadership of Mr. Anastasius Notopolous and his wife, and the unorganized Greek colony soon became an organized Orthodox community.
By the late ’teens this movement was progressing rapidly. A third floor hall on the main street in the vicinity of Fifteenth Street was rented and converted into a chapel. Selected by his fellow Greeks to act as their religious guide, Mr. Notopoulos secured the first priest on the newly acquired chapel. Priests from the surrounding communities were invited to journey to Altoona to administer to the congregation. And so the church was established.
Naturally the congregation was desirous of owning and worshipping in a regular Orthodox church edifice. A church fund was inaugurated, which was soon large enough to justify looking for a site. At a general convention a committee was nominated with Mr. Notopoulos as chairman. A petition was made to the state for a charter. It was to be known as the Hellenic Community of the Holy Trinity Agia Trias of Altoona, Pennsylvania.
As the Hebrew Synagogue on the corner of Thirteenth Avenue and Fifteenth Street was being offered for sale this appeared to be an excellent opportunity, and negotiations were immediately made for its purchase. In 1924 this edifice, said to be one of the most elegant of its kind, became known as the Holy Orthodox Hellenic Church of the Holy Trinity.
Thus the struggling Greek colony of less than half a century ago is today one of the leading religious organizations in the community, numbering among its small congregation some of Altoona’s most prominent citizens. Although the enrollment has increased gradually, there are approximately fifty Greek families affiliated with the church at the present time.
Reference:
Notopoulos, Victor A., "The Greek Orthodox Church", Blair County’s First Hundred Years 1846-1946, The Blair County Historical Society, Hollidaysburg, PA, 1945, pg 200-201.
Holy Trinity Orthodox Church Historical Photos
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