Welcome to the St. Dionysios Greek Orthodox Church of Overland Park, Kansas.  St. Dionysios is a part of the Greek Orthodox Diocese of Denver, which is under the authority of His Eminence, Metropolitan Isaiah of Denver.

Our parish was chartered by the State of Kansas on June 16, 1927. Today, St. Dionysios has about 150 families as members of the church.  In 1951,  after the "Big Flood" of the Missouri River,  the parish was moved from its original location to Overland Park.  The current church was completed in 1972.

The St. Dionysios Church provides a great number of programs and ministries through it's many organizations.  

Today the parish is renewing its focus on youth ministry with youth groups, various religious and cultural educational programs tailored to the community's growing youth population.   Religious education is provided by the Sunday School and our newly begun Greek language instruction in our weekly Greek School.

A monthly newsletter and our website keeps the parish informed of all the various activities, service schedules and other events that occur within the community.

In addition, St. Dionysios sponsors the annual Greek Festival the first weekend in June.  The 3-day festival has become a much anticipated event in the greater Kansas City area, attracting thousands of visitors and raising much needed funds for St. Dionysios' ongoing programs.

If you have any questions, want to learn more about our parish or to schedule a tour, please email us at: frpapedo@stdionysios.org or call the Church Office at (913) 341-7373.


COMMUNITY HISTORY

The story of the Greek immigrants who began and nurtured the St. Dionysios community of Kansas City, Kansas, parallels the experience of Greek communities across the country. They had come to the new world in steerage; many interrupted their journey westward to work in the factories and live in the Greek settlements of the east. The decision to migrate had meant sacrificing the old and known for the new and uncertain— the new and uncertain had greater promise. When the greater opportunity and higher wages in the meatpacking and railroad industries of the Midwest beckoned, they once again embarked on their traumatic modern odyssey. Still mostly untrained and unfamiliar in the ways of the industrial society, they left the relatively supportive environment of the Greek communities of the east to endure for a second time the trials of migration. How courageous they seemed in retrospect; through fear and uncertainty, isolated by language and custom, with faith and pride, they came to Kansas City and created a community mirroring the traditions and beliefs of their distant homeland and weaving it into the fabric of their adopted land.

The Greeks who came to Kansas City in the first quarter of the Twentieth Century were mostly young men, single and married, seeking their fortune. Many of them planned to return to their native land and some did; others came intending to stay and they did. They saved their money and sent for wives and families. Some journeyed back to Greece to marry and returned with their wives. Others married women of other nationalities in the United States. A community began to grow and in many ways it became a microcosm of Greece. They had come from the mainland and the many Greek islands to mid-America, becoming American and yet retaining their cultural identity and treasuring their heritage.

The center of their community was the church and they drew strength and solace from it. St. Dionysios, the first Greek Orthodox Church in Kansas City and the second in the greater Kansas City area, was founded in 1926. A Methodist church at 619 South 7th Street, in K.C., KS was purchased and remodeled to conform to Orthodox tradition. On Good Friday, 1926, the first service was held. The church was named after the patron saint of the Island of Zakynthos. Saint Dionysios has a legacy of compassion, forgiveness and love, and we believe he has helped sustain the church, which bears his name, and he comforts its supporters.

Many of the parishioners lived and worked near the church in the Armourdale district. The packinghouses and the railroads dominated the economic life of Armourdale and the city and region beyond. It was a blue-collar district where, at least at first, the unskilled Greek laborers were looked upon with hostility by earlier immigrants and their descendants as competitors in the sometimes precarious job market. The Greeks worked hard, striving particularly to achieve a better life for their children. They progressed and eventually conquered the obstacles of prejudice and misunderstanding.

The church of St. Dionysios has been intertwined with the lives of its parishioners through times of adversity and good fortune, sadness and joy—through comforting and supporting one another. Misfortune struck the night of December 17, 1947. On the feast day of St. Dionysios, a fire swept through the church, leaving only the charred outside walls. The community’s response was immediate; working together, they contributed money and time, securing a $40,000 loan and restored the church, this time adding a social hall. Within a few years, disaster struck again. On Friday, July 13, 1951, floodwaters inundated Armourdale, (flood photographs) destroying the church structure and the homes, work places and businesses of the parishioners. The flood was devastating; economic hardship resulted from the loss of homes and income. Nonetheless, the people’s spirit and love for their church overcame many obstacles. The rebuilt their personal lives and they rebuilt the church, again.

In the aftermath of the flood, many of the church’s members moved away from the flood-prone Armourdale area. The church, however, sustained a sense of community. In 1972,  the Urban Renewal Agency acquired the church building and site on 7th Street and the decision was made to build a new structure for St. Dionysios in Johnson County, where a majority of the community now lived. A site was chosen for its accessibility to the members still living in Wyandotte County and the metropolitan area.

The building of the new St. Dionysios Church was a tremendous undertaking, requiring commitment, sacrifice, faith, cooperation and energy. Completed in 1974, St. Dionysios continues to play a vital role in the lives of its parishioners, not only for religion, but also for socialization. In January 2002, the addition of several new Sunday school classrooms, administrative offices and the enlargement and renovation of the cultural community center was complete, having started the year prior with new carpeting and marble in the church proper. As always throughout its history, the church welcomes newcomers and this is reflected in its growing membership of “non-Greeks”, which in partnership supports the church. The structure is impressive and beautiful, symbolizing the compassion and love of our patron saint. With the courage, will and faith of its founders and those who have followed, we will endure.