St. Mary’s Antiochian Orthodox Church

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192 81st Street, Brooklyn, NY 11209

St. Mary’s Antiochian Orthodox Church is a small church located at 81st St. and Ridge Boulevard. It is situated two blocks down from the Holy Cross Greek Orthodox Church and right in front of the Union Church of Bay Ridge. St. Mary’s is located in one of the most suburban parts of Bay Ridge filled with mansions and quiet streets. The building itself was constructed in 1950 and making St. Mary’s one of the newest churches in Bay Ridge.

St. Mary’s is a brick building with stain-glass windows lining each side of the church. Surrounding the building is a lawn and small garden. The most prominent feature of the building is a square tower located at the front of the building; slits at the top of the tower hold loudspeakers and the bells ring hourly. Unlike most Orthodox churches, St. Mary’s does not have a dome structure.

Patriarch

St. Mary’s Church is parish of the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America, which is under the larger jurisdiction of the Antiochian Orthodox Church. The Antiochian Orthodox Church is an autocephalous church (not subject to the authority of an external patriarch) within the larger communion of Orthodox Christianity. This church was founded in Antioch (now Turkey) by apostles Peter and Paul. The traditional territory of the Antiochian Orthodox Church includes Syria, Lebanon, Iran, Iraq, and parts of Turkey. The majority of the people who attend St. Mary’s are immigrants coming from these countries.

Events

Michael Ellias is the pastor of St. Mary’s Church. The parish holds service on Sunday mornings starting at 9:30 a.m. The church also hosts events such as sidewalk sales, gala dinners, Bible studies, and parish conferences throughout the year.

Photos

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