St. Anthony the Great Orthodox Church, Rock Hill, South Carolina
Christ is risen! We are a mission church of the Orthodox Church in America (OCA), a canonical jurisdiction of the one, holy, and apostolic communion of Orthodox churches worldwide. For information about the Orthodox Church and the OCA, please visit www.oca.org or www.dosoca.org.
Visitors are always welcome. If you are unfamiliar with the Orthodox Church, please call Fr. Paul or come pray with us at one of our services, and let him know about your own church background, if any. Christ is in our midst!
Visitors are always welcome. If you are unfamiliar with the Orthodox Church, please call Fr. Paul or come pray with us at one of our services, and let him know about your own church background, if any. Christ is in our midst!
Services
Great Vespers: Saturday, 6:00 p.m.
Divine Liturgy: Sunday, 9:30 a.m.
Weekday, special, and feast day services: as announced.
Divine Liturgy: Sunday, 9:30 a.m.
Weekday, special, and feast day services: as announced.
Special announcements (last updated: May 18, 2013)
Parish Council meeting, Thursday, May 23, 7:00 p.m.
What is Orthodoxy? Join our Catechism Class which is currently meeting on Saturday evenings after the Vespers service. This class is based on four widely accepted catechism resources, organized into topics, and is intended to be a full explanation of the Gospel, the Orthodox faith, and the life of the Church. Although aimed at our catechumens, members and inquirers are also encouraged to attend. Please contact Fr. Paul (see below) for more information and to confirm meeting dates. (Note: classes have been suspended during the Paschal season . . . check back here for notice about their start-up again.)
(Please check here periodically for announcements about special services or changes to the normal schedule.)
What is Orthodoxy? Join our Catechism Class which is currently meeting on Saturday evenings after the Vespers service. This class is based on four widely accepted catechism resources, organized into topics, and is intended to be a full explanation of the Gospel, the Orthodox faith, and the life of the Church. Although aimed at our catechumens, members and inquirers are also encouraged to attend. Please contact Fr. Paul (see below) for more information and to confirm meeting dates. (Note: classes have been suspended during the Paschal season . . . check back here for notice about their start-up again.)
(Please check here periodically for announcements about special services or changes to the normal schedule.)
Location
Physical location: 3075 Long Meadow Road, Rock HIll, South Carolina, 29730
(Mailing address: Rock Hill Mission OCA, c/o Fr. Paul Coats, 4695 Hannah Drive, Rock HIll, SC 29732)
Directions:
From the North: take I-77 south to exit 73, Rt. 901. Go right (west) on 901 (Mt. Holly Road) for about 1/2 mile, then turn right on Long Meadow Road (across from the Nichols Store). Go about 1/4 mile to the small white building on the right.
From Rock HIll: take I-77 south and follow the directions above; or, take route 901 south through Rock Hill. Follow 901 about 3 miles past where it becomes Mt. Holly Road (3 miles past the Saluda/Albright/121 Bypass intersection), then when you see the Nichols Store on the right turn left onto Long Meadow Road. Go about 1/4 mile to the small white building on the right.
(Mailing address: Rock Hill Mission OCA, c/o Fr. Paul Coats, 4695 Hannah Drive, Rock HIll, SC 29732)
Directions:
From the North: take I-77 south to exit 73, Rt. 901. Go right (west) on 901 (Mt. Holly Road) for about 1/2 mile, then turn right on Long Meadow Road (across from the Nichols Store). Go about 1/4 mile to the small white building on the right.
From Rock HIll: take I-77 south and follow the directions above; or, take route 901 south through Rock Hill. Follow 901 about 3 miles past where it becomes Mt. Holly Road (3 miles past the Saluda/Albright/121 Bypass intersection), then when you see the Nichols Store on the right turn left onto Long Meadow Road. Go about 1/4 mile to the small white building on the right.
Background
We are a community of believers which has been meeting for services since the summer of 2010, when we were blessed by His Beatitude Metropolitan Jonah to hold services in Rock Hill. By God's grace we have grown from just a few people to about 15 families and are currently looking for a more spacious building in Rock Hill.
Nativity of the Holy Virgin OCA parish in Charlotte helped launch our mission and has actively supported our growth. We are grateful to the Knights of Columbus and the Rock Hill Oratory for the generous use of their buildings as we are being established. In November 2012 we were granted full mission status and our name, St. Anthony the Great Orthodox Church, by His Eminence Archbishop Nikon, Bishop of Boston and Locum tenens of the Diocese of the South.
Fr. Paul Coats is a graduate of St. Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary in Yonkers, New York, and an ordained priest in the Orthodox Church in America. He and his family moved to Rock Hill in 2008, and until the start of the St. Anthony Mission he was attached to Nativity of the Holy Virgin parish, while also serving as a regular visiting priest at St. Basil OCA mission in Wilmington, NC.
Nativity of the Holy Virgin OCA parish in Charlotte helped launch our mission and has actively supported our growth. We are grateful to the Knights of Columbus and the Rock Hill Oratory for the generous use of their buildings as we are being established. In November 2012 we were granted full mission status and our name, St. Anthony the Great Orthodox Church, by His Eminence Archbishop Nikon, Bishop of Boston and Locum tenens of the Diocese of the South.
Fr. Paul Coats is a graduate of St. Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary in Yonkers, New York, and an ordained priest in the Orthodox Church in America. He and his family moved to Rock Hill in 2008, and until the start of the St. Anthony Mission he was attached to Nativity of the Holy Virgin parish, while also serving as a regular visiting priest at St. Basil OCA mission in Wilmington, NC.
What is the Orthodox Church?
The Orthodox Church is the Church established by Christ through his holy apostles, and has existed from the time of Christ until now. Historically, it is the Church that has grown throughout the world from four ancient centers of Christendom, (Antioch, Jerusalem, Alexandria, and Constantinople), and which has remained united in faith and worship since the great schism with Rome (the fifth ancient center) in the 10th century. It exists by the grace of God, through the power of the Holy Spirit, in Christ. Many American Christians who have had no connection to the ancient apostolic Church are finding it for the first time. You may find out more about the Orthodox Church and the Orthodox faith here: http://oca.org/orthodoxy/the-orthodox-faith.
Contact
Fr. Paul Coats, 803-980-4695, paulcoats3@gmail.com
If you would like to receive regular emails with announcements about service times and other events, please email Fr. Paul and he will put you on the email list.
If you would like to receive regular emails with announcements about service times and other events, please email Fr. Paul and he will put you on the email list.
About St. Anthony the Great
In the third century St. Anthony went into the desert to completely give himself to Christ. Through prayer, hard work, great struggle, and reliance on Christ, he was filled with the Holy Spirit and became a teacher, healer, and leader. His life is described by St. Athanasius in The Life of Antony, a Christian classic.
