The new church was built out of white stones on the northern side of the village. Builders from Epeiros constructed it; construction began in 1904 but was not completed until 1926. The outside walls were completed in 1906, but it had no roof until twenty years later. The outside walls were whitewashed in 1968 in order to weatherproof the structure. A plaque near the main (western) entrance reads: "Funded by the St. Athanasios Association of New York, 1904-1926-1968." The construction of the church and the issue of what to name it caused much commotion in the village.

Apolytikion of Saint Athanasios the Great "A pillar you became of Orthodoxy, with dogmas sacred the Church supporting, O Hierarch Athanasios; for declaring the Son consubstantial with the Father, you brought shame to Arius. Father Osios, Christ our God do you entreat, to grant to us the great mercy."

Some villagers, including Papanikolas Papageorgiou, wanted to name it after the Annunciation of the Virgin Mary. The Bishop of Nafpaktos Ambrosios agreed with this suggestion, since the village already had a church dedicated to St. Athanasios; he went ahead and inaugurated the church with the name upon which he and Papanikolas had agreed. The village was in an uproar, since the vast majority of its occupants wanted the new church to be called "St. Athanasios" as well. G. N. Chatzis, who lived in the United States at the time, ended the controversy when he came into contact with Ambrosios and offered him a check for 300 dollars - in the name of the St. Athanasios Association - to change the name to the one most popular with the villagers. He agreed, not knowing at the time the check was actually a plain piece of paper, and he had been fooled. The Bishop did not attempt to cash the check until it was too late, and the name had already been changed under his orders. Despite the eventual acquiescence of the Bishop, no one wanted to remove the icon of the Annunciation in order to replace it with one of St. Athanasios; they felt it was too sacrilegious. A man named Yiannis Astrapelos, from the village of Sitista, undertook the job. The iconstand was sculpted out of plaster, and all of its icons were created by K. Kotsis in 1926, in Patras. Unfortunately, many icons and holy items were stolen from the churches of Perista in recent years, leaving the village bereft of some beautiful pieces of artwork.

Please help us complete the project of Agios Athanasios!!!
All of us together! For the "highlight" of our village!
Agios Athanasios for sure will always be there for us.

Dear Fellow Peristians and Friends,

Agios. Athanasios Association of Perista in the U.S.A., along with the Peristians of Greece have taken on a great and worthwhile project of restoring and repairing St. Athanasios Church.

Up to the present time, our Association's expenditure has been more than $40,000.00 for the above mentioned project. About the same amount was given by the Peristians of Greece from various donations and contributions.

There has been major construction done on the exterior of the church including the outer walls and the roof which was entirely replaced. We have successfully omitted the humidity that has been the number one problem for years for this structure, and was in great danger of falling apart.

Now the interior of the church is in need of repair. Along with the restoration of the Icons, new flooring, and in general whatever needs to be done.

But for this we need mor money. Our Association has exhausted all leeway of funds. Our treasury is almost nil. For this purpose, we are addressing and requesting from all Peristians and friends of Perista to contribute an individual donation of any amount you feel comfortable with in order for us to complete this enormous but necessary project that we have taken on.

Peristians and friends that live in the U.S.A. or outside of Greece, please send your contributions to the association and you will receive a receipt for the amount sent for income tas purposes.
Please send your contributions to:

"St. Athanasios" Association of Perista
c/o Eleni T. Kaltsas
48-15 Franis Lewis Blvd
Bayside NY 11364

or call: (718) 423-2032
make your check or money order payable to:
Agios Athanasios Association of Perista.

For further information or questions, please E-Mail us at: Ag Athanasios@aol.com and we reply as soon as possible.
Like always we look forward to your correspondence.
We thank you and pray that Agios Athanasios bless you with health, happiness, and whatever your hearts desire.
We are proud to inform you that Agios Athanasios Association is a non-profit organization and any donation given, you will be able to declare your share in your income taxes.