Eastern Orthodox churches in Florida

[Ascetic]

Does any member of this forum attend an Eastern Orthodox church in Florida? If so, where? Thank you.

 

[Timket]

This is a pretty useful tool - just type in your zip code and it should pull up options:

Orthodoxy in America

No Description.

orthodoxyinamerica.org

 

[Ascetic]

This is a pretty useful tool - just type in your zip code and it should pull up options:

Orthodoxy in America

No Description.

orthodoxyinamerica.org

Thank you. I am not Eastern Orthodox and have a difficult time determining which churches are considered Orthodox by the ancient churches. If a church is not on the map at Orthodoxy in America for Florida may I conclude that such a church is not part of the ancient Eastern Orthodox family of churches?

Thanks again.

+++ And I still would like to chat with any member of this forum who attends an Eastern Orthodox church in Florida. Thank you.

 

[Timket]

Thank you. I am not Eastern Orthodox and have a difficult time determining which churches are considered Orthodox by the ancient churches. If a church is not on the map at Orthodoxy in America for Florida may I conclude that such a church is not part of the ancient Eastern Orthodox family of churches?

There are (unfortunately) a few knock-off groups who claim to be Orthodox but are not, or used to be Orthodox but went into schism. If you don't see a church on the Orthodoxy in America map, it may be because the site has not updated, or it might be one of those knock-off groups.

In any case, Eastern Orthodox comprises of:
The Greek Orthodox Church
The Russian Orthodox Church, including ROCOR (the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia)
The Romanian Orthodox Church
The Antiochian Orthodox Church
The Georgian Orthodox Church
The Serbian Orthodox Church
The Albanian Orthodox Church
The Bulgarian Orthodox Church
The Orthodox Church in America ("OCA")
And a few other, rarer bodies.

 

[Ascetic]

There are (unfortunately) a few knock-off groups who claim to be Orthodox but are not, or used to be Orthodox but went into schism. If you don't see a church on the Orthodoxy in America map, it may be because the site has not updated, or it might be one of those knock-off groups.

In any case, Eastern Orthodox comprises of:
The Greek Orthodox Church
The Russian Orthodox Church, including ROCOR (the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia)
The Romanian Orthodox Church
The Antiochian Orthodox Church
The Georgian Orthodox Church
The Serbian Orthodox Church
The Albanian Orthodox Church
The Bulgarian Orthodox Church
The Orthodox Church in America ("OCA")
And a few other, rarer bodies.

Excellent, thank you.

For this Roman Catholic seeking the Eastern light, it seems things would be easier to follow if y'all had one pope. (Also my attempt at a little humor!, lol)

 

[Timket]

For this Roman Catholic seeking the Eastern light, it seems things would be easier to follow if y'all had one pope. (Also my attempt at a little humor!, lol)

Blessings on your seeking! And I understand the concern - just as Paul wrote to Christians in Greek city-states (Thessalonica, Galatia, Ephesus), nowadays we have a church organized around states (Greece, Russia, Bulgaria, etc). America is the big exception to this because each immigrant group brought their own clergy here - but we're working on resolving the overlap of jurisdictions.

 

[Jerry_Fletcher]

Does any member of this forum attend an Eastern Orthodox church in Florida? If so, where? Thank you.

Not sure if this is something you're still wondering, but I went to the OCA by the name "St James the Apostle" in Port St Lucie. Good church with great liturgy. The priest is the son of an evangelist so that is also close to his heart.

 

[rakovsky]

Since 1906, people have gathered at Spring Bayou in Tarpon Springs each January 6th to watch young men compete to find a submerged wooden cross. Today, thousands attend the ceremony. The unique Epiphany celebration is one example of the Greek culture that is still prevalent in Tarpon Springs.

In the city of Tarpon Springs you can listen to Greek music played on a bouzouki, try the pastry baklava, have a meal of lamb stew or a Greek seafood dish, sip the licorice flavored alcoholic beverage ouzo, and enjoy many other aspects of traditional Greek culture.

Greek Sponge Divers

myfloridahistory.org

It would be neat to visit the old established Greek American community in Tarpon Springs.

The Greek Sponge Divers Of Tarpon Springs

There’s an old Greek coastal village, with a sponge diving legacy, camouflaged along the central coast of Florida. You'll see clusters of sponges tied to ropes, spilling over the edges of docked boats, all along Dodecanese Boulevard, a street named after the Dodecanese Islands in the Aegean Sea.

www.forbes.com

Florida Frontiers: Diving for honor in Tarpon Springs

Since 1906, the city of Tarpon Springs has held a unique Epiphany celebration every January 6.

www.floridatoday.com

It says St Nicholas, referring to the saint of sailors.

Hellas Greek restaurant, Tarpon Springs, FL

St. Nicholas in Tarpon Springs, FL

It's impressive

 

[rakovsky]

Greek Orthodox people have lived in Florida since the "New Smyrna" colony in east Florida included Greeks, of whom at least one was recorded as Greek Orthodox. In general though, there is a range of serious evidence, such as records of the time, that the Greeks in the New Smyrna colony, such as the wife of the proprietor, typically belonged to the Catholic Church.

New Smyrna is on the south side of Daytona, and the New Smyrna colony was practically an outgrowth of the St Augustine colony. After the New Smyrna colony collapsed, Greeks in it went back to St Augustine, FL.

Online I found in the New Smyrna area:
St. Demetrios Church
Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America
129 N. Halifax Avenue
Daytona Beach, FL 32118

Here is a photo of St Demetrios' church:

There is a big event center in the photo behind/in front of the domed church, near the water.

St Augustine has the St Photias Shrine, which is a pretty neat looking place, but it's not really as historical as you might think, because it's easy to confuse the Catholic Greek community of the 18th century with the St Photias shrine. See the photo below for the shrine:

There must be a lot of Orthodox in Miami too.