Parish History

The origin of the St Mark's parish dates back to 1990 when Rev. Mathew Varghese who was then the vicar of New Jersey Mar Thoma parish came to Tampa on his way to Orlando. Until then there was no congregation of Marthomites in the Tampa Bay area. The nearest congregation was in Hollywood, South Florida, which was 250 miles away and four hours drive. The few Marthoma families who resided in the Carol wood and Temple Terrace areas attended either the local churches or the Indian Orthodox church which was then just taking shape.

On that Christmas day in 1990 all the Marthoma families in the Tampa bay area came together at the Orange River Estates Recreation Center in Temple Terrace, and Rev. Mathew Varghese conducted the first Mar Thoma Holy Communion in this area. After the Holy Communion, the Marthoma families and Rev. Mathew Varghese met at the residence of Mr. V G. Koshy a member of the Orthodox Church to discuss the future and the possibilities of having regular services and Holy Communion. As a result of this meeting, an Ad-hoc committee was formed with Jacob Valliyil as the coordinator.

In July of 1991 we were blessed by the visit of Most Rev. Philipose Mar Chrysostam Mar Thoma Metropolitan, who was then the Suffragan Metropolitan and the bishop in charge of the North American Diocese. Thirumeni was on his way to Fort Lauderdale to attend the Mar Thoma Family Conference. Despite his busy schedule he was gracious enough to make a stop in Tampa and conduct Holy Communion service and also prepare our young adults for their first Communion. After the Holy Communion Service, the Ad-hoc committee presented Thirumeni a letter seeking permission to organize a Mar Thoma Congregation in Tampa. Thirumeni gladly granted the request and formed the Mar Thoma Chapel of Central Florida with Rev. Mathew Varghese as the first vicar. Even though it was to be a congregation of South Florida Mar Thoma Church, the Chapel had full independence in matters of finances and the day-to-day operations.

On September 29, 1991, the first General Body meeting was convened and elected the office bearers for the years 1991-1992. The membership of the congregation then consisted of 13 marthoma families spread all over the Tampa Bay area and adjoining cities like Lakeland and Orlando. The first group of office bearers consisted of V. S. Mathew (Vice President), Abraham P Chacko (Secretary), Thomas Abraham (Treasurer), Jacob Valliyil and John V Philipose (Lay Leaders), Mrs. Sicily George (Lady Representative), and Varghese K Abraham and Thomas Varghese (Committee members). Abraham P. Chacko was nominated to be the Liaison with the Mar Thoma Church of South Florida and to attend their meetings if needed.

Following the transfer of Mathew Varghese Achen to India, Rev. Varghese Thomas was appointed vicar in 1992. Achen came once in a month on his way back to New Jersey after the services in South Florida parish. The Holy Communion Services were held in the evenings at the Holy Innocent's Episcopal Church Parish Hall. In the same year the Chapel was registered with the State of Florida as a non-profit corporation.

In May of 1993, Rev. P. G. Mathew was appointed as the first resident Vicar of South Florida Mar Thoma parish and our chapel. As per the Kalpana, we started to proportionately share the expenses of the resident vicar with the South Florida Parish. We also started to have Holy Communion services in the mornings instead of evenings, and regular cottage prayer meetings during Achen's visits. Also in 1993, we held the first Annual Convention with Mr. Samuel Ganesan as the speaker. Since then we have had conventions almost every year and some of the speakers in these annual conventions were Rev. P.P. Thomas, Rev. K.S. Varghese, Mr. Babu Pullad, and Mr. George Cherian. For a very brief period in 1994-95 we also conducted our services at the USF Episcopal Students Center and then at the St. Francis Episcopal Church on Sligh Avenue.

In 1995, the Metropolitan elevated our Chapel to the level of a full-fledged parish with the cunent name ‘St. Mark’s Mar Thoma Church of Central Florida’. Since April of 1995, we have been having regular services on all Sundays with Holy Communion services on every second Sunday at the Holy Innocent’s Episcopal Church in Valrico. During these years we were blessed number of times by the visits of our diocesan Bishops Rt. Rev. (Dr.) Zacharias Mar Theophilus Suffragan Metropolitan and Rt. Rev. Dr. Euyakim Mar Coorilos Episcopa.

In 1995, the Metropolitan elevated our Chapel to the level of a full-fledged parish with the current name 'St. Mark's Mar Thoma Church of Central Florida'. Since April of 1995, we have been having regular services on all Sundays with Holy Communion services on every second Sunday at the Holy Innocent's Episcopal Church in Valrico. During these years we were blessed number of times by the visits of our diocesan Bishops Rt. Rev. (Dr.) Zacharias Mar Theophilus Suffragan Metropolitan and Rt. Rev. Dr. Euyakim Mar Coorilos Episcopa.

Rev. T. C. George took over charge as our vicar in 1997, and under his leadership we organized the first Southeast Regional Mar Thoma Family Conference at the Christian Retreat Center in Bradenton. Mr. George Cherian (Thiruvella), and Rev. G. Samuel were the leaders of this conference. This conference has since then become an annual gathering of Mar Thoma families living in the states of Florida and Georgia. We also hosted the 2nd and the 3rd Conferences. Some of the persons who gave inspiring leadership to these conferences include Rev. (Dr.) K.A. Abraham, Rev. (Dr.) John Joseph, Rev. (Dr.) M.C. Thomas, and Dr. Samuel Kamalesan.

It was in the year 2000 that we purchased an acre of land at the present location where the new church building has been built. I remember with gratitude the enthusiasm and support of Late V.A. Abraham in getting the land procured for our church.

Rev. Joseph Mathew (Manganam) was appointed our vicar in 2001. In February of 2002, the General Body of the Church took a significant step. It was decided to explore the possibility of either building or buying a church, and a 14-member Building Committee was elected with Abraham P Chacko as its Convener. The Building Committee after several searches decided that it was more reasonable to build a church rather than buy an existing church building. Another one acre of land that was available for sale adjacent to our property was immediately purchased, and on November 17, 2002, our Diocesan Bishop laid the foundation stone of the new church building in the presence of a large gathering of members, friends and well wishers. We were also blessed by the presence of Most Rev. Mathews Mar Barnabas Metropolitan (Malankara Orthodox Church) on this occasion.

After prolonged planning, discussion and prayers, the general body decided on a 100' x 50' structure that would also include two rooms, a small fellowship hall and a break room. The sanctuary would be able to accommodate 220 people, and the estimated cost to complete the project would approximately be $450,000. It was also decided to take a loan of around $200,000, and the balance to be raised from among the members and other sources. As result of the enthusiasm, dedication and perseverance of Achen and the members a total of $150,000 was received as pledge.

To raise funds from other sources, we kicked off a Raffle Program. Joseph Mathew Achen was instrumental in making this effort a big success. He took lot of pains to contact and visit other parishes in America and was able to raise more than $100,000. Against all odds we managed to secure a construction loan of $200,000 from the Sunshine State Federal Savings Bank. After a lot of efforts and hard work by Achen and the Building Committee, the construction permits were obtained from the County and the work began in February of 2004. The contract was awarded to Miller Contracting of Tampa who successfully completed the work on time and within the budget. The ride was not all smooth; there were bumps along the way. Even though we planned to complete the work before Joseph Mathew achen's transfer, the work was held up due to a variance hearing for the sewage, relocation of a Gopher Tortoise on our property, and for settling a discrepancy in our title. As a result, the project got delayed by three months and it became impossible to complete the construction before Achen's transfer in April 2004. Even though he was not present to see the completion of the building and be part of the dedication, the parish will always be indebted to Rev. Joseph Mathew for his untiring efforts, enthusiasm and commitment. His services to the parish at the important stages of the project were very crucial in its successful completion.

The construction was completed at the end of July 2004 and we received the occupancy certificate in the first week of August 2004. Almost all of the items in the sanctuary except for the pews were donated by members and friends. Our Sevika Sanghom donated the entire sound system, which is worth $15,000. Even though the general body authorized a construction loan up to $200 thousand, we were able to limit our loan commitment to $150,000. Rev. T K Alexander Tharakan who took over charge as vicar from May of 2004 continued the work of his predecessor in right earnest. He quickly picked up the threads and effectively planned the dedication program. He coordinated the publication of a souvenir in connection with the dedication which was a grand success.

The dedication service of the new sanctuary and its facilities was held on Friday, December 3, 2004 at 5:30 P.M., by our Diocesan Bishop, Rt. Rev. (Dr.) Euyakim Mar Coorilos Episcopa. The dedication service was followed by unveiling the dedication tablet, a public meeting and dinner. All these functions were attended by a large gathering of our members, friends and well wishers. Rev. (Dr.) K.A. Abraham (Diocesan Secretary), Rev. Simon Behanan (Vicar, Atlanta parish), Rev. Saji P Thomas (Vicar, Florida St. Luke's parish) and our Vicar Rev. T K Alexander Tharakan assisted Thirumeni in the dedication services.

Our Diocesan Bishop celebrated the first Holy Communion in our new Church on Saturday, December 4, 2004, at 8:30 AM. Thirmeni was assisted in the Holy Communion Service by Rev. (Dr.) K.A. Abraham, Diocesan Secretary, Rev. Saji P Thomas, Vicar of St. Luke's Parish, and our vicar, Rev. T K Alexander Tharakan. This was also an occasion for ten children of our parish to receive their first communion.We now have a well organized Sevika Sanghom, Sunday school, Youth Fellowship and Choir. Our parish has supported and participated in most of the projects undertaken by the parent church and the diocese. In connection with the dedication of church building, an amount of $2000.00 was dollars was presented to the Diocesan Bishop towards the Mexico Mission Project. In addition, $1000 was set apart as donation towards assisting few needy families in building homes. We have twice won awards from the Diocesan Bishop for one of the well managed parishes in matters of timely remittances and elections.

The support and cooperation of Fr. Steve Rudacille and members of Holy Innocent Episcopal Church during the last 14 years have been immeasurable. They allowed us to use their facilities for all our needs without anything in return except the utility expenses. Even though our journey together has always been not smooth, their steadfast support will be written in golden letters in the history of our church.

During the last 14 years the membership of the parish grew from 13 families in 1990 to 54 today. The growth has been slow compared to parishes in other cities mainly because the migration of Malayalees, particularly marthomites, from other states to this area has been slow. But with more retirees moving to Florida we expect the membership to grow at a faster pace in the next 5 years.