Speech #1090109626

I rise today as a proud member of the Congressional Caucus on Hellenic Issues. to honor the 100th anniversary of the Saint Vasilios Greek Orthodox Church in Peabody. Massachusetts. The local Greek population. with St. Vasilios as one of its bedrock institutions. has been and continues to be a vital part of the Peabody community. The first Greek immigrants arrived in Peabody at the turn of the last century. As their numbers increased. they pooled their resources to buy their first property. a simple wooden building on Walnut Street which they modeled into a house of worship. On February 26. 1906. they were incorporated and chartered by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. naming their parish "St.