JACKSONVILLE, Fla — Congregation members weathered cold gusty winds Saturday night to celebrate the opening of St. John the Divine Greek Orthodox Church at its new home on the Southside.
The new campus at 12760 Beach Blvd., between Hodges and Kernan boulevards, is for a church that is among the oldest in Jacksonville at 102 years old.
Serving about 400 families from throughout Northeast Florida, the church is the third oldest Greek Orthodox parish in Florida behind Tarpon Springs and Pensacola, church leaders said.
St. John the Divine is the only Greek Orthodox Church in Jacksonville, according to church leaders and congregation members.
The church began downtown on Laura Street then moved to its previous home at 3850 Atlantic Blvd. in 1968. About two weeks ago the three-domed church was completed on the 14-acre Beach Boulevard site.
"Just in time for Christmas," said Alyssa Loutsion Kyritsis, pastoral assistant at the church.
Construction of the church began in November 2018. The entire project cost at least $14 million. The church began acquiring the land about 20 years ago, said George Stavros, president of the church.
"This has been on our radar for quite some time as our church is growing," Kyritsis said. "For a lot of these people …There is so much history and so much love within the walls of this church that to see it just grow and expand, we're just excited to fill it with even more love of God for our community."
The campus includes a Byzantine Crucifix-form sanctuary for worship services, chapel, bell tower, banquet hall and an administrative/education building. In addition, the new St. John the Divine Early Learning Center opened in August.
Another feature is an airnasium and grassed area for sporting and outdoor activities and events such as the popular Greek Festival along with the church's Easter Picnic and other community events.
Stavros said families from as far away as St. Augustine, Fernandina Beach, Middleburg and South Georgia attend the church.
"Our goal is to bring others to Christ and we feel like this campus with all its [facilities], where it's positioned …This facility helps us to do that in a greater way," Stavros said.
He said holding the Greek Festival at the campus will allow them to showcase their faith as well as their food and culture.
The site initially totaled 23 acres, but the church previously sold some of that land to a charter school. The remaining 14 acres of church property includes the five-acre campus and another tract for future expansion, Stavros said.
Church leaders think the new campus will result in St. John the Divine becoming more of a hub of the orthodox faith and community.
"We are open to all Christians and now we have the facilities and the room to invite everyone," Stravos said.
Saturday evening, the church and its congregation celebrated the Thyranoixia, (pronounced Th-ee-ruh-knee-xee-uh) or "Opening of the Doors Service."
It is the consecration and dedication of the new church. That service is performed in every Orthodox Church across the world as a means of blessing the building to be used for services.
His Eminence, the Metropolitan Alexios of Atlanta was the presiding bishop Saturday. He led the consecration and welcoming service along with Bishop Dimitrios of Xanthos and Bishop Demetrios of Mokissos. The church's Rev. Nicholas Louh was the presiding priest.
"Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord," they intoned during the service that included the Metropolitan Alexios knocking on the church door three times so the faithful could go inside.
The last time a Thyranoixia occurred in Jacksonville was 1968 when the church on Atlantic Boulevard opened.
Despite the cold, the Thyranoixia was conducted outside the church doors where it was blessed with holy water.
The ribbon was cut and Metropolitan Alexios symbolically knocked on the front doors, which opened to welcome the congregation.
"It is what we call the ancient church. The lineage has been unbroken since Peter laid down the rock [of faith]. So, the traditions and the family is just second to none," Cindy Tsengas, who's been a congregation member 37 years, said of the church and why it is her spiritual home.
For more information about the church visit its website stjohnthedivinejax.org/ or call (904) 396-5383.
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