St. Methodios Faith and Heritage Center

The St. Methodios Faith and Heritage Center is a 223-acre (90 ha) camp run by the Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Boston and located in the town of Hopkinton, New Hampshire near the village of Contoocook.

[5] Besides being the home of the Metropolis's summer and winter camps, the Faith and Heritage Center also allows Orthodox parishes to hold weekend retreats for youth and families and each September, the Metropolis sponsors an open house which coincides with the celebration of the Feast of the Cross when the blessing of the waters service takes place.

Pick ran Camp Merrimac until the late 1940s when it was purchased by Abe Beleson, a teacher at the Bronx High School of Science.

[8] After years of using other area camp grounds around New England to support the growing community,[6] the Metropolis decided to buy its own campground.

The former 191-acre (77 ha) Camp Merrimac property was purchased with the help of a $500,000 donation by former pharmaceutical company owner George D. Behrakis in the summer of 1998.

The former barn was extended and a bell tower added to create a 200-seat chapel and all of the cabins on the eastern side of the camp were rebuilt over a ten-year period.

[6] In 2006, Metropolitan Methodios and the Camp and Retreat Center Committee drafted plans for a new lodge on the shore of Clement Pond which would consist of 30 rooms with private accommodations for families, couples, individuals, clergy and laity.

[6] The plan was met with criticism from area property owners who felt that the new building would bring "noise, traffic and lighting [that] will destroy the place they go to get away",[10] but it was ultimately approved by the Hopkinton Zoning Board of Adjustment in 2007.

[12] There are a multitude of structures on the property, including the St. George Chapel, an infirmary, a main office, several cabins, a dining hall, and a boat house.

The completed Retreat House as seen in summer 2010