About
a little
Background
Just steps from St. Augustine’s historic city gates at St. George Street, the St. Photios Greek Orthodox National Shrine, an institution of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, is dedicated to the first colony of Greek people who came to America in 1768. The Shrine consists of exhibits depicting the life of early Greeks in America and the development of the Greek Orthodox Church in America, and the St. Photios Chapel.
Come and visit our magnificent Orthodox Chapel filled with Byzantine style frescoes and take a tour of our historic museum. Special exhibits tell the story of the First Greek Colony in the New World. This freestanding exhibit contains various artifacts, photographs and historical documents.
our patron
St. Photios the Great
Saint Photios the Great, whose feast day is February 6, was Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople during the middle of the ninth century. Together with other great Fathers of the Church, Saint Photios demonstrates through his writing and his teaching that scholarship can be a valuable instrument in proclaiming and expressing the Faith of the Church.
The Orthodox Church honors Saint Photios as a theologian, a supporter of missionary activity, and a defender of the Faith. Photios was born around 820 AD to holy parents, who were confessors of the Faith. His parents were persecuted for defending icons against the iconoclasts and were exiled from Constantinople.
take a virtual
Tour of the Shrine Chapel
“Walk” through the shrine, and zoom into different areas, just as if you were here in person.
the history of
St. Photios National Shrine
The odyssey began on Mediterranean soil and ended in St. Augustine sand, when Corsicans, Greeks, Italians, and Minorcans left their native countries seeking a new life …
meet our
Board Members
visit us during our
Hours of Operation
