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Our beautiful church stands proudly on the Crystal Palace Triangle at Westow Street and holds regular Orthodox services in both Greek and English. The Divine Liturgy is celebrated every Sunday lasting for around 3 1/2 hours from 9 or 10 in the morning, and is well attended by Orthodox Christians of many nationalities. You can find details of all our upcoming services on the Church Calendar page.
Father George is our parish priest and he is supported with devotion by Deacon John and our readers, cantors and acolytes – meet the Church Team on the Our People page.
As a registered charity we also have a committee of volunteer trustees, as well as a Ladies Auxillary Committee. We could not function without their dedication. As well as helping to ensure everything runs like clockwork in our Church, they are responsible for fundraising as we are totally unfunded and responsible for raising funds to keep everything functioning smoothly. You can also meet our committee on the Our People page.
So that’s a little about us today, however our history dates back to the mid sixties…………
Humble Beginnings
Prior to the establishment of the Church Community, the Greek School of St Helen opened and operated from Whitehorse Manor School in September 1965. The school is still thriving and is part of the Pegasus Academy Trust.
History of the Greek Orthodox Community in Croydon
The first president of the school committee was Mrs. Vaughan, who together with the school committee and many parents and other local Greek and Greek Cypriot people felt the need for the establishment of a Church Community in Croydon.
They helped to find the first church, St Augustine’s in South Croydon, where the first Greek Orthodox Service was celebrated by Archbishop of Thyateira and Great Britain Athenagoras. Thus the Greek Orthodox Community of St Constantine and St Helen was established in Croydon on 23rd July 1966.
Our Current Church
We bought our present location at 69a Westow Street in 1976. Our President Dr Andreas Andreou takes up the history…
Our current church of St Constantine and St Helen located in Crystal Palace, London was previously known as St Andrews United Reform Church. It was built around 1850 and is a Grade II listed building.
It was purchased by our Greek Orthodox Community on 20 December 1976 for the amount of £32,000. The trustees for the purchase of the church were the late Archbishop Athenagoras, Paul Christou, Efraim Yorkas and Michael Shiatis.
The required amount was raised through a loan obtained from Barclays Bank in Brixton through the efforts of Paul Christou and the generous contributions of many parishoners.
Preparation work to convert the internal parts of the church to an Orthodox Church took 3- years and eventually on 18 May 1980 was consecrated by HE Archbishop Methodios as the church of St Constantine and St Helen. Our priest at that time was Father Demetrios Economou, and Stavros Matheou was the president of the church committee.
The great anadohos/godfather (meaning similar to when a person baptises a child) at the time of the consecration of the church was Demetrios Neophytou.
The carved Iconostasis that separates the altar from the rest of the church and the great chandelier, the extensive iconography and other church decorations and church implements were bought with the generous donations of many Greek Orthodox parishioners.
The work on the iconostasis was completed in 1983. Thereafter, Father Demetrios and later Monachos Dometios completed the iconography of all the church walls and the ‘tholos’.
In 1983 Father Spyridon Trambas became the next parish priest. During this time the church main roof was repaired and fully renovated during Stavros Matheou’s tenure as president.
In addition extensive work and renovation of the ancillary rooms and hall at the back of the church were carried out. Father Demetrios returned from Greece in July 1991 after the untimely death of Father Spyridon.
In 1989 a house was purchased and used as a presbytery for Father Demetrios and his young family. It was sold in 1996 and with the proceeds of £58,000 we purchased the adjoining land and old hall.
In September 1992 under the presidency of George Georgiou, the first vicarage was found and bought. The twenty fifth anniversary of our church was celebrated by His Eminence Archbishop Gregorios, the Rev. Demetrios Economou, the president George Georgiou and a large congregation on 6 October 1992.
The Ladies Auxiliary Committee forms a vital part of the Church Community and supports the church and school financially and also helps and supports the poor and needy in the community financially and by visiting hospitals and care homes. The first Ladies Committee president was Mrs Vaughan followed by Mrs Eleni Michaelidou.
The community was then served by Father Spyridon Trambas and again by Father Economou. During their tenures a lot of work was carried out especially iconography and general improvement of the facilities.
In 2005-2006, the Ladies Auxiliary Committee under the presidency of Nedi Hadjialexandrou carried out internal repairs and cleaning of the stonework. The cost was £73,000 and wholly funded by proceeds and donations collected by the Ladies Committee.
In 2008 when Father George Christidis was appointed he was housed in our own presbytery purchased for £310,000.
Our Presidents (names are listed in the chronological order of service)
Presidents of the Church Committee:
Kyprianos Papatheodoulou
George Demetriou
George Palmas
Andreas Michael (Mousaris)
Petros Tsakpounides
Timothy Constantinou
Efrem Yiorkas
Stavros Matheou
George Georgiou
Dr Andreas Andreou (since 2001)
Presidents of Ladies Auxiliary Committee:
Mrs A P Vaughan
Mrs Eleni Michaelidou
Mrs Nedi Hadjialexandrou (since 1996)
Eleni Petrides
President of the Ladies Auxiliary Committee (2026)
Presidents of the School Committee:
Mrs A P Vaughan
E Yiorgas
N Filippou
Dr M Gergiades
Dr Andreas Andreou
Dr Andreas Theodorou
Presidents of Greek Orthodox Youth Committee:
George Christoforou
Theo Palmas
Argyros Kouzos
Loukia Georgiou
Maria Hadjitheodosi
His Eminence Archbishop Gregorios at the 2016 Festival
Future Plans
In 2014, under the presidency of Dr Andreas Andreou, we obtained planning permission to build a community Centre and 4 flats on the upper floors. A fund raising campaign was launched to gather funds for the building costs estimated at around £1 million.
Many of our parishioners responded generously and we were ready in late 2019 to begin construction. Unfortunately, Covid -19 and the lockdown came and the project was put back.
As at July 2025, we are in the process of getting new quotes from building contractors to build a ground floor commercial unit (at the bank’s insistence) and 5 flats. We will keep you informed both in church and on the website of the latest developments and timetable.
The help, love and support of many generations of parishioners going back to the 1960s when our community was first established, has been incredible. Without the help of those who are no longer with us, and the continuing support of our parishioners, our community and our church would not be able to exist and provide the religious services and the Greek Orthodox teachings on which we base our whole lives.
President Dr Andreas Andreou