A Seed is Planted
A Seed is Planted
In September 1973, Mr. and Mrs. Sam Newey and their daughter, Pamela, attended a family reunion in Beckley, West Virginia. Pamela asked a participated at the gathering, His Eminence Metropolitan PHILIP (Saliba), why there was not an Antiochian Orthodox Church in Jacksonville. It was this question, and the welcoming of the Middle Eastern community that planted the seed for establishing an Orthodox Church in Jacksonville, Florida.
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. 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 and by His Eminence Metropolitan PHILIP (Saliba). His Eminence 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.
A Church Home Is Needed
A New Chapter Begins
Planning and moving to a new Edifice
In February of 1979, St. George was elevated to the status of a church. In front of an overflowing crowd, the church was consecrated by His Eminence Metropolitan PHILIP (Saliba) The Divine Liturgy was also celebrated with the Very Rev. Fr. Georg Harb, Fr. Nicholas Dahdal, Deacon Hans, and Fr. aul Costopoulos from our sister church, St. John the Divine Greek Orthodox Church. The occasion was joyous.
In 1994, Metropolitan PHILIP (Saliba) 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 the 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 for $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.
Another Chapter Unfolds
The Church Continues to Flourish
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. Once again, Fr. Kamal brought youth and vitality to St. George. 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 brings 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 to educate our children in their faith, the Arabic language, and their Middle Eastern heritage. St. George Antiochian Orthodox Church of Jacksonville, Florida, has long attained its “star” status in the Archdiocese. Currently, Fr. Kamal 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 hosted the Parish Life Conference for the Diocese of Miami and the Southeast June 16-20, 2010, it was very successful spiritually and financially, because of dedicated people from St. George, and the leadership of Fr. Kamal. The Reverend Fr. Father Kamal was elevated to the dignity of Archpriest by His Eminence Metropolitan PHILIP, on October 24, 2010. The Very Reverend Archpriest Father Kamal Al-Rahil looks forward to many, many years of serving the spiritual and physical growth of the community.
Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America
Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America
A Brief History
A Brief History THE CITY OF ANTIOCH on-the-Orontes was the most important city of the Roman Province of Syria, and, as such, served as the capital city of the Empire’s civil “Diocese of the East.” The Church in Antioch dates back to the days of the foremost apostles, SS. Peter and Paul, as is recorded in the Acts of the Apostles. Scripture refers to Antioch as the place where the followers of Jesus Christ were first called “Christians” (Acts 11:26), and records that Nicholas, one of the original seven deacons, was from that city—and may have been its first convert (Acts 6:5). During the persecution of the Church, which followed the death of St. Stephen the Proto-Martyr, members of the infant community in Jerusalem sought refuge in Antioch (Acts 11:19). While St. Peter served as the first bishop of the city, SS. Paul and Barnabas set out on their great missionary journeys to Gentile lands (Acts 13:1) -- establishing a tradition which would last for centuries, as from Antioch missionaries planted churches throughout greater Syria, Asia Minor, the Caucasus Mountains, Mesopotamia, Greece The Balkans, Italy and most of the Mediterranean Region. At the first Ecumenical Council, convened in the year 325 by Emperor Constantine the Great, the primacy of the bishop (patriarch) of Antioch over all bishops of the civil Diocese of the East was formally sanctioned. The Great Schism of 1054 resulted in the separation of Rome, the seat of the Patriarchate of the West, from the four Eastern Patriarchs of Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch, and Jerusalem.
During the reign of the Egyptian Mamelukes, conquerors of Syria in the 13th century, the Patriarchal residence was transferred to the ancient city of Damascus, where a Christian community had flourished since apostolic times (Acts 9), and which had succeeded earthquake-prone Antioch as the civil capital of Syria. The headquarters of the Patriarchate, which has jurisdiction over all dioceses within its ancient geographic boundaries (Syria, Lebanon Turkey, Iraq, and the Arabic Peninsula) as well as others in the Americas, Australia, and Europe, are located in Damascus on “the street called Straight” (Acts 9:11).
The Church of Antioch The Church of Antioch was established by the Apostles Paul and Barnabas in 42 A.D., with St. Peter serving for the next eight years as its first prelate. The Church of Antioch is one of the five ancient Patriarchates of the Christian Church, along with Jerusalem, Alexandria, Constantinople, and Rome. Many of the great saints of the Church, including St. Ignatius and St. John Chrysostom, have come from Antioch. The Patriarchate has endured despite centuries of oppression, and today shepherds over a million Christians in Syria, Lebanon, and other countries in the Middle East, along with communities throughout the Americas, Australia, and Europe. The Church is led by His Beatitude Ignatius IV, Patriarch of Antioch and all East.