The start of this Orthodox congregation began in March 2007 with a few families in the Fort Myers area, coordinated as an initial prayer meeting (March 18, 2007). The prayer was led by Rev. Fr. George John from St. Gregorios Orthodox Church, South Florida. Achen made several trips over the next few years to conduct more prayer meetings and Holy Qurbanas. The majority of Qurbanas were held at St. Hillary’s Episcopal Church, Fort Myers. In 2014, Rev. Fr. Dr. Jacob Mathew from St. Paul’s Orthodox Church of Greater Orlando came and celebrated the Qurbana once. Unfortunately, many families moved away from the area due to economic situations and the existing families held prayer meetings on an inconsistent basis in order to continue their faith.
In early 2015, new families from the Naples area joined with the existing families to restart prayer meetings and Holy Qurbana in the area. In April 2015, Rev. Fr. George John from St. Gregorios Orthodox Church, South Florida conducted a Holy Qurbana at St. Paul’s Antiochan Orthodox Church with many families from Naples and Fort Myers. On June 20, 2015, Rev. Fr. Johnson Punchakonam came to South West Florida with H. G. Gee Varghese Mar Julius, conducted the Holy Qurbana. Thirumeni gave encouragement to the attendees to move forward with the same spirit.
In September 2015, a meeting was held with several families in attendance, with support from others, agreed, a request would be made to H.G. Alexios Mar Eusebius, the Diocese Metropolitan of South-West America for the formation of the “Indian Orthodox Congregation of Southwest Florida, to serve the cities of Fort Myers, Naples, Bonita Springs, Cape coral, Sarasota, and the surrounding areas. On October 20, 2015, H. G. H.G. Alexios Mar Eusebius issued Kalapana number DSWA/AC/03/2015, establishing the St. Mary’s Indian Orthodox Congregation of Southwest Florida, appointing Rev. Fr. Johnson Punchakonam as Priest-in-Charge. This was a momentous day in the history of our congregation.
Although our congregation is currently small, it is similar to all other Indian Orthodox congregations throughout United States, which started in a similar manner. Like those churches, we hope to continue our growth in this area. Now we have Holy Qurbana celebrated every 3rd Saturday at St. Paul’s Antiochan Orthodox Church.
We are very grateful to our Lord Almighty for all the Grace showering upon this small congregation. We would like to Thank H.G. Alexios Mar Eusebius for all the assistance in establishing the congregation and seek all his guidance and prayers as we move forward. We also like to Thank all our Rev. Fathers who happened to be a part of our congregation and our Vicar Rev. Fr. Johnson Punchakonam for all the guidance.