info@stgregorios.com
175 Cherry Lane, Floral Park, NY 11001
516-775-2281
Our Church is one of more than 50 Parishes of the Northeast American Diocese of the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church which is one of the Oriental Orthodox Churches in the overall universal Christian Church.
The Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church is also known as Indian Orthodox Church because of her roots in India. The origin of the Malankara Church is traced back to St. Thomas, one of the twelve disciples of Jesus Christ. St. Thomas arrived on the shores of Kerala, India in A.D.52. He preached the gospel of Jesus Christ, converted many to Christianity, consecrated and appointed priests and bishops and built Churches some of which still remain.
The Northeast American Diocese is one of the two Dioceses of the Malankara Church, in the North American Continent; the other Diocese is known as the Diocese of South-West America. The historical development of the two Dioceses, which at one time was one, can be found by visiting neamericandiocese.org.
Our Parish, officially known as St. Gregorios Malankara Orthodox Church, has St. Geevarghese Mar Gregorios as her Patron. St. Gregorios is also known as Parumala Thirumeni. You will see further details on this beloved saint under 'St. Gregorios of Parumala.’
The primary goal of our Parish, is to have our children and adults grow more and more in and like Christ, our Savior, through worship and service. It is indeed a pleasant sight to see that often the entire family, including the littlest and the oldest come together to the Church for worship. While we give due importance to individual piety and worship, the corporate and communal aspect of worship is considered equally important in salvation through Christ because Church is the body of Christ and every member of the body of Christ is important.
Our Parish is an integral part of the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church and as such, follows the faith of our Fathers handed down from Jesus Christ through his Apostles like St. Thomas. It was St. Thomas who declared, “My Lord and my God” (John 20:28) when Jesus revealed Himself to him on the second Lord’s Day after His resurrection. None other than a renowned Baptist Preacher, Charles H. Spurgeon, in his sermon on April 13, 1884 in the Metropolitan Tabernacle, Newington, England said this, “…He (Jesus) desired to make Thomas a most convincing witness to the reality of His resurrection…, as indeed Thomas did when he cried out, “My Lord and my God.” We cannot have a better witness to the fact that the Lord is risen indeed, than this cool, examining, prudent, critical Thomas who arrived at an absolute certainty.” Such is the faith that Thomas handed down to us – that Jesus was God indeed, as revealed by the Holy Spirit. The declaration of our faith in the Holy Trinity, the Church and “one baptism for the remission of sins” can be seen in the Nicean Creed that we recite as part of every service. As part of the Oriental Orthodox Churches, the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church has communion with all the other Churches in the group, such as the Coptic Orthodox Church, the Syrian Orthodox Church, the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, the Armenian Orthodox Church and the Eritrean Orthodox Church. Our Church and our sister Oriental Churches consider only three General Church Councils as truly ecumenical. They are the Council of Nicaea, the Council of Constantinople and the Council of Ephesus.