St. George Antiochian Orthodox Church

The History of

St. George Antiochian Orthodox Church

Jacksonville, Florida

1973 – Present

A Seed Is Planted….

St. George Antiochian Orthodox Church of Jacksonville, Florida began as a question posed to Metropolitan Philip at a family reunion in Beckley, West Virginia in September 1973. Mr. and Mrs. Sam Newey and their young daughter, Pamela, were attending the reunion, as was His Eminence. At this reunion, Pamela asked His Eminence Metropolitan Philip why there was not an Antiochian Orthodox church in Jacksonville, as the city had a large community of Middle Eastern descent.  Metropolitan Philip asked Pamela if she would like to have an Orthodox church in Jacksonville and, after Pamela replied in the affirmative, the seed was planted for the establishment of an Orthodox church in Jacksonville, Florida.

            In fact, Metropolitan Philip Had previously dispatched the Very Reverend Father Zacharia Nasr and sub-Deacons Constantine Nasr and George Dudum to Jacksonville in August 1968 to ascertain whether or not the community would be willing to support an Orthodox mission.  Fr. Nasr and the two sub-Deacons reported back to His Eminence that there was a fairly large number of people in Jacksonville who were willing to support a mission.  Fr. Nasr recommended that a priest be assigned and that the archdiocese provide guidance to the community as to a church constitution, by-laws, parish council, ladies organization, SOYO, etc.  It was suggested that the mission be named Holy Cross.  Therefore, when His Eminence was approached about a mission in Jacksonville once more, he sent the Very Rev. Fr. George Harb, who was in Portland, Oregon at the time, advising him to meet with the elders and faithful in Jacksonville and ascertain their commitment to establishing and supporting a mission. Fr. Harb arrived on September 5, 1973, and was greeted by the Newey family, members of Fr. Harb’s family living in Jacksonville, as well as members of the Ramallah community.  After several days of meetings and discussions with approximately 100 Orthodox faithful, community leaders, and elders, a unanimous decision was made to start an Antiochian Orthodox Mission in Jacksonville. This would be Fr. Harb’s third successful endeavor in America, having begun Antiochian churches in San Diego, California; Portland, Oregon; and now Jacksonville.

            That first Sunday in September of 1973, Fr. Harb held the first Antiochian Orthodox liturgy to an enthusiastic congregation at the Salaam Club in Jacksonville. Shortly thereafter, he returned to Portland to settle his personal affairs in order to move Khourieh Harbia and himself to Jacksonville. However, prior to his departure, Fr. George appointed a group of men and women to make preparations for his return to be accompanied by His Eminence Metropolitan Philip Saliba and Right Reverend Archimandrite Antoun Khoury; (present H. G. Bishop ANTOUN of Miami and the Southeast).

            The appointed group met in December of 1973 to make plans for this upcoming historical event and a decision was made to name the new mission “St. George Antiochian Orthodox Mission” in honor of Fr. George and his patron Saint. During the weekend of February 20-22, 1974, Metropolitan Philip Saliba, Archimandrite Antoun Khoury, Fr. Harb, the newly established Parish Council, and the faithful of the community gathered together for His Eminence to bestow his blessings on the new Mission.

A Church Home Is Needed….

From the very beginning, the generosity of the community was abundant; not only in financial matters, but in giving of their time, talents, and hard work. The Syrian-Lebanese Club and the Ramallah-American Club opened their doors to the new Mission for Sunday services; however, it was decided a church would be a more fitting place for us to grow and fulfill the community’s spiritual needs. Reverend Paul Abdullah offered us the use of Mount Olive Presbyterian Church in Riverside for Divine Liturgy after his own regularly scheduled services.

            That same year, it was decided that in order to make this commitment a reality and promote the growth of the Mission, a church home was needed. A fire had partially destroyed a Baptist church, located at

            Members of the congregation and supporters were: the architect for remodeling the church; supervisor of construction; donator of the aluminum and glass windows; obtainers of fine paneling from a bank building for the Sunday school rooms; and even a courier who traveled to Miami to pick up donated icons and religious artifacts from St. George Cathedral. Donations also flowed in from the community, both Orthodox and non-Orthodox alike; pews, icons, liturgical books, altar robes, choir robes, chandeliers, chalices, and various other religious items to beautify and furnish our new church home. Husbands and wives, sons and daughters, young and old worked for the glory of God and this most holy project.

            The first Divine Liturgy was held on October 6, 1974, after four intense months of renovation and preparation. This achievement was made possible by all the dedicated parishioners who poured their hearts and efforts during those early years to ensure the growth and success of St. George, from the elders of the community to the young altar servers, chanters, choir members, the SOYO, and the women of Hamilat El Teeb.  They baked cookies for bake sales; hosted luncheons; made arts and crafts for bazaar sales; embroidered linens for the altar and sacrament tables; and decorated and cleaned the church for Holy Days. It was Khourieh Harbia’s inspiration and true dedication to the Mission of St. George that encouraged and inspired the ladies, as she worked alongside of them, baking, cooking, sewing or whatever the project called for, and was truly an inspiration to all.

            The Teen SOYO, Choir, Sunday School staff, chanters, altar servers, and the entire community rallied together and worked diligently to ensure the growth and success of the Mission. For the next 6 years Fr. George Harb and his dedicated Khourieh Harbia encouraged the members, met their spiritual needs, and enriched their lives with their love and sacrifice. Fr. Harb introduced us to the Eastern Region SOYO Conferences and the National Archdiocese Conferences and insisted on participation through attendance at the conferences and competition in the contests. At their very first SOYO Conference in Ft. Lauderdale in 1977, the Mission’s Bible Bowl team placed third in the region in their very first participation in a Bible Bowl competition. This was the beginning of many more honors and awards won by the youth.

            In each succeeding year, the youth were very active and won awards in all categories of creative arts; poetry, essays, artwork, etc. as well as Bible Bowl, Oratorical contests, photography, and scrapbook competitions.

            In February of 1979, St. George was to be elevated to the status of a church. The church was consecrated in front of an overflow crowd by His Eminence Metropolitan Philip Saliba, who co-celebrated the Divine Liturgy with the Very Rev. Fr. George Harb, Fr. Nicholas Dahdal, Deacon Hans, and Fr. Paul Costopoulos from our sister church, St. John the Divine Greek Orthodox Church. At this time, His Eminence placed a list of the names of the founding members in the altar for posterity and congratulated the community on its accomplishments. Although the occasion was a joyous one, it was also tinged with sadness as our beloved Fr. George Harb, having come out of retirement to serve this Mission and his God faithfully for the last 6 years, was to retire once again.

A New Chapter Begins…..

            Fr. Nicholas Dahdal was assigned to St. George, along with his Khouria Diane and infant daughter, Michelle. Fr. Nicholas Dahdal brought with him a youthful energy and vitality to match the spirit of our young church and envisioned St. George as  a shining star in the Antiochian Orthodox Archdiocese. His enthusiasm was contagious and the community participated in spiritual and enriching activities; i.e. conferences, retreats, visitations, stewardship, fast-a-thons, bazaars, $100 dinners, and Arabic Food Festivals.  

      Fr. Nicholas formed Senior SOYO and the chapter grew and enabled them to host the Eastern Region Spring Delegates’ Meeting, NAC SOYO Delegates’ Meeting, and, eventually, the 32^nd Annual Eastern Region SOYO Parish Life Conference in 1983. Fr. Nicholas initiated the Blessing of the Fleet in Jacksonville and participated in the Epiphany Service and retrieval of the Cross by young Greek sponge divers in Tarpon Springs. Fr. Nicholas also served as head of the Deanery for North and Central Florida and was a member of the Inter-Faith Council of Jacksonville.

            Father Nicholas enlightened the congregation to the Order of St. Ignatius and the importance of its missions to Orthodoxy and the Archdiocese. A local chapter was formed and has now grown to over 40 members.  A founding member of the Order, Sam Newey, served as Vice-chairman of the Board of Trustees for the Archdiocese. The St. George Chapter also inducted into the Order one of the youngest members at the age of 5. Several members are lifetime members and one is currently serving as the Chairwoman of the Order of St. Ignatius for the Diocese of Miami and the Southeast.

            Members of SOYO participated in and won many awards in the creative arts, creative writing, poetry, and Bible Bowl contests. One won first place in the NAC SOYO creative writing and poetry contests. Two of our teen SOYO had their poetry featured on a record album entitled “The Heart of a Child,” which was dedicated to Metropolitan Philip at the Eastern Region SOYO Conference in 1981 on the occasion of his 15^th anniversary as Primate.

St. George Continues Its Growth…..

        Due to the rapid growth of St. George, a decision was made in January of 1981 to purchase more than 5 acres of land on

As with everything, change was inevitable and, in 1986, the parish was informed of His Eminence’s decision to re-assign Fr. Nicholas Dahdal and his family to serve at St. George Orthodox Church in Chicago, Illinois, where Fr. Nicholas was subsequently elevated to the Holy Archpriesthood.

Another Chapter Unfolds…..

            The newly assigned priest to St. George in Jacksonville was Fr. George Sayaf and his family, Khouria Elefeteria, Konstantine and Nazira. Fr. George and Khouria Elfeteria continued the work of their predecessors in a most enthusiastic and commendable manner. Fr. George spoke many languages and continued the close association with our sister church, St. John the Divine Greek Orthodox Church. He opened the doors of St. George to missions of both a Romanian and an Orthodox Church of America. Fr. George was instrumental in teaching Orthodoxy to non-Orthodox interested in learning more about our faith. He continued the Blessing of the Fleet and the Epiphany Services in Tarpon Springs, Florida. Fr. George Sayaf and his Khouria continued to promote both the spiritual and financial growth of the church and served faithfully for 6 years.  However, in August 1992, Metropolitan Philip called him to serve at a parish in Lowell, Massachusetts.

A New Priest Is Assigned….

            The Very Reverend Fr. John Elias, Khouria Nawal and their children, Yvonne, Aziza and Nassim, were assigned to St. George where Fr. John quickly took up where his predecessors left off in their commitment to build a new church. Fr. John continued the Blessing of the Fleet and attended the Epiphany Services in Tarpon Springs, whenever feasible.  St. George hosted the 4^th Annual Southeastern Region Parish Life Conference in June 1996, as well as several midwinter Delegates’ Meetings, which proved to be very successful and spiritual enriching for all. Fr. John also served as Head of the Deanery of North and Central Florida.

            Fr. John had a close alliance with other Orthodox churches in the city, as well as Catholic and Middle Eastern churches. He was very active in the Inter-Faith Council and helped establish two Orthodox missions, St. Justin the Martyr and Mother of God of the Zonoro Syrian Orthodox Mission. He also formed and served as head of a joint committee consisting of Middle Eastern churches and clubs throughout the community to promote harmony by scheduling their activities together to avoid conflicts in dates.

            Fr. John served as a mentor to Fr. Michael Byars, a convert to the Orthodox faith, until Fr. Michael was assigned to his own mission in Daytona Beach, Florida. Fr. Michael, Khouria Denise, and their sons, Michael and Christopher, were an asset to St. George, serving as Sunday School teachers, Teen SOYO advisor, and director of our Christmas pageants. Fr. Michael not only designed but constructed and hand-painted the beautiful backdrops used in the Christmas pageants. Fr. Michael’s mission, Holy Cross, was recently elevated to a church and he was elevated to the Holy Archpriesthood.

Construction Begins….

            In 1994, Metropolitan Philip honored us once again with his presence and presided over the consecration of the property which would one day be the site of our new church home. A decision was made to build both the church and hall simultaneously. First, however, funds had to be raised through the sale of the present church on Ashland Street. The General Assembly voted to sell the property in 1997 at a price of $150,000.00. We held our last Liturgy at that location on Sunday, August 31, 1997. All of the icons, religious artifacts, tables, chairs, books, etc., were stored at the Ramallah Club, which   graciously donated storage space at their clubhouse for our use.

            In May 1997, ground was broken for construction. The Greek Orthodox community extended to us a very warm and gracious invitation to join in their services at St. John the Divine. Joint services were held from the first of September until the last Sunday of October 1997, at which time services were held at San Jose Catholic Church, which had graciously offered us the use of their hall for our Liturgical services until the completion of the new church hall in March 1998. Once the church hall was completed, St. George poured all of its time and energy into completing the sanctuary.  The first Liturgy in the new church was held on Sunday, September 27, 1998. The entire community pledged its support, financially and materially. The local chapter of the Order of St. Ignatius purchased Liturgical service books, while individual members of the congregation donated chandeliers, icons, pews, communion chalices, altar boy robes, altar covers, chalices, religious artifacts, and other furnishings to fill God’s house. The Newey family donated the cost of the beautiful wood-carved iconostasis, which was featured in the local newspaper. The church has a seating capacity of 350 and the hall a seating capacity of 200. The hall has six Sunday School classrooms, offices for the priest and secretary, and a fully equipped kitchen to host luncheons, receptions, and banquets.

“This is the Day Which the Lord Hath Made….”

On November 8, 1998, Hie Eminence Metropolitan Philip, His Grace Bishop Antoun, Very Rev. Fr George Harb, Very Rev. Fr. Nicholas Dahdal, Very Rev. Fr. George Sayaf, Fr. Michael Byars, Archdeacon Hans, and Deacon David Nimer joined Very Rev. Fr. John Elias and the community of St. George in its consecration of the new church.  The day was filled with joy and celebration, as well as pride in the Orthodox community. And rightly so, for it had been 25 years since the seeds were first planted for St. George to meet this level of fruition. At the consecration, two young men from the parish were tonsured sub-Deacons, Nicholas Louh and Nassim Elias.  Sub-Deacon Nassim Elias has served faithfully as both a chanter and choir director for the last 10 years. Sub-Deacon has subsequently become a priest and is serving at St. John the Divine Greek Orthodox Church.

Another Chapter Unfolds….

In the summer of 2001, Archpriest John Elias decided to retire for health reasons.  Metropolitan Philip assigned a newly ordained priest, Fr. Kamal Al-Rahil, along with his Khourieh Ranwa, to St. George. V. Rev. Fr. John Elias was honored at a retirement banquet and continues today as Priest Emeritus of St. George. Fr. Kamal brought youth and vitality to St. George once again.  As a young priest, he has long range plans for St. George to “increase and multiply” as he strives to minister to the community.  Under his direction and guidance, a parishioner was instrumental in seeking a $100,000 donation from a non-member benefactor towards the building of a new Bell Tower with a sound system that rings out as if giant bells were ringing.  The Bell Tower gives a more “Orthodox” appearance to the church and the “bells” ringing every Sunday bring a sense of peace, blessing, and joy to the parishioners, as well as those in the surrounding neighborhood.

            As with his predecessors, Fr. Kamal has long range plans for St. George to build an educational and administrative building on the adjacent property. The facilities will be for the expansion of the Sunday School classrooms, library, and administrative offices for the purpose of educating our children in their faith, the Arabic language, and their  Middle Eastern heritage. While St. George Antiochian Orthodox Church of Jacksonville, Florida, has long attained its “star” status in the Archdiocese, Fr. Kamal envisions it as the focal point of the community in teaching Orthodoxy to new and potential converts and in enlightening the community to Middle Eastern history and culture through the heritage learning center.  Fr. Kamal currently has four sub-Deacons, a large team of altar servers, an active chapter of the Order of St. Ignatius, Ladies Auxiliary, Fellowship of St. John the Divine, Teen SOYO, Choir, and a Sunday School consisting of 60-80 children.  St. George will be hosting the Parish Life Conference for the Diocese of Miami and the Southeast June 16-20, 2010 and looks forward to many, many years of serving the spiritual and physical growth of the community.