Pentecost and the Apostles
The Orthodox Church traces its beginning to the day of Pentecost, about 33 AD, when the Holy Spirit descended on the Apostles in Jerusalem. From there the Apostles carried the Gospel across the Roman world. St. Paul planted churches in Greek cities such as Corinth, Thessaloniki, and Philippi. St. Andrew, the first-called Apostle, is honored as the founder of the Church of Byzantium, the city later renamed Constantinople.
The New Testament itself was written in Greek, the common language of the eastern Roman Empire. The Greek Orthodox Church still worships in that language, alongside English, and reads the Scriptures in their original tongue.
The Age of the Councils
For three centuries Christians were persecuted. In 313 AD the Emperor Constantine legalized the faith, and in 325 he called the bishops of the whole Church to Nicaea to settle disputes about who Jesus Christ is. That council produced the Nicene Creed, which we recite at every Divine Liturgy.
Six more Ecumenical Councils followed, the last in 787 AD. Together they defined the Church’s teaching on the Holy Trinity, the divinity and humanity of Christ, the Virgin Mary as Theotokos (God-bearer), and the veneration of icons. Orthodox Christians hold to these seven councils as the settled faith of the undivided Church.
Byzantium
In 330 AD Constantine moved his capital to Byzantium and renamed it Constantinople. For more than a thousand years the city was the heart of Christian civilization. The great cathedral of Hagia Sophia was completed in 537. St. Basil the Great, St. Gregory the Theologian, and St. John Chrysostom, whose Liturgy we celebrate most Sundays, shaped the worship and theology we still use.
From Constantinople, missionaries carried the faith outward. In the 860s Sts. Cyril and Methodius brought the Gospel to the Slavic peoples, creating an alphabet so the Scriptures and services could be translated. The Churches of Russia, Serbia, Bulgaria, and Romania grew from this mission and remain in full communion with the Greek Orthodox Church today.
☨ What “Greek Orthodox” Means
“Orthodox” means right belief and right worship. “Greek” points to the language and culture in which the early Church took shape, and to the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, which our Archdiocese belongs to. You do not need to be Greek to be Greek Orthodox. Our parish is mostly converts and military families.
The Great Schism
Over several centuries the Latin-speaking West and the Greek-speaking East grew apart in language, custom, and understanding of the Pope’s authority. In 1054 the two sides exchanged excommunications. The break hardened after Western crusaders sacked Constantinople in 1204. The Orthodox Church continued as before, holding to the faith of the seven councils without the later additions made in the West.
Under Ottoman Rule
Constantinople fell to the Ottoman Turks in 1453. For nearly four hundred years Greek Christians lived under Islamic rule. The Church was heavily restricted, yet it survived. The Ecumenical Patriarch remained in the city, and parish priests, monks, and village schools kept the faith and the language alive. Many of the saints we honor from this period were martyred for refusing to abandon Christ.
Modern Greece and the Ecumenical Patriarchate
The Greek War of Independence began in 1821 and led to a free Greek state. The Church of Greece became self-governing in 1850, while the Ecumenical Patriarchate stayed in Constantinople (today Istanbul), where it remains. The Ecumenical Patriarch is honored as “first among equals” among the heads of the Orthodox Churches worldwide. His All Holiness Bartholomew has held the office since 1991.
Greek Orthodoxy in America
Greek immigrants founded the first Greek Orthodox parish in the Americas, Holy Trinity in New Orleans, in 1864. As immigration grew in the early 1900s, parishes opened in nearly every major city. The Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America was organized in 1921 and formally chartered in 1922 under the Ecumenical Patriarchate.
Today the Archdiocese is led by His Eminence Archbishop Elpidophoros, enthroned in 2019, and is made up of eight metropolises and the Direct Archdiocesan District. Our own Metropolis of Atlanta was established as a diocese in 1979 and raised to a metropolis in 2002. It covers the Southeast from North Carolina to Florida and Louisiana, under His Eminence Metropolitan Sevastianos, enthroned January 25, 2025.
St. Porphyrios in Jacksonville
Our parish is the newest chapter in this story. St. Porphyrios Greek Orthodox Church was established in October 2020 to serve Jacksonville, Camp Lejeune, and the communities of eastern North Carolina. We are a small parish, but we stand in the same faith, celebrate the same Liturgy, and confess the same Creed as the Church of the Apostles.
Read more about our parish, our clergy, or what to expect when you visit.