About Us | St. Nectarios Orthodox Church

About Our Parish

The Orthodox Church is evangelical, but not Protestant. It is orthodox, but not Jewish. It is catholic, but not Roman. It isn't non-denominational - it is pre-denominational. It has believed, taught, preserved, defended and died for the Faith of the Apostles since the Day of Pentecost 2000 years ago.

In July, 2005, with the blessing of His Eminence, Metropolitan Nicholas of Amissos, then ruling Bishop of the American Carpatho-Russian Orthodox Greek Catholic Diocese of the USA, first steps were taken to look into the feasibility of establishing an Orthodox parish in Lakeland, Florida, where no Orthodox presence had yet been established. Subsequent to some tentative contacts and placement of an ad in the Lakeland Ledger, the local newspaper, on August 14, 2005, St. Nectarios Orthodox Mission parish opened its doors and the first Divine Liturgy was celebrated in the home of its pastor, Fr. Nicholas Wyborski. In September 2005, the parish was incorporated under the laws of the State of Florida as a non-profit corporation with the purpose of meeting the needs of the community through Orthodox worship and teaching of the Holy Gospel of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

The Mission began with six people having a vision of establishing an Orthodox presence in Lakeland, Florida which had no other Orthodox parish. After initially holding Services in a nursing home, the pastor's home, and sharing the use of an Episcopal Church, St. Nectarios parish gained permission from the Roman Catholic Diocese of Orlando to use the Chapel located on the campus of Santa Fe High School on Memorial Boulevard in Lakeland which became the temporary home of St. Nectarios Mission. The Chapel, however only had room for 25 worshipers which gave us motivation to move to the next phase.

By mid-2010, the parish had grown to over 40 members and due to the generosity of many benefactors, both local and from throughout the country, the parish raised enough funds to put a down payment on 13 acres of land at 405 Marcum Road in Lakeland to be used to establish a permanent Orthodox worship facility. The parish worked with the David Norris Engineering firm and Alan de Zayas of AVONMDULAR Construction firm in developing site plans, obtaining the necessary building permits, surveys and satisfying other governmental requirements which permitted the erection of a building on the property and converting it into a worship facility consisting of worship space (the church proper) and a social hall to be used for coffee hours, parish social events and religious purposes.

Since moving into its new home, St. Nectarios parish has continued to attract new members and is continuing to grow and yet retain its initial environment of love for one another and all who come to join us in worship. As it approaches the 10th anniversary of its establishment in Lakeland, the parish is already looking forward to the possibility of expansion of the present building or new construction, if feasible.

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