OUR CHURCH
Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church is the only Greek Orthodox Church in Delaware. The end of the 19th century saw the first known Greek settlers arrive in Wilmington and by the 1920s the early manifestations of a Community began to take root. The Church was formally organized under a Parish Council in 1934 and in 1948, the cornerstone was laid for the impressive Byzantine style edifice located at 808 North Broom Street in Wilmington, Delaware. From its impressive dome to its beautiful interior hand painted iconography adorning the ceiling, the Church is an architectural jewel. The Community Center adjacent to the Church allows parishioners to gather for educational and cultural pursuits and host the annual Greek Festival. But most important, the Church complex not only remains the center of the Greek Community, but serves as the religious home to hundreds of regional Orthodox parishioners and a testament to the legacy of those who have nurtured the Greek Community over its nearly 100 years of existence in Wilmington.
CLERGY
REV. Fr. Philemon Patitsas
Fr. Philemon and Presvytera Maria are delighted to have been assigned by Archbishop Elpidophoros of America as the Presiding Priest of Holy Trinity (Wilmington, DE), a parish with a rich heritage of spiritual life and growth, celebrating over 100 years of Greek Orthodox heritage, devotedly preserving our Hellenistic Christian faith, culture and way of life. Wilmington is a coming home for them, having lived in the Lehigh Valley for more than 12 years when Fr. worked in private industry as an MBA degreed engineer. Fr. and Presvytera Maria have numerous friends and family throughout the Lehigh Valley, Delaware Valley and greater Washington, DC areas, many of whom have deep relationships with the Holy Trinity community.
On God as Trinity (for adults)
“God is Love” (1 John 4:8)…yet, without God’s Trinitarian revelation as a harmonious mutually indwelling (“perichoresis“) of three distinct persons (“hypostasis“), sharing in the same essence (“ousia”), God’s eternal love becomes something static, constrained, temporal, limited, self-absorbed, created and lifeless, because love has no meaning without relationality as the means of its expression; without relationships, love loses its power as it becomes a limited sentiment of the created world, rather than the beautiful indomitable force of goodness, and mode of being of its dynamic prime mover, who is the Living God. – Fr. Philemon
On the Trinity (for children)The love shared between Jesus and His Heavenly Father is perfectly complete because they share it through and with The Holy Spirit who is present everywhere and fills all things with their love for one another. – Fr. Phil
