Saint Andrew's Orthodox Church

Memory Eternal: Fr. Alexis Tinker

It is with great sadness that we announce the repose of the +Priest Alexis Tinker. Fr. Alexis reposed in the Lord on Friday afternoon. Fr. Alexis was the parish’s third full-time rector, and under his guidance, our current ‘log-cabin’ temple was designed, selected, and erected. (Father is pictured above celebrating the blessing of the ground for our church.) You may read about his time at St. Andrew’s, as well as about the other priests who served St. Andrew’s over the years, at our Former Pastors page. The biography has also been reprinted below. Fr. Alexis’ time with us was characterized by warmth, love, and support for a small but burgeoning parish, and now we pray for his salvation and for the comfort of his family. The funeral arrangements are as follows. All services will be held at Holy Trinity Church, East Meadow:

Adieu, Georgette

On August 13, Fr. John together with the ladies of Sts. Martha and Mary Sisterhood, gathered at The Greek Village Restaurant to bid farewell to our sister in Christ, Georgette Sykora. She will be moving to Tennessee close to her daughter and family. As an active member of St. Andrew’s Church for almost 15 years, we regret her leaving and will surely miss her.

Everyone carries a unique spirit that affects others around them, hopefully in a positive way. With Georgette, it was her loveliness of manner, liveliness of intellect, and devotion to her faith. She managed to juggle business responsibilities and family matters; Italian lessons and religious studies; the “work” needs of the parish and the worship of God – both corporate and private. Never intrusive but always available, she assisted with numerous activities that contributed to the life of St. Andrew’s. Despite personal travails, especially the loss of her husband Ed, she persevered with her duties and interests with style and grace..

She won’t be among us physically, but spiritually she will always be in our presence, and the beauty she carries with her has elevated all who experienced her riches.

Godspeed, dear lady!

St. Andrew Church Celebrates 45th Anniversary

The faithful of St. Andrew Church joined together this past weekend around their archpastor, His Grace Bishop Michael, who presided over the parish’s 45th anniversary celebration.

Marking the occasion was a Hierarchical Divine Liturgy, concelebrated by His Grace, Fr. John, and Protodeacon Michael Sochka, who is the son of the parish’s first pastor and grew up at St. Andrew’s. Fr. Joseph Konkus, a longtime friend and retired priest of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese, was also present for the celebration, but due to health concerns, was unable to serve. Subdeacon Gregory Sulich, visiting from the Chancery, ably supervised the altar servers, providing invaluable assistance throughout the day.

Parish to Host Lecture on Church Design and Iconography

This upcoming Sunday, June 26, 2011, at 12:15 PM, our parish will be hosting a lecture entitled “The Design of the Orthodox Temple and Its Adornment With Holy Icons” delivered by Yani Pavlides, RA, AIA.

The lecture is free and open to the public. Members of our parish, and neighboring parishes, are particularly encouraged to come and listen to the lecture, which promises to be very instructive in this generally under-explored area of our Faith.

(reprinted from above image)

“Mr. Pavlides was born near the border of Greece and Turkey, and was educated at the Patriarchal Academy in Istanbul. Upon immigrating to the United States in 1961, he received a degree in Architecture from the Pratt Institute, New York, and a Master’s Degree from Stony Brook University focusing on the medieval history of iconography. Mr. Pavlides resides on Long Island and attends St. Paraskevi Greek Orthodox Church in Greenlawn.”

Christ is Risen! Truly He is Risen!

The community of St. Andrew’s greets you warmly in the joy of Our Lord, God, and Savior Jesus Christ’s Holy Resurrection. Photos of our celebration may be viewed in our photo album. Thank you to all who helped make our celebration a solemn and beautiful celebration, whether by helping clean the church, prepare flowers, singing in the choir, and most importantly, in participating in the divine services.