St. Photios Greek Orthodox Shrine

St. Augustine, FL
February 10th, 2022

Right amid historic downtown St. Augustine lies the St. Photios Greek Orthodox National Shrine. This institution is a religious shrine dedicated to the very first colony of Greeks who came to America in 1768. It has multiple exhibits that showcase the development of Greek Orthodox in America. The shrine houses a small, traditional worship room with traditional Greek art and a multitude of Greek Orthodox artifacts relevant to St. Augustine and the history of the religion.

Learn more at St. Photios Shrine 

Exterior Photo 1 

Exterior Photo 2 

Artifact 1 

This artifact above is a sandpit for lighting prayer candles. It is common in many faiths, especially Christian ones, to light a candle of prayer and let it burn all the way through. This is a physical way to express the desire to seek help from a higher power. You would light your candle, say your prayer, and set it in the sand to burn. The sand helps eliminate fire hazards. 

Artifact 2

The artifact above is an example of Greek Orthodox religious garments. According to their info card, they were gifted to the St. Photios shrine by Archbishop Iakovos in 1982. Each piece of clothing has a symbolic attachment to the old testament. It depicts the bishop as an icon of Christ.

 

Image In Conversation 1 

The image above is of the Cathedral Basilica located in St. Augustine, FL. The Cathedral is a catholic establishment. Catholic art, in many ways, mimics the art style I saw in the St. Photios Shrine. It is very warm and vibrant. A major difference I noticed in the art and architecture of the two places of worship were the shapes. The Greek Orthodox Shrine had large domes that made you feel enclosed in the art as you walked in, while traditionally Catholic buildings are large and sloped upwards to make your eyes travel upwards, to their God.

Image in Conversation 2

 The image above depicts a form of candle prayer common in the Pagan religion. Candles are lit with intention based on their color. Black symbolizes protection, white symbolizes clarity, red can symbolize ambition, and so on. While Catholics and other Christian religions light candles with the intention of sending a prayer to their God, this tradition comes initially from Paganism. Pagans typically let their candles burn while practicing another type of ritual, or will use candle wax to seal jars and enforce their intentions. 

                                                Literature in Conversation

Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler

"A lot of people seem to believe in a big-daddy-cop-king-God. A super-person. Others think God is a spirit, a force. Or another word for nature. [...] But what if all that is wrong? What if God is something else all together?" (Duffy & Jennings, 13). 

    I chose to highlight this section of Parable of the Sower because it shows how the main character, Lauren, is struggling with her idea of religion. She mentions the Christian concept of an omnipresent force that is almost super-human and mentions the Pagan belief that nature is the force of the universe. This relates to both the site visit to the shrine and my creative and conversation pieces by discussing how religion is different for everyone. It is important for public worships spaces like St. Photios to exist in order for people to form communities, and to have somewhere to turn when they need to explore their personal definition of religion.

Creative Component 

Description: Photograph of altar space, color 

For my creative piece, I decided to include something incredibly important to me. As a practitioner of the Pagan faith, I have a dedicated altar that is a workspace for my practice. It includes plants, crystals, candles, incense, tarot and oracle decks, and more. This is a creative outlet for me as the placement of each individual item is done with purpose. It reminds me of the prayer candle altar I included as Artifact 1 for this site visit and relates to my second In Conversation piece. I believe understanding and talking about different faiths from your own is incredibly important, and by including my altar I am trying to highlight the similarities between the two religious practices, despite how they are normally pinned against each other.