The founders of the Annunciation of the Virgin Mary Greek Orthodox Church of Fort Myers, Florida had very little—they were children of immigrants who faced the difficulties of making their way in a strange new country. From their native Greece and surrounding islands they were able to bring few material possessions. One possession they did carry with them was spiritual in nature, and that was their faith in Our Lord Jesus Christ and their love of His Holy Orthodox Church. This faith and love gave them strength to overcome the obstacles of building a new life, and in the early 70’s began the journey for today’s Orthodox Church located on Cypress Lake Drive.
Beginning with the first Orthodox services on the Island of Sanibel at the Episcopal Church, Father Kalaris would vacation in Florida while visiting with his relatives they would hold church services for all the Greek families in the area. The next few years they rented the Cape Coral Yacht Basin for their services. The early founders of our church; John Kontinos, Paul Kotsalis, Chip Bublick, Gus Vorliotis, Nick Frank, Mary Aleck and Andy Ponticos, took the first steps and followed their hopes and dreams. Today we have these families to commemorate for their love, faith and hard work in the church. Within three short years the land was purchased on the present site, and a few years later the Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church was built under the direction of The Reverend Father Arthur Kontinos in 1976, where he continued to serve as the parish priest until his retirement in 1999. Father Arthur served the never ending and always challenging parish for 23 years he was the spiritual leader through storms and hardships and many obstacles. He made the dream of constructing a new place of worship for the glory of God, become a reality for the dedicated and faithful of the Fort Myers community. He left a progressive and well organized parish, with unselfish, dedicated workers and people with spiritual vitality.
Since the retirement of Fr. Arthur, the Parish of The Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church has been blessed with the service of The Rev. Fr. Theo Theoharis ( 1999-2000); The Rev. Fr. Hans Jacobse (2000-2003) and is presently being served by The Rev. Fr. Constantine Simeonidis (2003-present), who is currently leading our parish into the next phase of building, land and program development. With God's blessings and the continuing dedication of the faithful, we hope to meet the needs of the ever increasing population of the greater Fort Myers Area.
