In the summer of 1995 six monks arrived in the desert outside Florence, Arizona to establish St. Anthony’s Monastery. Led by Elder Ephraim of blessed memory, these monks brought with them the sacred and ancient heritage of the Holy Mountain of Athos. Since the very first years of the monastery’s formation, pilgrims from across the globe visited the monastery to benefit from the rich spiritual nourishment. In time, families began relocating to live near the monastery and continuously benefit from this Christ-centered environment. Our community's need for a local parish near the Monastery became evident as an increasing number of families moved to the area, with the closest Orthodox parishes being over an hour away.
Our parish started forming in 2018, when Father Earl Cantos was still assigned to Holy Cross Church in Flagstaff. While residing in Florence, he commuted to Flagstaff every weekend to offer the Divine Services on Sunday. However, during the coronavirus restrictions, Father Earl live streamed the services from his Florence home, and as restriction eased, locals began participating in the services at Fr. Earl’s home. Our first community organizational meeting took place on September 8, 2020, solidifying the date of our mission parish’s foundation. We opened our bank account in April of the following year, and Father Earl's final service in Flagstaff occurred on June 21, 2021.
In the Spring of 2023, the congregation on Sundays began to overflow in Father Earl’s house, and we began holding Sunday Liturgy in various local venues, including Mount Athos Café, Pita Patio Grill, Green Tree Hotel, Three Hierarchs Academy, and most recently American Legion Post 9, and we are eternally grateful for these opportunities that have been provided to us. Around this time, we also secured 14 acres of land on the outskirts of Florence to build our permanent home. To assist with the growth of the mission parish, a parish council was elected and several parish-wide assemblies held to discuss the future of our mission.
Our community consists of a diverse family united by our love for God and Orthodox traditions. We have members hailing from Greece, Russia, Ukraine, Romania, Serbia, Estonia, China, Mexico, and of course American converts who have embraced Orthodoxy in search of the Truth. Our liturgical services are primarily in English in the Byzantine musical style, with occasional liturgies offered in Greek. We have over 90 Steward families and consistently welcome 150-250 attendees on Sundays. To date, over 1,000 services have been live streamed from Father Earl’s house. Several of our key ministries include the following:
- Frequent Divine Services for major saints and on the weekends
- Fellowship meals offered after most of our services
- Bible Study In-person and via Zoom
- 50 Hours of Prayer vigils twice a year
- 40 Liturgies leading up to Christmas
- Pre-Thanksgiving Community Meal
- HOPE, Acolytes, and other Youth Ministries
- Other various ministries listed below
