About St Nectarios Mission

In July 2005, with the blessing of His Eminence, Metrolitan Nicholas of Amissos, the former ruling Bishop of the American Carpatho-Russian Orthodox Diocese of the USA, first steps were taken in establishing an Orthodox parish in Lakeland, Florida. 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.n July 2005, with the blessing of His Eminence, Metrolitan Nicholas of Amissos, the former ruling Bishop of the American Carpatho-Russian Orthodox Diocese of the USA, first steps were taken in establishing an Orthodox parish in Lakeland, Florida. 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 with a vision to establish an Orthodox presence in Lakeland, Florida which had no other Orthodox parish. From holding services in a nursing home room, 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 on the campus of Santa Fe, a local Catholic High School which became the temporary home of St. Nectarios Mission until 2010.

The Chapel, however only had room for 25 worshippers and, because the parish had now grown to over 50 members it was time to find a more suitable worship space. 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 north Lakeland to be used to establish a permanent Orthodox worship facility. The parish worked diligently with a local engineering firm and general contractor to develop site plans, obtain necessary permits, surveys and satisfy other governmental requirements which finally resulted in the placement and renovation of a modular building.

His Eminence, Metropolitan Bishop Gregory of Nyssa, assigned Fr. Demetrious Glimidakis as the full-time priest of the parish in January 2019. Although Covid in 2020 kept people in fear, the parish took to social media and began streaming daily services and incorporating many weekday services. Growing a large online following, and expanding local outreach ministry, the parish has significantly outgrown the double wide trailer with many young ethnically diverse converts to the Orthodox Christian Faith, including many children and inquirers.

The parish has been working with licensed architects and environmental engineers to build a permanent structure to accommodate the vast number of parishioners attending services. The parking lot has been expanded and temporary measures  have been put in place to accommodate the many visitors and inquirers coming into the parish.

The parish offers women’s, men’s and youth gatherings as well as a homeschool co-op.

The parish also has a vocations ministry, where altar servers are encouraged to assist with Reader services and  community events. The parish is blessed to have several men preparing for the Holy Priesthood through various Orthodox seminaries.

The Mission's building fund will need a significant amount (estimated at $4 million) to fund the construction of a permanent Orthodox Church. Currently, the parish’s funds were used to support both the temporary expansion project and the building plan’s architectural design, engineering layout, environmental impact assessments and county permitting.

 

Mission Needs

 St. Nectarios Mission is always in the need of Cassocks/Dalmatics for Altar Servers (Adult and Youth).

 

Contact Information

If you would like to assist the mission through donating gently used or new altar robes, or through a monetary gift to help with our building fund, please contact:

Pastor: Rev. Fr. Demetrious Glimidakis
Tel: (863) 450-4893 
E-mail: frdg.carpatho@gmail.com
Website:  www.stnectarios.com

You can directly donate money to help our building project for St. Nectarios Orthodox Church, Lakeland, FL visiting our website: http://www.stnectarios.com or supporting our Amazon merchandise store (links found on our website).