About.
OUR CHURCH.
In those early days, the church did not own a property for holding services, so it was allowed on Sundays to use the spacious chapel of the Episcopal Church of the Good Shepherd in Maitland. At that time, the priest was Protosingel Nikodim Pribojan from Wales, who had been raised in Canada. He was appointed as the parish priest on December 22, 1989, when the parish had around 30 families.
Father Peter Milanovich, an American Serb, from the nearby Orthodox church of St. Stephen (OCA), helped the parishioners select and purchase in 1992 a beautiful property of six acres for 250 thousand dollars. Former horse ranch and private home became the church chapel, with one end serving as a residence for the priest.
With time comes change and Saint Petka welcomed the arrival of many Serbian refugee families from former Yugoslavia. Father Nikodim was instrumental in helping newcomers settle in, and start a new life in Central Florida, until his departure on March 21, 1998.
During the time when the church did not have a permanent priest, Fr. Miloje Raičević, Fr. Živorad Djordjević, Fr. Petar Milanović, Fr. Mateja Matejić, Fr. Stefan Zaremba, Fr. Milan Stojanović, and Fr. Nikolai Regoš served as needed.
Our Faith.
OUR WAY OF LIVING.
Do you know that you belong to a church that has never changed since Pentecost? That’s right every doctrine, every service, everything is the same as it was in the beginning. You belong to the one church that believes the Church is instituted by Christ is the true church and that it should not change.
What is it that makes our unchanged faith so special? And so alive? First, let’s examine the meaning of the word “orthodox”. Webster’s first definition is “a. Conforming to an established doctrine, esp. in religion; b. conventional.” The root words are “orth” and “doxa.” Orth means “straight, right, true” and “doxa” means “opinion.” So if you have heard people say that “orthodox” means “the right way”, they are correct! It takes courage to be right, the courage to be different, and have the strength to remain the same.
Before you can appreciate the wonder of Orthodoxy today, you need to know little of the history. The Orthodox Church was founded by Christ Himself and is the living manifestation of His presence in the history of mankind. The most obvious characteristics of Orthodoxy are its rich liturgical life and its faithfulness to the apostolic traditions. Orthodox Christians have preserved the tradition and continuity of the ancient Church in its fullness compared to other Christian denominations which have departed from the common tradition of the first ten centuries of Christendom. Today, there are approximately 300 million Orthodox Church members who practice the faith defined by the first seven ecumenical councils.
The Orthodox Church is a family of autocephalous (self-governing) churches divided into dioceses headed by bishops which are in turn directed by a patriarch with the Patriarch of Constantinople holding the title “first among equals.” The Orthodox Church, unlike the Roman Catholic Church, is not centralized and headed by a Pope. The unity of the Church is manifested in common faith and communion in the holy mysteries and no one but Christ Himself is considered the real head of the Church. You will find many Orthodox Churches aligned with ethnic groups such as you know Serbian Orthodox Church. (Probably when you tell people you are Orthodox, they automatically know of Greek because of their long-standing Orthodox presence in America. You can help them understand Orthodoxy better by also telling them that your faith, like the Greeks, is unchanging from its beginnings with the only difference being the language used in services.)
Sermons.
Believing is Living.
The Orthodox Church has never formally determined a particular number of Sacraments. In addition to the Eucharist, she accepts the above six Mysteries as major Sacraments because they involve the entire community and most important are closely relation to the Eucharist. There are many other Blessings and Special Services which complete the major Sacraments, and which reflect the Church’s presence throughout the lives of her people.
01. HOLY BAPTISM – СВЕТА ТАЈНА КРШТЕЊА
02. HOLY CHRISMATION – СВЕТА ТАЈНА МИРОПОМАЗАЊА
03. HOLY CONFESSION – СВЕТА ТАЈНА ПОКАЈАЊА
04. HOLY EUCHARIST – СВЕТА ТАЈНА ЕВХАРИСТИЈА
05. HOLY MARRIAGE – СВЕТА ТАЈНА ВЕНЧАЊА
06. HOLY PRIESTHOOD – СВЕТА ТАЈНА СВЕШТЕНСТВА
07. HOLY UNCTION – СВЕТА ТАЈНА ЈЕЛЕОСВЕЋЕЊА
There are many other Blessings and Special Services which complete the major Sacraments, and which reflect the Church’s presence throughout the lives of her people.
Community.
MAKE A DIFFERENCE.
Every Year we organize SerbFest where you can enjoy authentic Serbian food, dancing, and live music. With FREE admission, you can spend a day immersed in the Serbian culture. Organizations within the church include Church School, Folklore Group “Serbian Crown”, Candle Workshop “Danica”, Bocce Club “Ravna Gora”, and Soccer Club “Obilic”.
For more information about our organizations please email info@svetapetka.org
Church School,
Folklore Group “Serbian Crown”
Bocce Club “Ravna Gora”
Soccer Club “Obilic”.
Come and enjoy authentic Serbian food, dancing and live music
Events.
ALWAYS SOMETHING GOING ON.
This very young and active parish has 240 homes. We spend time getting together for Devine Service every Sunday at 10:00 AM. Practice our dances from Serbia. Playing soccer. Sometimes we just get together to clean and work on the big Church property.
Every Year we organize SerbFest where you can enjoy authentic Serbian food, dancing, and live music. With FREE admission, you can spend a day immersed in Serbian culture.
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Support your Church.
MAKE A DIFFERENCE.
Orthodox Christian Stewardship is a way of life, which acknowledges accountability, reverence, and responsibility before God. A primary goal of Stewardship is to promote spiritual growth and strengthen faith. Becoming a Steward begins when we believe in God, to whom we give our love, loyalty and trust and act on those beliefs. As Stewards, we affirm that every aspect of our lives comes as a gift from Him. Stewardship calls on the faithful to cheerfully offer back to God a portion of the gifts with which they have been blessed.
Starateljstvo je hriscanski nacin ulaganja I podrzavanja vase crkve da bi ona mogla da nastavi svoju misiju I rad.
Contact.
LET’S TALK.
Saint Petka Serbian Orthodox Church
1990 Lake Emma Rd
Longwood, FL 32750
Phone:407-831-7372