The priest at Harrow’s new Greek Orthodox church has spoken of the “community effort” that went into the building.

Father Anastasios Salapatas has spent the last 15 years presiding over the planning and building of the new Byzantine church of St Panteleimon and St Paraskevi in Kenton Road.

The church, which was officially consecrated by Archbishop Gregorios of Thyateira and Great Britain on November 4, is the first Greek Orthodox church to be built in London for 134 years.

Work began on the £5 million project in August 2009 following years of planning.

An existing Anglican church hall on the site was demolished to make way for the new church which was completed n March 2011.

Father Salapatas’ church now attracts congregations of up to 300 people who come from as far afield as St Albans and High Wycombe.

The priest, who has been working in Harrow since 1993, said: “The community has been very enthusiastic.

“There are 10,000 Greek people in this area and they wanted something that reminded them of their home village churches.

“It was a community thing. Making it all come together has required the combination of the hard work of the people in the community as well as the blessing from above.

“We had the support of the community, the archbishop, Greek engineers and a building company owned and run by a Greek man.”

Father Salapatas added: “It was amazing to see it being built. I am very pleased with it now.

“It was inspiring to see it coming together before my eyes.”

A large part of the money for building the new church came from community donations.

One of the key fundraising ideas came from the priest himself.

He encouraged people to ‘buy’ a brick of the church for £1,000.

Through this scheme he raised £300,000 and the outside of the building is now adorned with plaques carrying the names of all those who donated a brick.

Father Salapatas said: “The wooden carvings in the church bring you closer to God and our saints.

“It makes people happier and it makes them feel closer to God.”

Even though the church represents a major change for the Kenton Road site, Father Salapatas says that the community has been hugely supportive.

He said: “Many local people have come to tell me how much they like hearing the bells.

“Churches are not being built in England now so people have been amazed to see us building this but they are happy to see a new church being built.

“There was so much enthusiasm – everyone has supported the build. Even the people who built the original church hall on the site in the 1930s were happy to see it go.”

Now that the building work is complete, Father Salapatas is dedicating his attentions to ensuring that it remains a thriving place of worship.

To do so he organises youth groups, women’s groups, older people’s meetings and regular services.

He said: “We have finished with the construction and we have built the buildings we needed.

“Now we need to build on souls and hearts.

“We need to make sure people use our new buildings and keep coming and increasing their faith.

“We need to invite people in and make them happy – this new challenge is a much bigger one than the building work was.”