Welcome to St Stefanos
We are a biblically-rooted tree with branches in the city of
St. Petersburg, FL. The community was established in 1961 by a few
dedicated Greek Orthodox immigrants, whose roots go back to the lands
of Ancient Christianity. After more than four decades of hard work and much devotion, the Saint
Stefanos Community has become a vibrant parish, living and confessing
the Orthodox Christian faith.
Parish History
In late 1961, approximately 30 families
came together to found the parish of Saint Stefanos. Many of the
families had been attending church at St. John the Baptist Church in
Tampa or St. Nicholas Cathedral in Tarpon Springs, so St. Stefanos
became a community centered in southern Pinellas County.
Office Hours
The Church Office is open Monday - Friday, 9:30AM-3:30PM.
The Church Office closes for all liturgical services, including Orthros and Divine Liturgy on a Feastday, Baptisms, Funerals, and any other special services that may occur during normal office hours; the Office will reopen following the conclusion of the service.
| Vacation Bible School |
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t. Stefanos Community offered a packed week of activities to twenty-one enthusiastic children attending Vacation Bible School June 16-20, 2008. By the end of each day when parents came for pick-up, the kids did not want to leave and begged their parents to stay, which is a great testimony to how much fun the kids had and the success of this program! Due to the generous donations of several parishioners, the week was offered to these families at a minimal charge. VBS would not have been possible without the leadership skills of Audrey Chaffin and Mark Panuthos, who have been planning this event for many months now. Audrey and Mark also served as group leaders for the two groups, the "Minnows" (ages 4-6) and the "Dolphins" (ages 7-11), during the week. This year, the program focused on "Feasts of the Orthodox Church". Bill Christopher organized games and prizes each morning while the children were arriving. Each day then began with morning prayers in the church, followed by Bible study time led by Mathew Balasis (Dolphins) and Markella Balasis (Minnows), talking about a different feast of the Church each day: the Annunciation to the Virgin Mary, the Presentation of the Lord in the Temple, the Transfiguration of the Lord, Theophany, and the Saturday of Lazarus. Thelma Maragos organized kid-friendly cooking lessons on koulourakia, dolmades, and other treats. Eleni Sirabella taught the kids basic Greek letters and words, with the help of Katie Diaks. Mathew Balasis led a class in making prosforo, and found quite a few future prosforo bakers in the group. Stella Jacobson served as a "floating" volunteer all week, lending her extra hands to whatever activities were going on. Christine Klimis was also on hand to help out. Barbara Aiello organized the meals and snacks each day, with the assistance of Mike Firilas and Harry Hamilton. One of the most impressive things about this week was seeing a wonderful group of teenagers working together. Thank you to Nataly Alexander, Georgia Christopoulos, Christina Johnson, Alexandra Olavarria, Zoe Tischner, and Cassie Van Buskirk. These teens helped supervise the groups, led many of the activities, and planned a great skit play for the finale on Friday. Thank you to everyone who worked as part of this year's Vacation Bible School to make it such a great success. Thank you especially to the parents for supporting this endeavor, bringing the children to this program and leading them to love our Lord Jesus Christ and become faithful members of His Body the Church from a young age. To view a photo gallery of pictures from VBS 2008, please click here. |
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