A Brief History of
Holy Cross
Early in
1993 during a "chance" meeting of three Orthodox
Christians, an idea was born. As residents of Daytona, the three
discussed the need and feasibility of establishing an
English-speaking Orthodox Church to serve all ethnic backgrounds in
the Daytona area. After contacting many of their friends and
associates in the local area, the founders contacted the Missions and
Evangelism Department of the Antiochian Orthodox Christian
Archdiocese. With the help of this department the first
organizational meeting of the mission station was held in March of
1993.
On March 21,
the day of the Feast of the Adoration of the Holy Cross, the group
held their first Liturgical service at the home of one of the
founders. Through the tireless efforts and sacrificial giving of this
small group as well as the many others who joined them, Holy Cross
Eastern Orthodox Mission became a reality.
In November
of the same year, Father David Randolph of Eustis was appointed
Priest in charge of the provisional mission. Under the capable
leadership of Father David and the commitment of all the people, the
growing group was able to reach the status of a full-fledged
Mission-Church under the charter of the Archdiocese by Christmas.
Regular service times were established and one of the educational
rooms at Prince of Peace Catholic Church served as a temporary place
of worship. A building fund was started and regular Bible study
sessions were conducted.
In
April of 1995, Father Michael Byars was appointed by the Archdiocese
as the new priest of the mission. By July the mission rented a small
place in South Daytona. Due to continuing growth of the group, it was
necessary to move to a much larger space in the same building after
the first year. In August of 1996, the group suffered what could have
been a great tragedy when their rented space was destroyed by fire.
Because of their wonderful faith and determination, the group rallied
together to become even stronger continuing to meet and grow while
their burned out location was renovated.
Holy Cross
purchased an existing church building at 1531 Center Avenue in Holly
Hill in January of 1997. After extensive renovations the first
worship service was held at the new location in July. His Grace
Bishop Antoun Khouri dedicated the building in January of 1998
providing a wonderful boost to the young mission. Since that time,
the facilities of Holy Cross have continued to be improved. In May of
2005 the congregation purchased nearly 5 acres of land with an
old building on Fleming Avenue in Ormond Beach. During the pending
sale of their Center St. location on the eve of September the 14th (
the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross) 2006, the parish held
their first Divine Liturgy at their new property. The sale of the
former property was finalized on September 23rd. The move to and the
renovation of the new property began.
While there
is much work still to be done, a major part of the renovation has
been successfully accomplished, resulting in a totally transformed
facility for worship and fellowship for Holy Cross with ample room
for continued growth. Today, while our growth and success are
discernible in the continuing improvement of our facilities and
growth in number of our congregation, it is the growth in the faith
and commitment of the people of Holy Cross that is the most important
facet of our ministry. This is seen and felt in the warm fellowship
of our activities; in the devotion of our people to worship services;
in the success of our Tuesday evening Orthodox Bible study group; and
in our continuously growing pastoral outreach. The dedication of our
people is a witness to our faith in God and our devotion to the Holy
Orthodox faith. Each person contributes his or her unique gifts to
the work of the Church. Some put in many hours doing the busy work of
the parish. Others serve in the choir and chant. Others give
cheerfully of their material and financial possessions. Some work
very hard maintaining the facilities and grounds. All these things we
do as a family for the Glory of God. With this kind of commitment and
faithfulness the future of Holy Cross is very bright. We reach out to
all who seek truth, seek answers, seek peace, seek the love of
family, and seek the way to practice the true faith.
Our
commitment to a community of love amongst ourselves and all our
brothers and sisters of the Orthodox Faith and indeed all of the
people of our local communities is our expression of Lord's command
to "Love one another as I have loved you".