Oral history interview with Father George R. George
Description:
Interview with Father George R. George conducted by Katie Kenneally. Father George is a priest at St. George’s Syrian Church (St. George Orthodox Church of Boston). Father George talks about the history and evolution of St. George’s parish in Boston which was originally centered in Boston’s South End and South Cove neighborhoods but is now in the process of relocation to West Roxbury, where many parishioners have moved. He describes the strong attachment of Middle Eastern immigrants to their ethnic church and explains his thoughts on why immigrants tend to cluster together and live in the same area. He also describes different social functions and events celebrated by the church including St. George’s Day. Additionally, Father George talks about the difference between Middle Eastern immigrants, their children (first generation Americans), and their grandchildren (second generation Americans) in areas such as marriage, social life, and language. Father George hypothesizes that one of the reasons that church attendance has decreased in the past several years is because of the high crime rate in South End and he believes that once the church is finally established in West Roxbury, attendance will increase. However, Father George does express worry that West Roxbury, which he describes as an “upper white middle class” neighborhood, is also experiencing a rise in crime that he believes is due to the lack of police presence in the area. He describes one incident the previous summer where a policeman accidentally shot a youth near Billings Field. Other topics include the Boston Redevelopment Authority (BRA), Chinatown, St. John of Damascus Church, Our Lady of the Cedars of Lebanon Church, Annunciation Greek Orthodox Cathedral, his opinion on whether there is a movement towards ecumenicism in Arabic churches, Gypsy Hill in West Roxbury, and police commissioner, Robert diGrazia.
