Affluence and Connections at St. Sophias Greek Orthodox Church

Saint Sophias Greek Orthodox cathedral, located in the Byzantine Latino Quarter of Los Angeles, is an affluent mostly Greek congregation in a poor mostly Latino neighborhood. The church offers many characteristics of a Greek culture club, and has numerous ties to the film industry. For these reasons, as well as reasons of language and culture, a non-affluent, non-Greek person would have a difficult time being comfortable at Saint Sophias.

The cathedral has many characteristics that would seem more natural at a cultural club than at a church. The congregation is more than 80% Greek. Both priests who lead services are Greek. On the property of the cathedral are both a Greek school for children and adults, and Greek dancing lessons. Greek holidays which are totally unrelated to Christianity, such as Oxi Day which commemorates the end of Greece's occupation, are celebrated with great abandon by many at the cathedral. Every celebration I witnessed or heard of was celebrated with traditional Greek foods. Every name that was receiving an award at the celebration luncheon I read the invitation too was overtly Greek sounding. As the final piece of the puzzle, most services include much more Greek than English. There were some non-Greek converts, but the overwhelming population of the congregation was made up of 3^rd, 4^th, or 5^th generation Greek immigrants.

The younger priest described Greek immigrants in the following way, "When Greeks came to the United States, they did very well." This is an understatement for Saint Sophias' Congregation. The parking lot of Saint Sophias is filled with very expensive, well kept cars. The pews are filled with people in very nice suits, and attractive dresses. The building is well kept and new. The parking lot has a gate around it, and a worker, called simply "Lieutenant", who is always suring the premises. The inside of the cathedral is covered with gold and icons. There are lovely mosaics both inside and outside of the church. The congregation has been very successful, and Saint Sophias' buildings reflect that success.

While interviewing what I was hoping would be a cross section of Saint Sophias congregation, I came across several people who were involved in the film industry. Perhaps more than any other business in the world, the film and television industry is a business of connections. My film professor said repeatedly that the key to succeeding is being good enough to get noticed, and using that connection to get more, and eventually get an "in". Couple this nature of the industry with the tendency of immigrant groups to help each other, and Saint Sophias becomes a web on connections into one of the tightest industries in the world. Saint Sophias is not simply a good place to worship, it is a very elite social club for the film industry. This dichotomy is not lost on the priests of the cathedral, one of whom has a picture of himself baptizing Tom Hanks' son at Saint Sophias several years ago.

The class difference between the congregation of Saint Sophias and the surrounding neighborhood perpetuates itself in several ways. The most obvious explanation is that it makes more sense for a poor Latino person to go to the Roman Catholic Church next door, which is populated by mostly poor Latinos, than to go to a Church which is populated with rich Greeks. In addition to this, the majority of the service is performed in Greek. This can be somewhat uncomfortable for those who do not speak Greek, because pronunciation and reading are difficult. Though most immigrants who attend St. Sophias have been in America for several generations, it is very common for people to bring their children to Greek school an Saturdays. This has been common for at least the last two generations. In this way, Greeks continue to speak the language their service is in. This makes it difficult for non-Greeks to feel comfortable at the Church.

I suspect it would be very difficult for someone who was of a lower class, or unfamiliar with the traditions of Greek Orthodoxy, to feel comfortable at Saint Sophias. The obvious affluence of the congregation can be seen in everything from the parking lot attendant, to the gold leafed lights and lanterns inside the Church. The Orthodox regulation against non-Church members taking communion also adds to the discomfort of non-church members. Also the cultural interaction that is encouraged at the Church would make it difficult for those who do not share the cultural background of Greece to feel comfortable at the church. In all, Saint Sophias has many aspects of a Greek cultural club, as well as a social club for movie business insiders. The obvious affluence of the congregation, and the language and cultural barriers in the church would make it difficult for a non-Greek person to be comfortable there. While the priests have done a better job of opening the area to the community than those they replaced, Saint Sophias Greek Orthodox Church is still a bastion of Affluent Byzantium in the midst of a poor LA neighborhood.