Saint Stephen Church History
contributed by Jim Otto

It has been discovered that the first recorded service at St. Stephen was served on Nov. 12, 1915.  On this day the collection, for Blessing of Water, brought $4.30.  The second service was on Nov. 21, 1915 where $32.65 was collected for the newly formed church's young treasury.

At the Divine Liturgy on Dec. 26, 1915, the first Baptism in St. Stephen's recorded history was performed.  Pete and Vasilka Stoyanoff brought their son Boris to the new St. Stephen in Indianapolis, to become baptized an Orthodox Christian.  This was the same year that Albert Einstein formulated his General Theory of Relativity. 

1915 was indeed an eventful year--the U.S. Marines landed in Haiti, beginning a 20 year period of military occupation. D.W. Griffith's movie "The Birth of A Nation" was being shown for the first time in the theaters of the day. 1915 was a year of tragedies--a year that a German submarine torpedoed and sank the British liner Lusitania, and German Zeppelin airships began bombing attacks on Britain. St. Stephen's Church building on Blackford St. was purchased with a down payment of $1,000 on May 24, 1915 from Wm. Gordon for $3,800. At this same time many Macedonian and Bulgarian American Families were coming to attend St. Stephen in Indianapolis. They traveled to St. Stephen from as far away as New York City, locations in the State of Ohio, and from Pennsylvania, as well, to join their Orthodox brothers and sisters in Indianapolis for the celebration of the Divine Liturgy.

St. Stephen Church purchased land on Indianapolis' west side at the corner of 16th Street and Medford Avenue. The new and larger facility was consecrated in 1955. The congregation continues to grow, and is setting it's sights to it's future as they plan for relocation again. The congregation currently has a building fund, and has received many generous contributions as they carefully plan the future of their church family.

Caring for each cherished Orthodox Christian soul from birth through death is part of what has made St. Stephen the spiritual home for many Orthodox Christians. As we reflect on the early days of St. Stephen, we see the hard work and joyful contributions that were offered freely to build St. Stephen into the special place of worship for the Orthodox faithful. The struggles to build a new church, while working and raising families, makes one conclude that times really haven't changed all that much.

Maintaining steady growth of it's congregation from the first days through the present has been due to many caring hands and loving hearts. With the help of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, we will continue to spread the Word in our community.

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