OrthodoxChurchMap.org

Our goal is to verify the accuracy of Eastern Orthodox church data (addresses, phone numbers, websites). We will then use that data to make sure that every church has up to date and accurate information on OpenStreetMap and Google Maps.

What we do and how we do it:

  1. Collecting Data
    We gather existing church data from trusted official sources. Here is a list of our data sources:
    Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America
    And more coming soon!
  2. Formatting Data
    We process the data from each source and standardize the format of the phone number, address, and wesite URL.
  3. Automatically Verifying Data
    Using a custom made program, we automatically visit the website of each church, and collect the address and phone number from the website to confirm that they match the data we have.
  4. Manually Verifying Data
    If our program detects that the phone number or address on the church's page is different from the data from our data sources, we manually figure out the correct information.
  5. Publishing Data
    Once we are satisfied with the quality of the data we have collected, we contact the data source to notify them of any errors in the data that we found. We also update OpenStreetMap and Google Maps to ensure that they have accurate data about the churches in our database.

Current Work

We have assembled a list of "completely verified" Greek Orthodox Churches: meaning that the church has a website, and the address and phone number are both listed on the church's website. We are (slowly) working our way through that list, adding and updating church info on OpenStreetMap. Progress can be viewed on our OpenStreetMap profile. We have attempted to make several edits on Google Maps but all of our edits have been automatically denied, even edits as simple as categorizing a church as Greek Orthodox.

Contact

[email protected]