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In the Parable of the Prodigal Son (Luke 15.11-32), Jesus tells us of the journey of the youngest son of a father, who wants to go out on his own. He demands to collect his inheritance early and strikes out on his own. His father, loving and supportive, allows his son to leave the safety and comfort of home. Aside from the demand for an early inheritance, many of us can relate to, and maybe even admire, the courage of a young man going out on his own. But that is where the story takes a turn ... Read More

When I was younger, I spent my summers hanging out at the swimming pool like so many of my friends. I became friends with the lifeguards, and eventually became a member of the pool staff. As a staff member I was privileged to watch swim practice. I can still hear the coach calling out instructions to the swimmers. Ready……On Your Mark….GO! That's how I feel today as we begin our annual Triodion Journey. Today we begin a special season the Church calls the “Triod... Read More

In the Gospel of Matthew 15.21-28, (also in Mark 7.24-30) our Lord teaches just the sort of humility He expects from us when a woman approaches Him for a miracle. “He answered her not a word.” (Matthew 15.23) Only after she persisted did He answer, “It is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the little dogs.” (Matthew 15.26) And this He said only after she begged Him a third time to heal her daughter. Most of us would have left, feeling alone af... Read More

In just two weeks we will again begin a spiritual journey as Orthodox Christians. Our annual journey toward Pascha will begin February 5th and come to a grand conclusion on Sunday, April 16th when we will celebrate the Resurrection of Our Lord God and Savior Jesus Christ. But long before we can celebrate we have some preparations to focus on. Long before we can see the Lord on Pascha we need to get ourselves ready today. If we want to see the Lord, we need to plan ahead.   With Christma... Read More

We live in a world consumed by prejudice. Our children are sometimes treated as outsiders by other students in school. Our friends are sometimes viewed as strangers at work by their coworkers. Our family sometimes feels unwelcome in the very neighborhoods in which we have lived for years. Feeling unwelcomed can be a crippling reality that forces many families to remain isolated and separate from even the closest human being. Eventually, the constant feeling of not being welcomed by others can... Read More

In a few days, you will again receive a Stewardship Commitment Card in the mail. You will be asked to consider how much stewardship you plan to offer the Cathedral in 2023. In my letter to you I shared how many wonderful ministries and projects we have planned for the future of our Cathedral. But still people ask me, “Why should I become a steward of the Church?” The answers vary depending on who you ask. Some people think you should become a steward of the Church so you can vote... Read More

Greetings in Christ,   I wish all of us many years and great blessings as we just celebrated the feast day of St. Nicholas! It was a beautiful experience of faith and community that we took part in as a Parish Family, and as my first celebration of St. Nicholas here, one I will not forget.   I wish to thank once again everyone who worked to make this month’s Parish Ministry Night a great success. I am beyond thankful for the show of support both in running the event, and in... Read More

We live in a society that prides itself on independence. The very fabric of our great Nation is woven by the threads of self-government and self-accomplishments. Awards are given for “Person of the Year'', not “Group of the Year.” But we all know there are just sometimes we need help. There are just some things we can’t do by ourselves. In the Gospel of Luke we hear, “There was a woman who had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years, and was bent over and c... Read More

Greetings in Christ,   On Thanksgiving day, our Soup Kitchen ministry ran their annual Thanksgiving Meal for those in need within our Tarpon Springs Community. It is a blessed thing that we can do as Orthodox Christians, I am proud and thankful for our Soup Kitchen, and all those who help make our outreach programs succeed.   Our Greek Dance ministry was invited again to the Advent Health Hospital’s 36th Annual Lights of Love and Tree Lighting Ceremony, where they performed... Read More

Don’t Allow Your ‘Christmas Preparations’ to Stop You from Preparing for Christmas The so-called Christmas Season for many can be filled with anxiety, guilt, gluttony, depression, and all-around hectic atmosphere. Have you asked yourself why it has to be this way? The answer is simple yet profound. We normally spend the time leading up to Christmas shopping, cleaning, decorating, going over our ‘to do lists’ and in a constant state of panic that we won’t... Read More

Greetings in Christ,   Two weeks ago we shared in a beautiful expression of our communal Orthodox faith. Sunday the thirteenth, we came together for the Orthros and Divine Liturgy, fulfilling our sacramental commitment to Christ in His Church, following which the Angels Day camp was run beautifully, offering our youth an opportunity to grow in their faith, and knowledge of their faith in a thoughtfully produced environment. Among what they explored through crafts, lessons, and activiti... Read More

In the parable of the Rich Fool, Jesus teaches us the deadly result of a greedy heart. Faced with full barns and a banner crop, the Rich Fool panics because he has no place to store his growing wealth. “I will do this,” he says, “I will pull down my barns and build greater, and there I will store all my crops and my goods.” (Luke 12.18) Unfortunately for the Rich Fool, that was the night he would die and face judgment for the condition of his heart. Greed is a cancer ... Read More

Greetings in Christ,   Today I would like to tell you about some phone applications that I personally use that may provide value to you in your spiritual journey as you live day to day.     St. Nicholas Cathedral App - our Parish app has our calendar of events, announcements for the parish and our youth ministries, and access to the live stream feed during all of our services.     Daily Readings App – I use this app to keep up with the church calendar, f... Read More

“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.” (Luke 10.27) With these words a certain lawyer told the Lord he knew the Law and what it stood for, but that wasn’t enough for this certain lawyer. “But he, wanting to justify himself, said to Jesus, ‘And who is my neighbor?’” (Luke 10.29) The answer Jesus gave, I suspect, wasn’t exactly what... Read More

Greetings in Christ,   This Sunday after Divine Liturgy begins the awaited Angels Day Camp, this ministry has been working diligently for months to prepare for this experience, and we are excited and thankful for the opportunity to serve the youth of our Parish.   Also this Sunday is the long awaited Annual Friendsgiving event. What a beautiful event we are blessed to have in the spirit of Thanksgiving! The Hope and Joy Ministry has been working to make sure the doors of the Span... Read More

An important Jewish leader had begged Jesus Christ to come to his home because his twelve year old daughter was very sick. Jesus agreed and, surrounded by a huge crowd of followers, was on His way to the house when He was interrupted by a devout and humble woman. This woman, sick for twelve years, believed with all her heart, that if she just was able to reach out and touch Jesus, she would be healed. Unlike Jairus the Jewish leader, she didn’t beg Jesus. She didn’t even want anyo... Read More

Greetings in Christ,   On Sunday the 30th of October after much anticipation, our Philoptochos hosted the Annual Hunger Fight. What I witnessed that day was a beautiful expression of Christian philanthropy within our community. It was a joyful experience of comradery and light competition as we all raced toward the finish line. While I do not have the final number, I believe we packed all together something between 10 and 15 thousand meals for our local community and for those in fort ... Read More

Greetings in Christ,   This Past Saturday and Sunday our Dance Ministry hosted their Embroidery Workshop. They had a wonderful time in fellowship, learning new skills, and dancing!   Also last weekend our Goyans participated in the St. Stefanos Volleyball Tournament, from Friday night they enjoyed fellowship, food, and icebreakers. On Saturday the Volleyball games commenced through the day, ending with a dinner dance and Polynesian fire dancing show. On Sunday we worshiped togeth... Read More

Dear Brothers and Sisters in the Lord, For as long as people have lived on the Gulf Coast of Florida and the Tampa Bay Area, hurricane season has brought anxiety and fear of destruction. For more than one hundred years, Tarpon Springs has been spared a direct hit from hurricanes. For us Greek Orthodox Christians, we know why. Saint Nicholas watches over us. Year after year, the storms approach. Storm after storm, by the grace of God, avoids Tarpon Springs. In the news, on social media, and... Read More

Greetings in Christ,   This past weekend our BoyScouts had a successful horseback riding trip. Everyone had a great time taking trails through the woods. Nomikos Tsongranis riding a horse through the trails.   This Coming week we have the Annual Philoptochos Rummage sale to look forward to.  Don’t forget! The rescheduled date for the Philoptochos Feed the hungry date is this coming Sunday the 30th!    As well, our Young adult group will meet for their m... Read More

    Throughout the Gospels, we hear of Jesus moving from town to town healing crowds of believers of everything from paralysis to demonic possession. At each of these events, there are always witnesses who are shocked by what they see with their own eyes. Sometimes the shock leads to a deep faith in Christ; other times, the shock leads to rejecting Jesus and sending Him away.   In the Gospel of Luke, we hear how Jesus heals a man who was being controlled by so many demons t... Read More

In the Parable of the Sower, Jesus explains that God chooses to “cast His seed” without hesitation and without discrimination to whomever receives His word. He says, “A sower went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed, some fell by the wayside…some fell on rock….some among thorns….and some fell on good ground.” (Luke 8.5-8) It is important to notice that God didn’t wait to make sure His seed would only fall on good soil. NOR did He worry about... Read More

Greetings in Christ,   Wednesday the fifth we had our second Parish Ministry Night, we were pleased to have another successful evening, in worship, fellowship and learning. We had a great showing of support, and are thankful to our ministries for all that they have done and continue to do in service to our community. We hope to see even more of our Church family in the coming month. Please mark your calendars for Wednesday November second, We hope to enjoy your company at the next Pari... Read More

So many times we struggle with whether or not we should attend Divine Liturgy on Sunday morning. I’ve heard so many explanations in the past thirty years about why people don’t need to be in Church to pray and experience God. The Gospel offers us a different answer with the story of the raising of the widow’s son in Nain. (Luke 7.11-17) In this story it was the physical touch of Christ, along with His command, that healed the young man. He touched the open coffin when He sa... Read More

Greetings in Christ,   Here are just a few photos from our Dodgeball tournament!  A few weeks prior to this Sunday our Boy Scouts made a weekend camping trip to Rainbow River where they went tubing down one of the clearest bodies of water in the state! This upcoming Saturday the fifteenth, our Boy Scouts will be making a day trip to go horseback riding!   Sunday school has been running for a few weeks now, this is a reminder that it is not too late to bring your children!... Read More

Greetings in Christ!   It is dually with great joy and solemnity that I write this letter following the great storm that was on our doorstep. In willful thanksgiving I pray to our Christ, God and to His Saints and our ceaseless intercessors St. Nicholas and the Archangel Michael, for guiding and protecting us unharmed through the storm. At the same time I pray for the renewal, peace, and health of our brothers and sisters in Christ who were in the path of this great thalassic storm. Ou... Read More

The past seven days have been stressful and confusing for our community. The constant changing path of Hurricane Ian was a rollercoaster of emotions. One day we were in the bullseye followed by all clear the next day. In the end, Saint Nicholas once again interceded for our safety to God, and God spared us another disaster. What was good for Tarpon Springs ended up being catastrophic for our neighbors to the south in Ft Myers and Naples and other areas of Florida. Walls of water and severe w... Read More

In the Gospel of Luke we hear the calling of the first disciples of Christ while they were “off duty” from their day of fishing. Jesus “saw two boats standing by the lake, but the fishermen had gone from them and were washing their nets.” (Luke 5.2) Their day was finished and I’m sure the fishermen were looking forward to a few moments of rest after a long day at work, but the Lord had other plans. “Then He got into one of the boats, which was Simon’s... Read More

Greetings in Christ!   On thursday the 15th of September we had the distinct pleasure of hosting a Pan-Orthodox event on the Feast of St. Nikitas. We came together for Orthros and Divine Liturgy as the Orthodox Community of the greater Tampa Bay area. Our dear Hierarch Bishop Sevastianos of Zelon presided over the service, and offered us all encouragement in our faith during his sermon. Following Divine Liturgy the clergy enjoyed fellowship and Lunch together hosted by our Parish Counc... Read More

Greetings in Christ,   This past week we kicked off a new ministry aimed toward preparing High School Upperclass students for life after graduation. We are blessed to have this great opportunity, and we look forward to the next of their monthly meetings! The Saturday prior to this, The Philadelphia Men's Ministry took a day trip to the Panagia Vlahernon Mens Monastery for a brief spiritual excursion. We had the opportunity to venerate in their Church, Share a meal, see their works... Read More

It used to be that most people didn't associate being a Christian with being a radical, but radical living is exactly what Jesus expects from His followers. “What will a man give in exchange for his soul?” (Mark 8.37) That sounds pretty radical to me! Many of us grew up believing that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. We even believe in the Holy Trinity – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – but we never sit down to really think about what it means to believe in Jesus Ch... Read More

Greetings in Christ,   This past Wednesday we experienced our very first Parish Ministry Night here at our St. Nicholas Cathedral. The event by any standard for first time ministries was a beautiful success, and a good indication of the greater potential for these events and events like it in our community. This event saw nearly 90 parishioners of all ages in attendance. As was advertised, we joined together in worship in the Cathedral, following which we enjoyed fellowship and dinner ... Read More

We come once again to the Sunday before the Feast of Holy Cross. Year after year the Church begins the cycle of Feasts in September. Our annual commemoration of the Holy Cross is an annual reminder both of God’s love for us and our love for Him. It gives  us another chance, year after year, to ‘get it right’ and mirror the love of God in our lives. “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but ... Read More

When Jesus was asked, “What good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life?” He responded by saying, “If you want to enter into life, keep the commandments.” (Matthew 19.16-17) After listing all the commandments the rich man chose to push the issue further by saying, “All these things I have kept from my youth. What do I still lack?” (Matthew 19.20) Ultimately, after Jesus said, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the po... Read More

Greetings in Christ,   It is with great joy that I am able to boast on behalf of the hard work and dedication shown in the work of our St. Nicholas PreSchool program. Recently we have achieved a one hundred percent readiness score in our School, meaning that one hundred percent of the graduating class was deemed ready to enter Kindergarten! It is clear through these results and seeing the wonderful work that is being accomplished, we have a solid foundation and program. The question in... Read More

When we were children we played games like hide-and-seek. The “seeker” would count to ten and call out “ready or not, here I come” and then rush out to find those who were hiding. Once the “seeker” reached “10” there was no chance if we had not found a place to hide. Our best chance was to outrun the seeker to “base” and hope we could avoid being caught. Games are fun….but they aren’t life. There are several times in th... Read More

Greetings in Christ,   In my last week of scheduled meetings I’ve come across another wonder of dedication, involvement and care for Christ’s ministry in this beautiful Church. What may seem unspectacular, I find great appreciation for. That in our world of uncounted responsibilities-of love and labor which are shouldered with care from week to week while the espoused activities of our lives vie for our undivided attention. There are those who are willing to go above and be... Read More

What does it mean to have faith in Jesus Christ? Most people would answer by saying they believe Jesus Christ is the Son of God who came into the world to save sinners. And they would be correct, but is it enough to offer these few words about belief? The difficult answer unfortunately is, “NO!” It is not enough to just believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and that He came into the world to save sinners. After all…..even the devil believes in Jesus Christ. When face... Read More

We read the story of Noah's Ark in the Old Testament. (Genesis 6-8). The only way for Noah and his family to be safe from the flood was to get in the Ark. For forty days and forty nights the storm raged and the floodwaters came. Everything that was not in the Ark was swept away. Outside the Ark there was total destruction, but inside the Ark the animals and Noah’s family were safe. Once the storm stopped and flood waters subsided, God called Noah and his family out of the Ark to liv... Read More

Greetings in Christ, Last weekend I Joined the Boy Scout Troop on their weekend camping trip at the Sand Hill Boy Scout Campgrounds in the Spring Hill area. We received a tour of the land, Including two natural springs, one of which connects directly to the Florida Aquifer which was featured on National Geographic. As well, the BoyScouts had an opportunity to work on their Marksmanship at the camp's training ground.The main attraction of our camp out was a canoeing trip down the Chassah... Read More

When the Apostles of Our Lord were faced with a great need they turned to Christ…..well sorta. In the Gospel story of the feeding of the 5000, faced with “only five loaves and two fish” the Apostles urged Jesus to send the crowd of people away to get food for themselves. They said, “This is a deserted place, send the multitude away, that they may go into the village and buy themselves food. We have here only five loaves and two fish.” (Matthew 14.15-17) In their... Read More

When it comes to our struggle against the modern, secular world, one consistent pattern emerges. Our society has no regard for the human body as the Temple of the Holy Spirit. We abuse our bodies with drugs and alcohol. We use our bodies as canvas for artwork, and as pincushions. It should come as no surprise then that when our bodies die, more and more are opting for cremation. The Church is against cremation, but few know why. Many claim it is because we need our bones to be resurrected b... Read More

Over the past few months I have had several conversations with members of our St Nicholas Cathedral family about the state of our church etiquette. I have heard comments ranging from “They shouldn’t be dressed like that,” to “The children are distracting.” It can be difficult attending divine worship in a Cathedral filled with so many faithful. With each member of our Church, standards on these issues vary, and sometimes they vary drastically. To help us ‘g... Read More

Let’s face it, life is difficult. “Where will my family live?” “What will my family eat?” “How will I send my children to college?” “Will I have a job next week after the merger?” Although we may not struggle about these exact questions, we all know life is a struggle, no matter who we are or where we live. And yet the Lord says, “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you shall eat or what you shall drink, no... Read More

In today’s Gospel we witness Christ calling His first disciples to follow Him. These humble ‘working class’ men were already faithful Jews. As fishermen, they knew hard and about long days. They knew how to put their faith in God to ‘provide’ for their livelihood and fill their nets. They knew that every blessing for God required patience and discipline. All their knowledge prepared them for what was to come next. As Christ walked by, He said, “Follow Me a... Read More

“A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, temperate, sober-minded, of good behavior, hospitable, able to teach; not given to wine, not violent, not greedy for money, but gentle, not quarrelsome, not covetous; one who rules his own house well, having his children in submission with all reverence.” (1 Timothy 3.2-5)   Summer comes along and the thought of spending time outdoors with our families and friends brings a warm feeling to our hearts. It’s no s... Read More

In a society so preoccupied with individualism, it can be very easy to feel alone, even if we are surrounded by other people. Our faces are glued to our smart phone screens, and our senses are totally cut off from reality. Most of the time we are totally unaware of those around us, so feeling alone has become ‘normal’ for most, but we are never alone. No, I’m not talking about aliens, although the media has been preoccupied with the idea of UFO’s lately. I’m a... Read More

This week marks the end of another school year, and the beginning of a new adventure we all know and love as summer. Even for families without children in school, the end of the school year represents the cycle of life and the enjoyable tradition of summer vacations! For those of us in Florida, summer also means unbearable heat and the need for some refreshing water at the beach. There was another time in the heat of the day when someone needed some refreshing water. A woman from Samaria (we... Read More

Early in Jesus' earthly ministry, He came across a man who had been paralyzed for thirty-eight years, who was lying by the Pool of Bethesda. At certain times during the year, an angel of the Lord would come down from heaven, stir the water, and the one who entered the water first after the angel, would be healed. This man whom Jesus met, time after time, was too slow dragging himself into the pool. Though he failed to be healed after so many years, he never gave up hope. He never stopped ... Read More