One of Salt Lake City’s most iconic cathedrals is slated for a major restoration and repairs to earthquake damage, with a price tag that could amount to tens of millions.
The 101-year-old Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Cathedral took extensive blows in the 5.7 magnitude quake centered on Magna that struck on March 18, 2020, just as Utah was reeling from the initial days of the COVID-19 pandemic.
A Federal Emergency Management Agency survey in the immediate aftermath found damage in at least 158 places on the historic Byzantine-style cathedral at 279 S. 300 West, which was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1975.
(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Cathedral in Salt Lake City on Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2024.
The church, opened in 1924, was the cultural center of Salt Lake City’s early 20th-century immigrant enclave known as Greek Town and remains a community hub today. Kitty-corner from Pioneer Park, the red-brick religious icon is adjacent to the site of Utah’s yearly Greek Festival, attended by thousands each September.
Despite the damage, parishioners have been able to use the cathedral since the earthquake, including a large 100-year anniversary celebration in 2024.
(Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune) Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Cathedral in Salt Lake City on Monday, Dec. 29, 2025.
Church leaders have informed parishioners with the Greek Orthodox Church of Greater Salt Lake that an initial FEMA assessment phase and project design are now complete. The latest estimate is construction could begin sometime next summer, a time frame pushed out by the recent 43-day U.S. government shutdown.
“It is a beautiful structure and quite a crown jewel for downtown Salt Lake,” Parish Council President George Karahalios said in an interview. “It’s one of many historic buildings that really needs to be preserved.”
(Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune) Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Cathedral in Salt Lake City on Monday, Dec. 29, 2025.
Through an act of Congress, FEMA has agreed to pay for 90% of the restoration costs, with parish supporters to pay the rest.
Karahalios expects the restoration to take about 18 months once it gets started. The parish has not finalized yet, he said, how church services and functions will be conducted during the construction.
At a hearing on Utah’s Capitol Hill in early 2025, Kostas Katsohirakis, a parish council vice president, estimated the total cost of restoration and seismic repair at between $25 million and $35 million, though church officials said those project costs have since eased a little.
Katsohirakis, who at the time sought state aid for the work, said construction will be comparable to the extensive seismic improvements and other renovations set to be completed in late 2026 on the Salt Lake Temple at Temple Square, including work fortifying its foundation.
(Hellenic Cultural Museum) A 2021 photo of the Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Cathedral in Salt Lake City.
“We’re really going to try to provide the foundation and support for that building to last another 100 years,” Katsohirakis told state leaders. Though parishioners “have stepped up” with financial backing, he added, “it’s quite an expensive fix, and so we do need the appropriations to help us.”
His February pitch to lawmakers won a $1 million one-time state grant toward the cathedral project that is now part of the community’s 10% contribution.
Karahalios said it won’t be clear until actual work on the cathedral starts, however, just how extensive it will be, what it’ll ultimately cost or exactly how long it will take. Engineers and architects believe additional damage may lurk beneath the historic building’s surface.
(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) Dionysios perform traditional dances at the Salt Lake City Greek Festival on Friday, Sept. 6, 2024.
Funding from FEMA and Utah sources for construction, though, has been secured, according to the church.
A newsletter sent to parishioners of Holy Trinity in Salt Lake City and Prophet Elias Greek Orthodox Church in Holladay said the next step in the cathedral restoration was selecting a construction contractor.
The church is also now inviting $1 million in additional donations to ensure the cathedral is not just restored to its original function but also able to “shine in its full glory,” according to a recent parish request.
That cash, church leaders wrote, would go toward improved lighting, landscaping, mechanical upgrades and completion of church iconography — additions they contend “will preserve and beautify our sacred cathedral for generations to come.”