Antiochian Orthodox Mission finds its home in Village of Florida

FLORIDA - New neighbors have moved into the Village of Florida and they’re looking forward to being an integral part of the community and surrounding area. Parishioners at the newly chartered Antiochian Orthodox Christian Mission began holding weekly worship services at St. Edward’s Roman Catholic Church on March 18, after holding only monthly services at a start-up location in Vernon, N.J. The mission is an outreach of St. George Antiochian Church in Little Falls, N.J. It is under the jurisdiction of the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America, which is part of the Orthodox Christian Church, the oldest and second largest in the Christian world. According to George Kevorkian, mission pastor, the church traces its roots directly back to first century Antioch, the city in which the disciples of Jesus Christ were first called Christians. The North American Archdiocese covers the United States and Canada and is led by Metropolitan Philip Saliba. The archdiocese’s mother church is the Holy See of Antioch, lead by Ignatius IV, and is based in Damascus, Syria. That first day, recalled Kevorkian, was special for all who attended. “My first liturgy there was a very blessed experience,” he said. “It was wonderful to have the opportunity to serve in a permanent place for the first time. It was an uplifting and humbling experience.” Ellen Haid of West Milford, N.J., agreed the first official service in the new location was an important day for parishioners as well. “There was a ‘comfortableness’ of having all the parishioners there in our new place,” she said. Christians working together Kevorkian said that day would not have been possible without the help of the Rev. Michael McLoughlin, pastor of St. Stephen’s Roman Catholic Church in Warwick. It was McLoughlin who gave the go-ahead allowing the mission to hold services at St. Edward’s. “St. Stephen’s has oversight responsibilities for St. Edward’s,” Kevorkian said. “Father Michael saw a significant opportunity to help us. I can’t say enough good things about him, his hospitality and his caring. It sets the example that Christians need to work together to buildup the body of Christ and to emphasize our commons beliefs.” St. Edward’s is one of the churches affected by the New York Archdiocese’s recently announced reorganization and will close in June. Parishioners who previously traveled to parishes in Yonkers, Poughkeepsie or Little Falls to worship can now attend services closer to their homes in the Orange County area. Services are held Sundays mornings at 10 a.m. and don’t interfere with services currently held at St. Edward’s, which take place Saturday evening. Kevorkian said membership numbers approximately 50 people from southern Orange County and across the New Jersey border. He’s hopeful to see that number increase as word gets out that mission has established roots in the area. Chester resident Suzanne Donovan is thrilled to see the mission establish itself in Florida. Previously, she and her family traveled over an hour each way to Little Falls to attend services at St. George. “Now that the mission is closer, we can participate more fully in what the church has to offer,” she said. “It’s nice to see roots being put down firmly.” While Donovan grew up as a member of St. George, she’s happy to attend the new mission. “The mission helps us to feel we’re further settled in the community,” she said. “My children will meet other children in this area and have the possibility of making new friends. And their biggest joy is that it now doesn’t take a long time to get there.” The appeal of orthodoxy Like Donovan, Leo Kaytes of Warwick is a lifelong member of the Antiochian church who also traveled to Little Falls. “There have been no Antiochian churches available locally until now,” he said. “We did a lot of research and made sure there was an active population interested in orthodoxy. Our hope is that we can introduce people to Christianity that really has remained unchanged for 2,000 years.” The mission, as does the entire archdiocese, offers services exclusively in English. Both Kaytes and Donovan felt that could be appealing to those interested in learning more orthodoxy because a language barrier would be eliminated. Kevorkian said getting to the point of receiving mission status resulted from a lot of hard work. “It became clear we had enough people to put down roots somewhere,” he said. “Any mission will struggle in it first year as it grows,” Kevorkian added. “Our mission church is in its infancy stages. We hope someday it will mature enough to become a church. That will happen when the mission grows to the point when it can support a full-time pastor, a petition to the bishop is approved and the elevation to a parish status is granted. Holy Week services Next week, the mission will hold Holy Week services April 1 to 6 at 7 p.m., and an Easter Vigil service on April 7 at midnight. This year, Easter will fall on the same day for both the Orthodox and Roman Catholic churches. Kevorkian is committed to having the mission become a valued member of the Florida community and surrounding areas. Already, he has made contact with the local food bank and looks forward to meeting with community, business and civic leaders. In the meantime, just as first-time homeowners are filled with excitement and anticipation of finally having a place of their own, so are Kevorkian and his parishioners. “It does feel good,” he said, “to have a home.” For additional information upcoming mission programs, call 201-400-0854.