The Orthodox Church of the Holy Trinity
3625 State Rd 580, Safety Harbor, Fl 34695
727-791-2273
Thank you for taking time to come visit us at the Orthodox Church of the Holy Trinity in Safety Harbor, Florida.
We are a parish in the diocese of the south of the Orthodox Church in America. (www.oca.org)
We were founded in October of 1964 and originally located in St. Petersburg, Fl. In 1996 we moved our location to our present site at 3265 State Rd. 580, Safety Harbor, Fl.
In July of 2007 we began work on our new Church building. We invite you to "Come and See".
Our parish is a family of Orthodox Christians from many ethnic backgrounds and our worship service's are in English. We offer a Church School program held on Saturday's at 4 pm to 6pm as well as an adult Bible Study and Discussion group that meets on the 1st and 3rd Wednesdays of the month.
We have been blessed to be able to help with the local Food Pantry of Safety Harbor in many ways and have been generously recognized by them. Our Pastor also give the Invocation at the City commission meetings.
We are a family oriented parish and encourage our youth to participate in our work here as witnesses to our Orthodox faith. The newly formed Youth Group is planning to work with various community activities and is actively reaching out to more participation.
We invite you to join us for worship and if you have been "searching" for a Church, we ask you to please "Come and See".
Parish Background
YESTERDAY: Holy Trinity is a parish in the Diocese of the South, of the Orthodox Church in America, under the Omophorion of the Bishop of Dallas and the South, the Most Reverend Dmitri.
The parish was organized under the guidance of the late Fr. George A Gladky, and was chartered in August 1964, in the city of St. Petersburg, FL. The original Church building was a converted Baptist Church which was purchased in 1966 and located in the residential area of the city. At that time several of the founding members lived within walking distance of the Church. Although the original members of the parish were composed of people of Slavic ancestry and retired individuals, the parish quickly grew to include various age groups and a few converts. The liturgical language was Church Slavonic and English.
By the 1980’s the parish makeup had changed and the faithful included people from various ‘ethnic’ Orthodox backgrounds amid many converts who were among the members. They soon realized a change was needed to bring new life and spirit to what was now one of the oldest parishes in the Diocese of the South.
TODAY: In April of 1995 at a special meeting of the parish, it was decided that a move was necessary. By this time more than half of the membersip lived further up in what is referred to as “North-County” and had to drive over 25 minutes to Church. A new location was sighted and purchased in May 1996. The new location is a 2.36 acre site with an existing large house structure,which serves as the Chapel, Fellowship room, Offices, A Bookstore, and Music room. There was a large swimming pool (in which several Adult Baptisms occurred. There is ample parking space as well. The property fronts a six lane divided highway State Road 580m which makes the Church very visible and easy to get to from any place in the Tampa Bay area. We are just 15 minutes from the St. Pete/Clearwater International Airport and 30 minutes from Tamp International Airport. We are just a short drive from the Gulf of Mexico. In July of 2007, ground was broken for the Church building which will be completed in February. The door opening of the Church is set for February 16 with the Dedication to take place on October 10, 2008. Among the members is a very gifted iconographer, Elias Damianakis, who will be doing the beautification of the interior of the Church.
All those who are coming to visit the Sun-coast are welcome to come and join us for worship. If you plan on moving to the Tamp Bay area, we invite you to join us in our work to bring the gospel to all those who are seeking the Lord in spirit and in truth.
REFLECTIONS
WE have seen the true Light! That is what we say at the close of every Divine Liturgy! It is taken from one of the verses of the feast of Pentecost. We Orthodox believe that Christ Is the Light of the world. That through Christ, by the Holy Spirit we are filled with the light of Christ to shine and guide souls to Him.
For the two weeks after Pentecost, the Church has honored those “holy ones”, the Saints of God who have shown us the way to glory in His kingdom. We have received the “light” of Christ by virtue of our being Baptized and Chrismated and by participating in His Body and Blood in the Holy Eucharist. The light we share with Christ is for the salvation of all those who are seeking Him in spirit and in truth.
We have to ask ourselves; do we shine with the light of Christ? Are people attracted to Him because of our acts of kindness and goodness to all people. To give alms to those in need? To feed the hungry? To give drink to those in thirst? To visit the sick and imprisoned? To love one another? Are all of these ‘lights’ shinning in us?
We all need to be the light of Christ in the world. We who call ourselves Christians, must be the ‘holy ones’ called to bring the good news of the gospel to all mankind. Yes, every man, women and child who has put on Christ is called to be a light to others. Just as the hosts of sainted, men women and children in every generation have been venerated by the Church as her saints. So too, is each and every Orthodox Christian called for veneration in the Name of Christ. We need to trust in God, who will give us the courage and the conviction of faith to be the Saints of God. The glory of His Church, who have seen the true light!
