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The Perfect Church
Visitors Welcome!
Russian Orthodox Community
Ancient Faith for a Modern Age
The Perfect Church Many people in contemporary society reject that a perfect church could even exist. All churches, according to this way of thinking, have lost site of important truths. All of them come short of perfection. But what if these people are wrong? What if a perfect church does exist? What would that church look like? How would that church worship? Who would go there? Ready to find out?
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Visitors Welcome! Our parish continually strives to provide a holy place of worship that is inviting to all. Visitors are always welcome. We have services on Saturday evening at 5PM and Sunday morning at 9:30AM. See our calendar for other occasional services. At St. Stephen you will find a warm and welcoming place where people of all ages and backgrounds are able to develop a dynamic relationship with our Lord Jesus Christ. We provide Church School for all ages, youth ministries, Christian education classes, social events for youth and adults, and FOCUS Central Florida, a ministry to the homeless of downtown Orlando.
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Russian Orthodox Community St. Stephen is a parish of the Orthodox Church in America which traces its roots to the Russian Orthodox missionary presence on the North American continent. While most services are conducted in English, the language of the people in the United States, St. Stephen is also pleased to offer services for the Russian immigrant community in Church Slavonic.
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Ancient Faith for a Modern Age Welcome to St. Stephen Orthodox Church. St. Stephen is a parish of the Orthodox Church in America located in Longwood, Florida. Our mission is to establish a loving community of committed, Orthodox Christians in Longwood/Lake Mary who will dedicate themselves to prayer and service for each other, our Church, our city, and our world. We uphold the Faith of Jesus Christ delivered to the Apostles and seek to live in a way that bears witness to His death and resurrection. Come and see how ancient faith can elighten our modern age.  
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Welcome to the Orthodox Church of St. Stephen the Protomartyr!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!?

Angela Poupart

Dec 30 |21:23
Last Updated on Fri, 30 Dec 2011 21:30

 Dear friends,

Christ is born! Glorify Him!

We had a glorious celebration of the Nativity of our Lord this past weekend! I hope your holiday was filled with joy. One of the highlights for us was the celebration of our patron, St. Stephen the Protomartyr yesterday. We had over 30 faithful gathered for a week day Divine Liturgy and after the Liturgy we enjoyed a delicious feast at Toojays. The Feast of Nativity continues so there is no fasting until the Eve of Theophany on January 5th. It is amazing to think that 2012 is just around the corner. I always like to set some goals for the coming year, and this year, I am using Fr. Thomas Hopko's 55 Maxims for Christian Living as a guide. One of my goals is to read through the Gospels in January using this plan. Did you know it takes an average of 3 minutes and 45 seconds per day to read the entire New Testament in a year? There are a few suggestions for you. What are your goals for 2012? 

- We will host a concert at the Church on January 8th. Sofya Dudaeva will play classical music on the flute. Local charity group CTG will provide drinks and appetizers. There will be a free will donation and all proceeds will go to the Ephraim Project, a ministry to the homeless in Orlando. The flyer is attached. Please come and invite your friends.

- We have been encouraged by our Diocesan leaders to start serving Vespers on Wednesday night. Many healthy parishes in our Diocese have seen benefit from their midweek Vespers service. The first midweek Vespers at St. Stephens will be January 11 and it will be followed by a full Panikhida for the departed priests who have served St. Stephens. Fr. Peter and Fr. Lawrence departed this life just over a year ago and we will also include Fr. Slava who served our Russian community.  

- The Akathist to St. Xenia of Petersburg is a good prayer for those who are looking for work.   

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

--From Fr. David's Parish Email

 

Benefit Concert

Angela Poupart

Dec 29 |18:18
Last Updated on Thu, 29 Dec 2011 18:20

 

   

Our Patron Feast-Saint Stephen the Protomartyr

Angela Poupart

Dec 27 |00:21
Last Updated on Tue, 27 Dec 2011 00:26

Stoning of St. Stephen Tomorrow morning we will celebrate our patron saint,  Saint Stephen the Protomartyr.  Saint Stephen’s story is beautifully told in the book of the Acts of the Apostles.  St. Stephen was the first recorded martyr which is where the name “Protomartyr” or first martyr comes from.  He was also among the first deacons.   He was martyred while preaching the Lord Jesus and was granted a vision of heaven during his martyrdom.  Echoing the words of Jesus he prayed for those who killed him. “And they stoned Stephen, calling upon God, and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. And he kneeled down, and cried with a loud voice, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge. And when he had said this, he fell asleep.” (Acts 7:59-60)

 

O First Martyr and Apostle Of Christ,

Thou hadst fought the good fight.

And didst expose the perversion of the persecutors,

For when thou wast killed by stoning at the hands of wicked men,

Thou didst receive a crown from the right hand on high,

And didst cry out to God saying,

"O Lord do not charge this sin against them!" --Troparion Tone 4 

   

The Feast of the Nativity

Angela Poupart

Dec 22 |23:01
Last Updated on Thu, 22 Dec 2011 23:19

 The Birth of Jesus Christ in a CaveThis weekend is the joyous Feast of the Nativity. This Sunday we celebrate the mystery of our salvation, the mystery of God becoming man. The Liturgy transports the soul to the cave outside Bethlehem and we witness the new birth. We behold the dawning of the Sun of Righteousness. We lift our voices in praise along with shepherds, wise men, and choirs of angels proclaiming along with St. Paul, "Thanks be to God for His unspeakable gift." (2 Cor. 9:15) Christ is God's gift to you. As you give and receive gifts this weekend, do so in remembrance of our loving God who gave Himself to you and always receives you when you give yourself to Him.


- Our service schedule will be as follows:
Friday 9AM - Royal Hours (readings from the Psalms and Gospels)
Sat 4PM - Vespers
Sat 5:30PM - Holy Supper (please bring a lenten dish)
Sat 7PM - Vigil
Sun 9:30 - Divine Liturgy
Mon 9:30 - Divine Liturgy
Mon 6:30 - Vespers for St. Stephen
Tues 9:30 - Liturgy for St. Stephen

-From Fr. Daniel's weekly email

Attachments:
FileDescriptionFile size
Download this file (Christmas-Epiph-St GregNaz.pdf)Christmas-Epiph-St GregNaz.pdf 77 Kb
   

Holy Unction Service

Angela Poupart

Dec 15 |10:17
Last Updated on Thu, 15 Dec 2011 10:18

priest gather to pray for the sick

Stephen has recently been diagnosed with cancer. Last week we gathered to preform a Holy Unction Service to pray for Stephen and to anoint him with oil . Please join us we continue to pray for his healing. 

 

   

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Orthodox Church of St. Stephen the Protomartyr

1895 Lake Emma Road
Longwood, Florida 32750
1-407-260-6003
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