A Greek Orthodox Cathedral in the Heart of Columbia
Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Cathedral sits at 1931 Sumter Street in downtown Columbia, South Carolina. It is the Greek Orthodox parish that has served the midlands of South Carolina for more than ninety years and continues today under the pastoral care of the Reverend Father Michael A. Platanis, Dean of the Cathedral. The cathedral belongs to the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America and falls within the Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Atlanta, the regional body that oversees Greek Orthodox parishes across the southeastern United States.
The cathedral is more than a place of worship. It is the gathering point of a Greek and Orthodox Christian community in Columbia, complete with choirs, Sunday School, a Hellenic dance program, a women's philanthropic society, a college fellowship at the University of South Carolina, fraternal organizations, a seniors group, and the annual Columbia's Greek Festival that draws tens of thousands of visitors each September. The community describes itself as "a group of vibrant and enthusiastic people working together to fulfill the ministries of Christ and the Church," and its life centers on the celebration of the Divine Liturgy every Sunday morning.
Visitors are warmly welcomed. Fr. Michael's published welcome letter invites newcomers to call him directly, to take instruction in the Orthodox faith, and to become as involved in parish life as they wish. For those curious about Orthodoxy, the cathedral extends an open invitation to step inside, to attend a service, and to learn what a Christian community that traces itself to the Apostles looks like in twenty-first-century South Carolina.
Sunday Mornings at the Cathedral
The Sunday rhythm at Holy Trinity is built around two services that flow into one another. Orthros, the morning prayer of the Orthodox Church, begins at 8:45 a.m. The Divine Liturgy follows at 10:00 a.m. After the dismissal, the community gathers for the Fellowship Coffee Hour in the coffee hour room adjacent to the cathedral bookstore. Sunday School classes meet on the same morning, and Cookies and Calendars, an annual kickoff event for the Sunday School, Hope/Joy, and GOYA youth programs, is held outside the Sunday School rooms once classes dismiss.
The Divine Liturgy celebrated each week is the most important worship experience of the Orthodox Church. The congregation gathers as a community of faith to give thanks to God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, to hear the Gospel, and to receive Holy Communion. In the Orthodox tradition, Holy Communion is reserved for those who have been baptized and chrismated in the Orthodox Church and have prepared themselves to receive the Eucharist. Visitors who are not Orthodox are warmly welcomed to attend, to light a candle, to venerate the icons, and to join the congregational responses.
One practical note for those with small children: the nursery is currently unavailable. Parents of young children are encouraged to use the Cry Room, located just off the Narthex, when they need to step out of the sanctuary.
The Midweek and Weekly Cycle of Prayer
Beyond Sunday morning, the cathedral maintains a full weekly cycle of services. On Wednesdays at 5:30 p.m., the Service of Supplication to the Theotokos, known as the Paraclesis, is chanted. This is one of the most tender services of Orthodox tradition, in which the congregation asks the Mother of God for her intercession in times of sickness, temptation, and discouragement. Many of its prayers are directed to Mary, the Theotokos, whom Orthodoxy honors as the human being closest to God.
Great Vespers is celebrated on Saturday evenings at 5:00 p.m. Vespers is the evening prayer of the Church, marking the transition from the close of one day to the opening of the next. Together with Sunday Orthros, it is one of the most important Daily Offices in Orthodox worship. Divine Liturgy is also celebrated on major feast days, typically in the morning. Feast-day services, special services for saints commemorated on the Orthodox calendar, are announced in the weekly schedule.
Inside the House of God
The Orthodox understanding of a church building is central to life at Holy Trinity. The cathedral is a building shaped in the form of a cross and divided into three distinct areas. The Narthex is the entrance space where the faithful make an offering, receive a candle, light it before an icon, and offer a personal prayer before joining the congregation. The Nave is the large center area where the faithful gather for worship, with the pulpit on the left from which the Gospel is proclaimed and the sermon preached. The Sanctuary, considered the most sacred part of the church, is reserved for the clergy and is separated from the Nave by the Iconostasion, a panel of icons that includes the Royal Door at the center and Deacon Doors on either side.
Holy Trinity has recently completed its final round of iconography in the narthex. The cathedral communicates the story of Christianity through its icons, which depict Christ, the Theotokos, the saints, the feasts of the Church, and events from Scripture. Icons are not merely decorative or educational. In Orthodox teaching, an icon signifies the presence of the individual depicted and serves as a window linking heaven and earth. The dome above the nave bears the icon of Christ the Almighty, the Pantocrator, gazing down upon the worshiping community.
The interior of the cathedral is filled with the color and light that Orthodox worship prizes. The Orthodox Church teaches that matter is good and can become a medium of the Spirit. Through iconography, candles, incense, vestments, bread, wine, and oil, the material world is brought into the worship of the Creator. The cathedral's guide to its own iconography is available as a printed booklet distributed to visitors who want to understand what each image portrays.
Music and Chanting
Music is one of the great treasures of Holy Trinity. The music program is directed by Despina Houlis, a native of Columbia who was raised in the Holy Trinity community. She holds a Bachelor of Church Music degree from Wesleyan College in Macon, Georgia, and a Master's in Musicology with studies in Byzantine chant historiography from the University of Virginia. She worked in the Music Division of the Library of Congress, taught at the Larissa City Conservatory of Music in Greece, and studied with the late Professor Savas I. Savas of Holy Cross School of Theology in Boston.
Three choirs rehearse each week. The Senior Choir, for singers ages twelve and above, prepares music for Sunday Divine Liturgy, Feast Day celebrations, and Christmas and Spring concerts. Junior Choir is for students in grades one through six, and Teen Choir is for grades seven through twelve. Junior Choir meets at 5:45 p.m. on Wednesdays, and Teen Choir follows at 6:15 p.m. The Adult Choir rehearses on Thursday evenings at 5:45 p.m. All choirs are open to newcomers who want to lift their voices in worship.
The Hellenic Dance Group is the other half of the cathedral's musical and cultural life. Youth from grade one through high school are welcome to perform at the annual Greek Festival. The middle and high school competitive team, which participates in the regional Hellenic Dance Festival, is award-winning and performs throughout the year for feast days and community celebrations.
Sunday School and the Education of Children
Sunday School classes run during the school year for children ages three through twelfth grade. Classes follow the Sunday morning Divine Liturgy, and the program uses materials from the Department of Religious Education of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America. The cookies and calendars kickoff held each September gives every Sunday School family a copy of the year's calendar of Sunday School, Hope/Joy, and GOYA youth events.
Hope/Joy is the program for younger elementary children, and GOYA is the Greek Orthodox Youth Association for older youth, both part of the archdiocesan network of age-appropriate Orthodox formation. Junior and Teen Choir practices form a natural extension of the music education of children already in Sunday School.
Boys from first grade through high school are also invited to serve as Altar Boys or Acolytes, assisting the priest at the Divine Liturgy. Those interested in learning more about altar service can reach Fr. Michael directly through the parish office.
Orthodox Christian Fellowship at USC
For college students and young adults, Holy Trinity hosts the Orthodox Christian Fellowship, the campus ministry of the Orthodox Church in North America. OCF provides opportunities for fellowship with Orthodox Christians at the University of South Carolina and other area universities. Evening events at the university, Work Daze retreats in the spring and fall at the Diakonia Retreat Center, and Winter Break gatherings during the Christmas holidays are a few of the regular activities. The OCF at Holy Trinity is coordinated by Anna Platanis.
Saint Katherine's Ladies Philoptochos Society
Saint Katherine's Ladies Philoptochos Society is the women's philanthropic arm of the cathedral. The chapter belongs to the Greek Orthodox Ladies Philoptochos Society, the duly accredited women's philanthropic society of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America headquartered in New York. The mission of Philoptochos is to promote charitable, benevolent, and philanthropic outreach to preserve the sanctity of life and family and to perpetuate and promote the Orthodox faith and traditions.
The members of Saint Katherine's chapter work throughout the year to help those in need on a local and national level, hosting luncheons, taking up collections, and sponsoring an annual spring bake sale and luncheon. The chapter counts nearly 27,500 members nationally across the Philoptochos movement, which is currently celebrating ninety years of philanthropic work. The chapter president is Victoria Onufrik.
The Hellenic Community Fund
The Hellenic Community Fund was established at the cathedral to provide assistance on a one-time basis to families or individuals who have encountered an emergency financial problem. The fund is available to residents of the greater Columbia area as well as to parishioners. It is supported by an annual appeal to parishioners, a contribution from Saint Katherine's Philoptochos chapter, tip jars from the annual Greek Festival, and memorials for loved ones.
Those in need may contact the church office, which forwards names and phone numbers to the committee. Complete discretion is exercised, and the name, request, and amount are never disclosed to anyone outside the committee. The fund's records are audited every two years by a private accounting firm to guarantee transparency.
The Hellenic Organizations of the Community
The cathedral is also the home base for three community organizations that are not formally part of the parish structure but are deeply connected to its life.
AHEPA Chapter 284 is the local chapter of the American Hellenic Educational Progressive Association, a men's fraternal organization. AHEPA is not a church organization, but it supports the teachings and doctrines of the Orthodox Church. Its mission is to promote Hellenism, education, philanthropy, civic responsibility, and family and individual excellence. The Columbia chapter welcomes men from throughout the metropolitan area. The chapter president is Nick P. Leventis.
The Daughters of Penelope is the sister organization to AHEPA, a cultural Hellenic organization dedicated to civic, educational, charitable, and social activities. While the chapter is based at Holy Trinity, one does not have to be a member of the cathedral to join.
Young at Heart is the cathedral's social group for parishioners aged fifty-five and up. The group meets on Saturday afternoons in the church coffee hour room, with a flexible schedule built around football season and other community events. Activities have included bingo, movies, board games, team trivia contests, singing, and dancing. The group is open to all parishioners.
Columbia's Greek Festival
Each September, the cathedral community produces Columbia's Greek Festival, an event the community describes as "a gift from the Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church community to the greater Columbia community and surrounding towns." The festival is held Thursday through Sunday during the third week of September and ranks among the most attended events in Columbia each year. It offers newcomers to the church a chance to immerse themselves in Greek culture and an opportunity to learn or practice Greek cooking, dance, and cultural and organizational skills.
Festival preparation goes on almost year-round. The proceeds provide significant donations to worthy charities and pay the mortgages on the cathedral's buildings and grounds. The festival grounds include a PLAKA, or vendor court, with shops and Greek goods, alongside music, food, drink, and dance. Volunteers are welcomed at every level of effort.
The Greek Language School is offered alongside the festival as part of the cathedral's broader Greek cultural programming, and parents interested in enrolling their children or in teaching can connect through the parish.
The Bookstore and Parish Resources
The Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Bookstore sits adjacent to the Coffee Hour Room and is open after the Sunday Divine Liturgy during the Fellowship Coffee Hour. The bookstore carries a fine selection of books and icons, along with prayer ropes and bracelets, incense and charcoal, and prosphora seals. Special orders are welcomed. The bookstore serves as the parish's primary resource for Orthodox Christian literature and devotional items.
The Orthodox Faith at Holy Trinity
Holy Trinity teaches and confesses the historic Orthodox Christian faith as preserved by the Seven Ecumenical Councils and proclaimed in the Nicene Creed. The word Orthodox comes from the fifth century and carries two closely related meanings: "true teaching" and, more preferably, "true praise." To bless, praise, and glorify God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit is the fundamental purpose of the Church, and all her activities, including her doctrinal formulations, are directed toward that goal.
The Orthodox Church teaches that there is one God in three Persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and that Jesus Christ is the Son of God who became the Son of Man. In His Person, divinity is united with humanity without the destruction of either reality. The Church believes that, as the unique God-man, Jesus Christ has restored humanity to fellowship with God.
The supreme treasure God wishes to share with us is His own life. The Orthodox tradition calls the movement of the Christian toward this goal theosis, or deification: the spiritual pilgrimage in which each person becomes ever more perfect, ever more holy, ever more united with God. Theosis is a movement of love toward God that begins with Baptism and continues throughout this life and the life to come. Salvation means liberation from sin, death, and evil; redemption means our repossession by God; both are understood within the context of theosis. As Saint Peter wrote, we are called to become partakers of the divine nature.
The Holy Spirit is honored as the Lord and Giver of Life, and is manifest in the life of the Church in order to bring our lives to perfection. The fruit of Orthodox worship, in the words of Saint Paul's letter to the Galatians, is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, fidelity, gentleness, and self-control. The Orthodox Church understands theosis as a union with the energies of God, not with the essence of God which always remains hidden and unknown, and not in any sense a destruction of human personhood. The Church believes that human life reaches its fulfillment only when it becomes divine, while the divine and the human retain their unique characteristics.
The Sacraments and Pastoral Care
Holy Trinity celebrates the seven major Sacraments of the Orthodox Church. The Holy Eucharist, known as the Divine Liturgy, is the central and most important worship experience, the "Sacrament of Sacraments," celebrated every Sunday and on holy days. Baptism incorporates the believer into the Church, the Body of Christ, through three-fold immersion in the waters of Baptism in the Name of the Holy Trinity. Chrismation, sometimes called one's personal Pentecost, follows immediately and imparts the Holy Spirit in a special way, an apostolic practice that Orthodox Christianity preserves without delay.
Confession restores and strengthens the relationship of the believer to God and to others. The priest acts as a sacramental witness, representing both Christ and His people, viewed not as a judge but as a physician and guide. Marriage is celebrated with betrothal, the exchange of rings, the crowning of the couple with "crowns of glory and honor," and the sharing of a common cup reminiscent of the wedding at Cana. Holy Orders sets apart men chosen from within the Church for service as bishop, priest, or deacon, each ordained by the invocation of the Holy Spirit and the imposition of hands. Anointing of the Sick, or Holy Unction, is offered not only to those near death but to all who are sick in body, mind, or spirit, and is celebrated for all the members of the Church on Holy Wednesday of Holy Week.
Fr. Michael makes house and hospital calls. When a child is born, it is customary to bless the mother and child on the first, eighth, and fortieth days. Members who are in the hospital or facing a medical procedure are encouraged to contact him so that he can visit and pray with them. Memorial services, including the forty-day memorial, Trisagion services, and prayer for departed loved ones, can also be arranged through the parish office.
Becoming Orthodox at Holy Trinity
The Orthodox Church has a universal appeal and vocation. Membership is not restricted to people of any particular culture, race, class, or section of the world. In the United States, the Orthodox Church is recognized as one of the four major faiths, and the overwhelming majority of Orthodox Christians in this country have been born in the United States. Many parishes are coming to recognize the responsibility of Orthodoxy to the wider society, and the cathedral at Columbia is no exception.
Those interested in learning more about the Orthodox faith or in becoming a member of the Orthodox Church are invited to contact Fr. Michael at 803-403-7557 or at NewSmyrna@gmail.com. Instruction in the teachings of the faith is gladly offered. After a period of instruction, there is a Service of Reception into the Church. Converts from a non-Christian religion make a profession of faith and are baptized and chrismated. Those received from a church with beliefs similar to Orthodoxy, who have already been properly baptized and confirmed, participate in a brief Service of Anointing, signifying reconciliation with the Orthodox Church. In either case, the reception of Holy Communion is the consummation of union with the Church.
Giving and Life Together
Holy Trinity supports its ministry through the offering of members and friends. Online giving is available through the parish giving portal for non-members and through a member sign-in for stewardship pledges. A printable electronic pledge card is available for those who prefer to set up annual giving. Gifts may be mailed to the cathedral office. The Souper Bowl of Caring fund directs donations to International Orthodox Christian Charities (IOCC), and a Light a Candle page allows members and friends to submit names so that cathedral clergy can light candles and offer prayers for living or departed loved ones.
Parish life is shepherded by the Parish Council, which includes a president, vice president, treasurer, and secretary, and a wider body of elected members who work with the Dean on the temporal affairs of the cathedral. Choir, Philoptochos, altar service, Hellenic dance, OCF, Sunday School, the Hellenic Community Fund, the bookstore, and the Greek Festival all draw on the time and talents of members across every generation.
The cathedral's livestream of services is available on its YouTube channel for those who cannot attend in person, with the services of the Metropolis of Atlanta as an additional online resource. Daily readings and the lives of the saints are available through the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese's Online Chapel.
Steeped in the Continuity of the Apostles
What makes Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Cathedral distinctive is the way it gathers so many rhythms of Orthodox Christian and Greek cultural life under one roof in the middle of South Carolina. From the chanting of Orthros on Sunday morning to the Great Vespers on Saturday evening, from the Paraclesis of Wednesdays to the festal Divine Liturgies of the church year, from the children's Sunday School classes and the Junior and Teen Choirs to the Hellenic Dance performances at the Greek Festival, from the Philoptochos bake sale to the AHEPA scholarship dinners, the cathedral is a community that lives its Orthodox faith in a particular place.
The Orthodox tradition teaches that the Church is much more than an institution among many, or a social service agency, or an ethnic or fraternal organization. The Greek word ecclesia implies a community called and gathered by God for a special purpose, the unique meeting place between God and His people. In Columbia, that meeting place is a cathedral on Sumter Street, where the Divine Liturgy is celebrated week after week, where the iconography tells the Christian story across the walls and the dome, and where the community's life continues from one generation to the next.
Whether a visitor is drawn by curiosity about Orthodoxy, by the music, by the iconography, by the Greek Festival, or simply by a Sunday morning visit, the doors of Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Cathedral are open. The priests, the choir, the Philoptochos, the Sunday School teachers, the OCF leaders, the Hellenic dance instructors, and the Young at Heart seniors are all there, week after week, offering the same welcome that the parish has offered to Columbia for more than ninety years.