St. Mark's Mar Thoma Church located in Tampa, FL is part of the Mar Thoma Diocese of North America and Europe; it is one of the nine churches in the Southern Region. Established in 1991, our church has been serving the spiritual needs of our community and has been involved in various ministries in and around Tampa Bay and the world. We welcome you to come join us in our worship.
The origin of the St. Mark’s parish dates back to 1990, when Rev. Mathew Varghese, who was then the vicar of the New Jersey Mar Thoma parish, came to Tampa on his way to Orlando. Until then, there was not a single congregation of Marthomites in the Tampa Bay area. The nearest congregation was in South Florida, about a four hour drive; the few Mar Thoma families who resided in the Carrollwood and Temple Terrace areas attended either the local churches or the Indian Orthodox Church, which was just taking shape then as well. On December 25, 1990, Rev. Mathew Varghese conducted the first ever Mar Thoma Holy Communion in the Tampa Bay area, at the Orange River Estates Recreation Center in Temple Terrace. Afterwards, a meeting was held to discuss the future of the possibilities of having regular services and Holy Communion, which resulted in the formation of an ad-hoc committee.