Parish History
If the members of the Parish Family of St. Paul Antiochian Orthodox Church of Naples were asked to describe our church community, an accurate detailing would be easy to come by. All would agree that St. Paul is indeed a parish for the entire Archdiocese located in a spot as close to paradise as we are going to get here on earth: swaying palm trees, brilliant warm sunny days, sparkling water, well manicured landscapes plus the friendliest, most caring parish family one could imagine. St. Paul is a home away from home for those who are seasonal, as well as, a primary parish for permanent Florida residents. Members hail from every area of the United States and Canada and include Antiochian Orthodox as well as our Greek, Romanian, Slavic, Russian and Serbian Orthodox brothers and sisters. In addition, a goodly number of our flock has chosen to come to Orthodoxy. We welcome new faces and trust that the flowing history of our parish will be of interest to all.
Please note that for the sake of brevity, in this thumb nail sketch, we will not name many names and we will skip over a multitude of events recognizing that all of our history is exceedingly important but equally, that space is of the essence. Apologies are offered in advance for omissions and heartfelt thanks extended to everyone who has been a part of the creation of St. Paul Orthodox Church in Naples. (Listing of Founders is included in this Souvenir Journal)
In the mid-90’s a small group of Antiochian Orthodox Christians from the greater Marco Island/Fort Myers/Naples area clearly recognized the need for an Antiochian Church in Southwest Florida. The Very Reverend Father Elia Shalhoub, Dean of St. George Cathedral in Miami, was contacted and subsequently arranged for The Reverend Basil and Khoureyee Janet Banyasz to help establish a Mission Church. A period of organization was begun by our Founding Members.
During the next several years, Father Basil celebrated Divine Liturgy in a number of locations, moving to larger accommodations as word spread that a new Antiochian Orthodox Mission had been established. It became evident that it was necessary to formalize the Mission’s structure within the Antiochian Archdiocese. Parish Council Members were appointed; membership, by-laws, assessments, salaries, etc. were discussed. Our First Annual Founders Day Celebration was held and a name was chosen. St. Paul Antiochian Orthodox Mission of Naples, Florida officially came to be when on March 8, 1998 Metropolitan PHILIP awarded the parish its Antimens.
With membership steadily growing it became imperative for us to find a permanent home. And find a home we did on a ten acre tract of land with an existing house on Immokalee Road. Father Basil and our Parish Council moved swiftly, negotiated a fair price, and arranged financing backed by gifts from the Founders all within a period of two weeks!
Work was begun immediately to transform the existing structure into a church and clean up the land. Pews were purchased from another church, carpet laid, icons, crosses, fans, candle holders, censors, Divine Liturgy Books were donated and an iconostasis was built by members of the Mission. A Liturgical Choir was formed.
February of 1999 brought Bishop ANTOUN to our now second annual Founders Day Celebration. He was quite overwhelmed and pleased with the progress of our project. During that year new members were elected to the Parish Council, a Women’s Club was formed.
The millennium brought growing numbers to our Divine Liturgy. Space was re-designed to provide additional seating. On January 15, 2000 a milestone was achieved when the Parish Council voted to pay off the mortgage on the land. A Building Committee was formed. In March, our Third Annual Founders Banquet honored Archpriest Joseph Antypas and Archpriest Elia and Khoureyee Odette Shalhoub as guests of honor. During this year we bid farewell to Father Basil and Khoureyee Janet and welcomed Father Joseph Shaheen and Khoureyee Diane who came to us after spending the last thirty-one years in Montreal. A move to paradise!
In 2001, in order to make ready for future structures, the race track at the back of the parking lot was torn down. Bishop ANTOUN, during his address at our Founders Day celebration in February, gave us the directive to raise funds so that we might begin to build. Pledges in the amount of $450,000.00 were the immediate result. The Building Committee conducted a search for, and found a suitable architect, engineer and a construction firm. We then submitted a total site plan to the county to rezone our property. Experience has taught that this process could be a lengthy one. In the mean time, the Building Committee, working with the architect, began to design the new church building. Fundraising shifted into high gear.
We received our final zoning permit in December of 2003 and planning intensified.
Bishop ANTOUN presided over the Marking of the Foundation of the new church in February 2004.
Metropolitan PHILIP has blessed us with his generous presence for the Groundbreaking Celebration this weekend. The permanent edifice of St. Paul Church has evolved from being a dream in the hearts and souls of our Founders to becoming, by the grace of God, a parish for the entire Archdiocese to call home.
Let’s Make It Happen!
And it continued:
Metropolitan PHILIP, Bishop ANTOUN and Bishop JOSEPH turned the earth to begin the building of the Church on Sunday, October 31, 2004. But it didn’t start right away/ Although the zoning had been completed, the architect’s drawings were submitted to the County for Building Permits in late July of 2004. Approval was not received until late March of 2005, when site work began. Construction began in May when the footings for the foundation of the church were laid, and on Sunday, June 19, 2005, a silver cross was buried in the earth in the space where the future altar would be placed.
As we worshipped in our original church, we could watch the new church take form as the building grew. God was gracious and the one hurricane that had landfall in our area did damage to our original church, but it was still used for services.
On December 30, 2005, approximately 40 people gathered to watch the dome of the church be lifted into place. We began with prayer and watched, as the dome - like a flying saucer went from the ground to complete the roof of the church - adding a crowning touch. Work went quickly as we approached Founders’ Day Number 9, we received permission from the county to use the yet to be finished church for services on Sunday while the old church was to be torn down.
On Friday, February 24, 2006, Vesper Service on the eve of the Saturday of the Dead, the last service was held in our original church. We prayed for our departed loved ones, we removed all the religious articles from the church, led by Bishop ANTOUN, and we placed them in the yet unfinished church. Sunday, February 26, 2006, Bishop ANTOUN blessed the church and our first liturgy was held in the new building. Now we worshipped in our new church as we watched our old church being demolished. Although it had been our home for a short while, it was sad to see it go.
On March 26, 2006, we received our Certificate of Occupancy. The county had declared the church completed, but it was only a building - not yet recognized as an Orthodox Church. In February 2007, Metropolitan PHILIP was present for our 10th Anniversary, but the church still did not have an iconostasis. It was completed for Easter of that year.
The Archdiocese informed us that we did not have a Constitution and By-Laws on file. The Council prepared and approved a Constitution on November 17, 2006 / adopted by the Parish on February 18, 2007 and approved by the Metropolitan on March 6, 2007.
The task of decorating the church began in earnest: -the iconostasis, church furnishings and icons. An appeal was made to the people for contributions and quickly all the items were donated. The parishioners responded to every appeal and a limited note was required to complete the funding of the church and this was the “Mortgage.”
St. Paul has been greatly blessed with people who liked the vision and the dream that was projected. With gratitude for the past and an effort to create for the future, these people who are not members of St. Paul, have greatly helped to advance the Burning of the Mortgage. Through their love and generosity, they have given $750,000 to our parish - much of which was used for the church construction and the most recent grant was used to complete the payment of the mortgage.
Although the history of the parish is brief, the future depends on the vision and purpose that is to be determined.
We are grateful that Metropolitan PHILIP has accepted to be with us and he, along with Bishop ANTOUN, will expect us not to simply bask in this glory - but to reach from glory to glory.
This is not the official history of the parish, but simply a review of major events from our past.
February 22, 2009