On Wednesday, August 14th, clergy and faithful from the Northeast Conference gathered at the Dormition of the Theotokos parish in Greensboro for Great Vespers of the feast. The service, which included both an Artoklasia and the chanting of the Dormition Encomia, was presided over by His Grace Bishop +SEVASTIANOS of Zela.
Plans are well underway for our Starry Night Fundraiser to benefit the DRC on September 21st, in Mobile, AL at Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church (50 S. Ann St). The reception hour begins at 6 pm with dinner served at 7. A short presentation will then be followed by dancing until 11 pm (music from Nick Demos and the Islanders). Individual tickets for the event are on sale now for $65 and there is a limit of 200 .
On the Feast of Holy Pentecost, 2024, the parish of Saints Markella and Demetrios in Mary Esther, Florida was blessed to unveil new dome iconography including Christ the Pantocrator, Angels, and Old Testament Prophets.
This past weekend, St. Catherine Greek Orthodox Church in West Palm Beach, FL opened their doors to the Metropolis Oratorical Speakers and their families. Friday started with a welcome dinner and speaker orientation led by Dr. Alexander Bellas. On Saturday, after the speeches, we took a tour of the Flagler Museum and enjoyed a ride down A1A on Palm Beach before the awards glendi. We want to congratulate all of our speakers. We are happy to announce Lambros (Knoxville, TN) and Zeke (Cumming, GA) will be representing the Metropolis at the National Festival in Buffalo, NY.
Katie Wilson, Central District Oratorical Festival announced that 20 speakers from 8 of the 10 district parishes shared outstanding presentations on Saturday, April 20th at St. Christopher Hellenic Orthodox Church in Peachtree City, GA. It is the third consecutive year that the parish has hosted the district festival. This year set a new record number for the number of parishes and student presenters participating. Congratulations to all our speakers and prayers for safe travels and success for our finalists advancing to the Metropolis Festival at St. Katherine's Church in West Palm Beach, FL, May 10-12, 2024.
We are thrilled to announce that applications for the 2025 HDF Odyssey for Directors are NOW OPEN! We have partnered with our friends at Kyklos in Thessaloniki to organize an amazing tour of Northern Greece focused on many of the rich Apokries traditions in that area. The trip will take place February 21 - March 3, 2025 and is open to members of the HDF family aged 21 and up. The application period will close on June 15th, and scholarship recipients will be announced by August 1st.
On the evening of March 24, 2024, faithful from around the Northeast Conference gathered in Winston-Salem to pray the Great Vespers for the feast of the Annunciation of the Theotokos.
The Archons of the Ecumenical Patriarchate sponsor an all-expense paid Pilgrimage of Discovery to Constantinople for our young adults (23-30 years of age). August 4-11, 2024. Application due March 29, 2024. Click HERE to apply!
On Feb 10, 2024 Fr. Paul and Presvytera Joan Mayernick welcomed His Grace Bishop Sebastian of Zelon with open arms to St. Elizabeth the Wonderworker Church in Gainesville, Fla. His Grace hosted our award winning Afieroma dance group with a reception before they performed at the Gala in his honor later that evening.
On January 20, Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church in Mobile and St. Athanasios Greek Orthodox Church in Gulf Shores co-hosted a Young Adult retreat for the Western Conference. His Grace Bishop Sevastianos was in attendance, and Robert Krantz – Greek-American director, actor, and author – was the keynote speaker.
A record 4,000 participants gathered Jan. 11-15 at the Caribe Royale Resort in Orlando to attend the 23rd Hellenic Dance Festival (HDF). The Metropolis of Atlanta-sponsored event hosted record numbers from across its Metropolis and beyond. Participants included 68 dance groups representing parishes from Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Colorado, Virginia, Illinois, Maryland, New York, Kansas, and Nebraska. HDF also welcomed for the first time groups from Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, Thessaloniki, Greece, and the Hellenic Roots of the Greek School of Plato in Brooklyn, New York. The weekend was highlighted by the attendance and participation of His Eminence Archbishop Elpidophoros of America. The 2024 event was the first in HDF history to include an additional full day of competition.
With the blessings of His Eminence, Metropolitan Alexios, oficiated by Bishop Sebavastianos, our annual Winter Youth Rally began with our 540 GOYAns and their advisors praying from 55 parishes in our Annunciation Metropolis Cathedral, as we prayer the blessing of the waters service as a Metropolis Church Family. This annual event, was prayed with resounding voices, especially as our Metropolis Youth chanted the hymn of Saint Stephen in unison, remembering this great martyr Saint celebrated today, and as the beloved Patron Saint of our Metropolis Summer Camp. May our Lord continue to guide our youth to glorify His Most Honored and Majestic Name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Revered Father Kyriakos Hambos, efimerios of Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church of Greater Orlando, organized the Goya Advent Retreat of the N.E. Florida Conference for the weekend of 8th - 10th of December.
On November 20th and 21st , Western Conference clergy and faithful gathered at the Presentation of the Theotokos Greek Orthodox Church in Malbis (Daphne, Alabama), to celebrate the Feast Day.