History whispers from every corner of the Ancient City, but a particularly sonorous voice calls out quietly along St. George Street — the story of a unique Greek Orthodox shrine that preserves a vibrant past.
The building now known as “The Shrine” serves today as a museum and place of worship dedicated to the legacy of St. Augustine’s early Greek settlers.
Located at 41 St. George Street, it began as a house built in 1740 for the Avero family, prominent residents who fled to Cuba during British rule in 1763.
The story grows more complex from there.
On June 26, 1768, when Greek, Menorcan, Corsican, and Italian immigrants first arrived in St. Augustine, Avero House served as their sanctuary. They stayed briefly to register before sailing to land-grant acreage 75 miles away, now New Smyrna Beach.
All hoped for the beautiful new life promised by Andrew Turnbull, but those promises of work and land ownership fell short, and living conditions soon became intolerable.
In 1777, led by Francisco Pellicer, the colonists abandoned their “promised land” and walked back to St. Augustine. British Army Officer General Patrick Tonyn, then Governor of East Florida, awarded Avero House to the New Smyrna refugees, who continued to use it as a place of worship under Father Pedro Camps.
At that time, Avero House was often called the Greek or Menorcan chapel.
In the early 1960s, St. Augustine residents Despina and Athenasios “Tom” Xynidis, James and Stella Kalivas, Steve and Geraldine Sarris, Martha and Spero Zepatos and Olga and George Fotiou worked tirelessly to honor the heritage brought to their city by these early settlers.
Supported by Archbishop Iakovos, the Archdiocese of the Greek Orthodox National Church purchased Avero House. Thanks to architect Ted Pappas and dedicated preservationists, the site was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places, excavated, and painstakingly reconstructed by 1979.
Known to locals as “The Jewel of St. George Street,” the Shrine now stands as a lasting tribute to the culture and contributions of the early Greek settlers.
Byzantine-inspired frescoes adorn the altar and shrine areas, while special exhibits, vestments, photographs, and documents in the museum tell the story of life in the New World for the first Greek colony and the development of the Greek Orthodox Church in America.
Nestled among the intertwined branches of the Palatka Holly (Lover’s Tree), the Shrine offers today’s visitors the same peaceful oasis that was vital to those settlers seeking solace centuries ago.
The St. Photios Greek Orthodox National Shrine invites everyone to celebrate Greek Landing Day on Thursday, June 26, at 6:00 pm at Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church, 2940 CR 214 in St. Augustine, FL. For more information, call (904) 829-0504 or visit https://stphotios.org.
