Let's Start from the Beginning

In the 1960’s, as the population in Miami, Florida continued to grow so did the need for more places of worship. The growing presence of Greek Immigrants and Greek American families created a need to establish another Greek Orthodox Church besides the already existing Saint Sophia Greek Orthodox Cathedral. This tremendous undertaking was spearheaded by a group of families that were determined to expand our faith and share our Greek Heritage with all.

In February 1971, The South Dade Hellenic Community Center, Inc. was established. The members could share our culture and provide our families with a place to worship our Greek Orthodox Religion.

We started by sharing a Chapel in South Miami for services and began a fund raising drive to purchase a location we could call home. In June 1977 we were renamed The Greek Orthodox Church of Kendall as the search continued for our own church.

Through the grace of God and lots of hard work we found our home. On February 10, 1978 The Greek Orthodox Church of Kendall purchased the property located at 7901 North Kendal Drive. Under the leadership of Father Nick Harbatis and Presbytera Mary our community thrived.

In October 1980, by a lottery system, our church was renamed Saint Andrew Greek Orthodox Church, Inc. A family had risen from the membership. We have celebrated Weddings, Christenings and Passing of Loved ones that have helped to solidly our Bond.

In 1992 we were able to reroof our beautiful A-frame Church with a spectacular Bronze metal roof adorned with a Beautiful Cross at its peak. I mention this because In August of 1992, tragedy hit South Florida in the form of a Category 5 Hurricane Andrew. Miami was devastated by this disastrous event. Our surrounding community was nearly lost. Although our new roofing had ripped off and could be found in pieces down Kendall drive, what remained was our church with its Cross at the peak as a beacon of faith for all to see.

As Miami rebuilt in the coming years so did our beautiful family. With all that was going on, it became apparent that our Beautiful Saint Andrew had never been Consecrated. So in 2003, a three day event was set into motion to celebrate the Baptism and Chrismation of Saint Andrew. For an Orthodox Christian our salvation is our “Life in Christ”. The Center of “The Life in Christ” is our Holy Altar Table. The Center of the Holy Altar Table is prepared to receive the Holy Relics. They were placed by His Eminence Metropolitan Alexios and will remain there for the life of the Church.

We, under the guidance of our Beloved Father Aristides and Presbytera Maria, would like to Invite you to Saint Andrew and be a part of something beautiful. A Family that worships together, prays together and shares the same cultural and moral values.