On September 1, 1973, the Greek Orthodox Christian Community of Boulder, Colorado, first met for monthly services at St. Aidan’s Episcopal Church, located near the University of Colorado campus. Fr. George Neofotistos, the Dean of the Assumption Cathedral (1964-1985) in Denver, inaugurated the Boulder mission. Fr. George and various clergy from the Cathedral parish continued to service the Boulder faithful all through the 70’s. Fr. David Eckley, Fr. John Magoulias, Fr. Nicholas Pathenos, and His Grace, Bishop KALLISTOS Samaras, then Vicar of the Denver Diocese, all visited the Boulder community.

On May 4, 1979, the State of Colorado granted to the Boulder Orthodox Community its Charter of Incorporation under the name “The Boulder Greek Orthodox Church.” In 1980, the Bishop appointed Fr. Dimitri Callozzo to serve the Orthodox community in the Boulder area. During his ministry, Fr. Callozzo, a gifted iconographer, painted four large icons - of Christ, the Theotokos, John the Baptist and Saints Peter and Paul, which are presently in use in the iconostasion of the new church. He also painted the Crucifixion scene on the Royal Doors and the altar icon of Christ on the Cross. Later that year, the community voted to be under the patronage of Saints Peter and Paul, and the mission parish was recognized by the Diocese of Denver as Saints Peter and Paul Greek Orthodox Church of Boulder.

The newly named community then moved to the old Allen Chapel at 18th and Pearl Streets in downtown Boulder, and Fr. Callozzo installed the icons at that location. When Fr. Callozzo left the community in 1982, Fr. Harry Gavalas, a retired priest attached to the Cathedral in Denver, conducted monthly worship services at this location. In January of 1984, the community purchased a large barn, complete with silo, on an acre of land located in north Boulder at 3101 Jay Road. By June of that year, members of the community had renovated the barn to include an altar area, worship space and a kitchen.

Fr. Peter Harrison from Cheyenne, Wyoming, served the community at first. The iconostasion, built for the Allen Chapel location, was re-done to fit inside the revamped “barn.” The parishioners of St. Aidan’s Episcopal Church donated pews to the growing congregation. In August, 1985, Fr. Steve Prodromides began serving the Boulder parish in addition to two other Orthodox communities in Craig and Grand Junction, Colorado.

On September 1, 1987, His Grace, Bishop ANTHIMOS of Denver assigned Fr. Nicholas Papedo to the parish as a full time priest. The parish community, now numbering about fifty families, was no longer considered a “mission” church, and began to participate in a full liturgical year. Saints Peter and Paul Church was recognized by the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of North and South America, answerable to its Diocesan Bishop and the Patriarchate of Constantinople.

While worshipping in a barn had a certain charm, the parish had nearly doubled and space was at a premium. Some Sunday School classes were held in the kitchen. Visiting priests and altar boys vested in a closet area, which also doubled as the church office. A temporary room was added in the early 90’s to accommodate the church office, various classes, group meetings and some storage needs. In 1992, a parish long-range planning committee began to assess both immediate and future needs for its growing family. A General Assembly vote set the wheels in motion to acquire a larger facility for the growing numbers of Orthodox Christians in the area. A three-acre site about two miles east of the “barn” on Jay Road was located and purchased. Formerly, it had been a two-story red brick Church of Christ; it had rooms for worship, fellowship, classes and space to grow.

After the purchase in the late summer of 1993, parishioners got to work and cleaned, painted and renovated the worship space. The pews, originally given to the community by St. Aidan’s in 1984, were donated to St. Columba’s Western Rite Orthodox Church, which had just moved into the “barn,” and to St. Elias Antiochian Church in Denver. The new location for Saints Peter and Paul posed some unique challenges. Removed from the old Protestant worship area were a fifteen-foot baptistery, a pulpit and several pews. Parishioners built and carpeted an altar area and “solea.” The iconostasion originally built for the old Allen Chapel location was refitted to yet another new space, and the altar was installed. On September 18, 1994, after celebrating an Orthros service at the old Jay Road location, His Grace, Bishop ISAIAH of Denver celebrated the first Divine Liturgy at the new location: 5640 Jay Road. The property at 3101 Jay Road was sold in 1996 and in that year, the Parish Council voted to establish an Architectural Committee to research the building of the first Byzantine Greek Orthodox Church in the Boulder area.

In May of 1997, on the Sunday after Holy Pascha, the General Assembly passed a threefold resolution: to build an Orthodox church, to establish a committee to enable financial contributions for the building of a church, and to hire an architect to design and implement construction on-site. Construction of the new building began in the summer of 1998. As the project came to its completion, altar, pews and iconostasion were again adapted to fit the new building!

On Lazarus Saturday, April 22, 2000, His Eminence Metropolitan ISAIAH presided at the Theranixia, or Opening of the Doors, as the Divine Liturgy was celebrated in the new temple.

Saints Peter and Paul Church is a diverse community of committed believers, whose congregation represents the Orthodox traditions of Greece, Romania, Serbia, Lebanon, Palestine, Russia, the Ukraine and North America. In November of 2001, Fr. Nick Papedo and his family were transferred to another parish. His Eminence then assigned temporary clergy to serve the parish under the guidance of Fr. Luke Uhl, Chancellor of the Diocese. Fr. Ambrose Omayas, Fr. Dean Talagan, Fr. Christodoulos Papadeas and Fr. Deacon Mark Spero joined the long list of dedicated clergy who have tended to the spiritual needs of the parish. On October 3, 2003, His Eminence, Metropolitan ISAIAH, appointed Fr. Nicholas Dotson as the new pastor and spiritual leader. On October 5, 2003, Father Nicholas celebrated his first Divine Liturgy as Proistamenos of Saints Peter and Paul.