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Origin and history

The Church of St Alexander of Charvieu-Chavagneux is an Orthodox church founded in 1917, dependent on the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople. It is the first contemporary Orthodox church in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region. Its origin is related to the arrival of Greeks during the First World War, especially workers settled around Lyon, employed in local industries such as Alexander Grammont, a Philhelene industrialist.

In 1917, Alexander Grammont offered a hangar to the Greek community to establish a place of worship, which took the name of Saint Alexander. This gesture marks the beginning of an organized Orthodox presence in the region. The church was initially served by a priest from Corfu until 1929, when he was returned for moral reasons. Between 1929 and the 1960s, the church was occasionally served by priests of Lyon or a uniate priest, before being reactivated by the Orthodox Metropolis of France.

The Greek community of Charvieu-Chavagneux and Pont-de-Chéruy was built into several waves of migration: first workers during the First World War, then refugees fleeing the Great Catastrophe (Greek Pontic Genocide and Greek-Turkish War) in the 1920s, and finally Macedonian economic migrants between 1950 and 1970. These waves shaped a collective memory marked by historical trauma, although immigration was also motivated by economic reasons.

The church, located at 73 Rue du Reveille, remains a central place for the community, especially during religious holidays such as Easter. It reflects the socio-economic history of the Greeks in the region, mostly workers, unlike other Greek communities in France that have evolved towards intellectual professions. Internal conflicts, such as those with anticlericals or tensions between priests, have also marked its history.

The name of the church, Saint-Alexandre, is symbolically linked to Alexandre Grammont, perceived as a benefactor by the community. His role in welcoming the Greeks and founding the church helped forge a local identity around the memory of persecution and exile, even for those who were not directly victims. This historical reinterpretation shows the importance of the church as a place of memory and community cohesion.

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