WELCOME

Welcome to our Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church, Port Charlotte, FL. We are so pleased to have you visit our website. We hope and pray that you will come and worship with us on any Sunday. We feel that our church is a piece of heaven on earth, and we invite you to share a little piece of that heaven. We are a welcoming community. We invite you to enjoy the edifice of our holy church, while witnessing and being part of our divine services, the images on the walls of the church, the smells of incense, and hearing the prayers and readings. In doing so, this leads us into the Throne Room of our Lord and Savior. Suddenly the inaccessible becomes accessible.

The Holy icons in the church remind us that Christ and the Saints are invisibly present in this Holy Place, which is a sacred place of the church. Icons are not merely pieces of wood with images on them. They are windows to heaven where we look into and view those things that are Holy. Likewise heaven looks back at us through these images. The model is in the image and the image is in the model

When entering the church, the faithful make the sign of the cross with three deep reverences. As you first enter the church, you are in a vestibule, which is called the Narthex. This is a room where we prepare to transition ourselves after coming in from the outside world where there is chaos, confusion, and conflict. We take our refuge by coming into the narthex and prepare ourselves by forgetting everything we’ve left behind and prepare our minds and our hearts to receive God‘s word. We light a candle to remind us that the Lord Jesus is the light of the world and we are with Him as his faithful followers seeking the kingdom of God. The narthex is the first of three parts of the church. In earlier times, the narthex represented a place where the catechumens received instruction before they were baptized and also where penitents who were excluded from receiving Holy Communion stood. It represents the place where everyone is called to repentance. After lighting our candle, we offer prayers to our Lord in front of the icons on the stand.

Then we enter the second part of the church, which is the main body of the church called the Nave. The walls of the nave are decorated with icons and murals. The nave is the place of the assembled people of God for worship in the church and includes both the living and the departed people of God. It represents the world/earth. The Nave is separated from the sanctuary by an icon screen called the iconostasis. The sanctuary actually lies behind the iconostasis. Only clergy and those who have been assigned to assist clergy may enter the sanctuary. It is the Holy of Holies. This area assigned for those who have a special function within the performance of divine services. Usually, those who have not been consecrated to the service of the church are not permitted to enter the sanctuary. The holy altar is the central portion of the sanctuary, which represents the Throne of God. The holy altar is the point of meeting and union with God in His kingdom. The altar is where the priest consecrates the bread and wine to be the body and blood of our Lord for holy communion. A priest, and all the people of God call down the Holy Spirit, through prayer, in the consecration of this Eucharist.

The iconostasis or icon screen is equivalent to the veil written about in the Old Testament Tabernacle in the temple. This veil is no longer permanently closed as it has been opened by Jesus Christ himself. On this icon screen, Christ is depicted on the right and then the Virgin Mary and Christ child is on the left. Next to the icon of Jesus Christ is St. John the Baptist, the forerunner. To the icon of the left of the Virgin Mary with the Christ child is usually the patron icon of whom the church is named after. In our case, it represents the Holy Trinity as seen in the scripture when Abraham and Sarah were visited by the three angels representing the Holy Trinity.

We invite you to come and pray with us, and enjoy the magnificent ambience of our holy edifice, the majesty, and the beauty of our Heavenly Father’s House. Our Sunday services:

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Matins/Orthros - 9:00 am

Divine Liturgy - 10:00 am

Although you’re invited and welcome to worship with us, only baptized or Chrismated, Orthodox Christians may receive Holy Communion (The Eucharist). However, all are invited to receive a blessing from the priest while receiving a piece of blessed bread at the conclusion of the service called the antedoron which serves as a small gift as a thanks for coming to the service. We face east during our worship services reminding that the sun rises representing the light of the world and Jesus is the Light of the world. Therefore we worship facing Him. Anyone wishing to learn and study more about our Orthodox faith and in joining the Orthodox Church, may contact me and I would be willing to serve as a mentor in facilitating anyone wanting to become an Orthodox Christian.

Welcome to our Church Community!

Wishing you God’s speed, I remain prayerfully yours,
+ Fr. Michael

V. Rev. Dr. Michael Bahlatzis

Protopresbyter, Presiding Priest, and Proistamenos