St. Philothea Greek Orthodox Church, Watkinsville, GA

The mission of St. Philothea Greek Orthodox Church is to be the living witness of Jesus Christ-keeping and proclaiming the Orthodox Christian Faith and sanctifying the faithful through God’s grace by celebrating the Divine Liturgy and Sacraments. We will strive to fulfill the commission of Jesus Christ and grow in faith and love through worship, witness, fellowship and outreach. Philothea is located in a suburb of Athens, Georgia. Our congregation is made up of forty-seven different families, of American, Greek, Romanian, Eritrean, Russian, Bulgarian, Albanian, and African American descent.  Our worship schedule consists of weekly services—a Wednesday evening vespers service, weekday Divine Liturgies, as well as a Sunday Orthros and Divine Liturgy.

Project: Liturgy as Outreach: Traditional Worship and Contemporary Witness

In the Eastern Orthodox Church we have a long tradition of liturgical arts. The architecture, iconography, music, vestments, and liturgical implements all serve to take us out of time and space and into the presence of God. For Orthodox Christians, when we enter a church we leave time and space and enter eternity; for us salvation is a “now” experience. The hymnography of the Church declares “today” Christ is hung on the tree, and we are present. Iconography uses reverse perspective so that we become part of the scene depicted rather than by-standers watching something happen. Our project will be to provide a slide lecture briefly explaining the history, theology and meaning of icons and explain and demonstrate how Byzantine chant serves to express in the depth of our soul the profound meaning of Good Friday.

Address:

3761 Mars Hill Road

Watkinsville, GA

Website:

http://www.stphilothea.ga.goarch.org

Team Members:

Fr. Anthony Salzman, priest

Dr. Constantine Kokenes, musician

Maximos Salzman, lay leader