Welcome to your church!

God loves you! We do too!

“There is already a place in Tampa Bay where all Bulgarians can gather for worship. This is important, because our faith has preserved us as who we are an Orthodox Christians, and we have an obligation to educate those after us. In this regard, we can say that this first serious step is a place where people can gather primarily for worship. This is just a beginning of a tradition to continue not only among us, but also for our descendants.”

Greeting from His Eminence Daniil vicar Bishop of the Orthodox Metropolis of the United States, Canada and Australia at the consecration of our church on April 12, 2017.

Now Patriarch of Bulgaria

Meet our church father

My name is Dimitar Dimitrov . I was born in Sofia. I am married and have two daughters. I was ordained a priest by His Eminence John, current Metropolitan of Varna in 2013. I completed a two-year course at the Sofia Theological Seminary in 1993. Then in 1998 I graduated with a Master's degree in Theology from the Faculty of Theology at Sofia University "St. Kliment Ohridski." While living in Bulgaria, I was a priest in Radomir and took care of another 9 parishes and the "Sveti Duh" monastery.

I arrived in Florida with my family after winning a green card. In 2019, with the blessing of His Eminence Joseph, Metropolitan of the USA, Canada, and Australia, I started serving in Saint Petka Church in Saint Petersburg.

Upon my arrival, I was deeply moved by the dedication of the community. Through their voluntary work and generous donations, they transformed an old Baptist prayer house into a beautiful Christian Orthodox church, a testament to their faith and commitment.

We had to make changes in the church so that everything in it is according to church canons. Namely, we reconstructed the main hall of the church by removing the six steps that led to the altar. This allowed bringing the altar to the level of the rest of the hall.

With the help of donors, we replaced the old wooden King’s throne in the altar with a solid  throne; this was especially important since this is the place on which we keep the Holy relics during the Divine Holy Liturgy celebration.

The church services here are no different from those in Bulgaria. With God's help, we enjoy Divine Service every Sunday and on all church holidays, and our church has never remained empty. I do not lose hope; I believe, as I believe in our Lord Jesus Christ, that in the future, more and more young people will come to our church so that we can preserve the Bulgarian faith and Bulgarian tradition.

The church board would like to thank our Sponsors: