July 2 Today in OPC History

On Saturday, July 2, 1955, John and Barbara Deliyannides were married by the Rev. Robert Atwell at the Calvary Orthodox Presbyterian Church in Glenside, Pennsylvania.

John, a native of Thessaloniki, Greece, and member of the Greek Evangelical Church, emigrated to the United States in 1952 to study electrical engineering at Lafayette College in Easton, Pennsylvania. A mutual friend put John in contact with the Rev. Lewis Grotenhuis, the Orthodox Presbyterian pastor of the independent Calvary Community Chapel in Harmony, New Jersey (now a congregation of the OPC). “My joy and gratitude to God for the opportunity He has given me is great,” John wrote to his family in Greece on November 6, 1952. “I finally heard a sermon in which the emphasis was given to the work of Christ, and the necessity of salvation. I finally saw a church full of faithful children of Christ.”

Meanwhile, Barbara, who grew up in Glenside just a few blocks away from Westminster Seminary, was introduced to the OPC by high school friend Joan Birch (Vander Hart), who attended Calvary OPC. Barbara has fond memories of the Calvary OPC youth group and their trips to French Creek, where she made new friends, including Joan Grotenhuis (English), eldest daughter of Lewis and Ruth Grotenhuis. John and Barbara met in the Grotenhuis home during the Christmas season in 1953. John went on to earn his MSEE from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (1957) and his PhD from the University of Pittsburgh (1968). He held a wide variety of technical and managerial positions in his pioneering work to apply digital computers to control electric utility and industrial processes. Barbara worked tirelessly from home, bringing up five children, managing a busy household, extending generous hospitality to guests, and using her creativity in the care and service of those around her.

John and Barbara were active members of nine different OPC congregations in eastern and western Pennsylvania, upstate New York, Delaware, Florida, and Indiana. John was ordained as a ruling elder at Covenant OPC, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in 1968. He also contributed to the governance of the OPC over the years, serving on the Foreign Missions, Christian Education, and Historian’s Committees.

Barbara went to be with the Lord in glory on February 15, 2016, and John on July 10, 2018.

Picture: John and Barbara Deliyannides just married coming out of the front door of Calvary Church, Glenside, PA.