KENDALL

Anglican takes the reins at St. Andrew Greek Orthodox Church in Kendall

A former Anglican piano teacher now heads St. Andrew Greek Orthodox Church in Kendall, where he ministers to a diverse flock of Greek-Americans and non-Greek converts.

BY PRISCILLA GREEAR

U/Miami News Service

On a whim, the Rev. Eudokimos-Martin Harding visited a Greek Orthodox Church in his hometown of Reading, England. Immediately he was stirred by the depth of the spirituality and the extended chanted liturgy dating to apostolic times.

''The beauty of the services, the traditions, the theology seemed to make more sense to me,'' said Harding, who was raised as an Anglican but was looking around at other denominations.

Even though the service was all in Greek, Harding said he ''felt strangely at home.'' Four years later, in 1989, he became a member of the Greek Orthodox Church.

And nearly 20 years after his conversion, he became an ordained priest in 2007. The soft-spoken priest, 47, now leads St. Andrew Greek Orthodox Church, 7901 N. Kendall Dr., his first assignment upon completion of his theological studies and training in Boston and Reading.

Harding replaces the Rev. Michael Condos as the presiding priest. Harding took over in October following Condos' transfer to Montgomery, Ala.

Harding, who had previously worked as a piano teacher and tuner back in England, said he feels at peace to have finally fulfilled a calling to ministry.

''That really has been something that has been with me since childhood,'' he said. In fact, when I converted to orthodoxy I had already started down the road to be an Anglican priest.''

Harding also studied theology for his bachelor's degree at Durham University in England.

So far he enjoys ''everything'' about priesthood in South Florida, starting with ''serving the sacraments to the faithful and to care for the wayfarers,'' he said. The Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America was established to look after Greek immigrants, he said.

``It's now looking after their descendants and also looking after people who have converted, who have discovered orthodoxy and fallen in love with it and are coming to church.''

Greek Orthodox carries on Greek language and culture, prevalent in Palestine during Christ's life, Harding said.

Ben Powell said he is happy to raise his family in Greek culture and religious tradition, after marrying his wife whose grandparents are from Greece.

''We view orthodoxy as the original Christian church and it's steeped in tradition,'' he said. ``We honor that tradition very proudly.''

The U.S. Census Bureau's 2006 American Community Survey showed 4,033 people of Greek ancestry living in Miami. St. Andrew's, one of three Greek Orthodox churches in Miami, has about 180 families.

Emily Patricios, 67, of Pinecrest, said she already appreciates Harding's spiritual leadership. ``I think he's done incredibly well. He's come from England, coming to the states, and our parishioners have just opened their arms to him. He's young, enthusiastic and a sweet, gentle soul.''

At a recent two-hour Sunday service, Harding donned shimmering gold vestments and fluidly shifted between English and Greek as he chanted from liturgical texts.

''The whole mass is the same. I feel like I am in Greece,'' said Thanasis Economu on his first visit to St. Andrew's. Economu recently moved from Greece and now teaches math in Greek at Archimedean Academy, a charter school at 12425 SW 72nd St. that receives some funding from the Greek government.