The Parish of Saint Barbara traces its formal beginnings back to July 11, 1945 when a group of Greek Orthodox immigrants in the Durham-Chapel Hill area met to organize themselves into a Greek Orthodox parish. From this organizational meeting emerged a steering committee chaired by Jerry A. Spathis which led to the first general assembly of local Greek Orthodox on September 16, 1945 and to the incorporation of a parish under North Carolina law on October 26, 1946. The prayerful words used by the initial steering committee capture perfectly the spirit of the founding fathers: "Almighty God, enlighten us so that as individuals and as a committee we might bring to completion with full success the task which we have undertaken, always faithful to the divine traditions and teachings of our Church."