“In a word, 

Never let go of these three things: 

faith, hope and love. 

And know that the greatest of these 

will always be love.” 

—Saint Paul (1 Corinthians)  

St. Paul’s Greek Orthodox Church 

The construction of this beautiful building began in 1897. General Alexander R. Lawton died the prior year and this building was intended to serve as a public cultural, educational and civic center in service to Savannah’s residents. 

It was a gift to the citizens of Savannah from Lawton’s family to honor both Alexander Lawton and his daughter, Corrine, who had died much too young in 1877. I have painted the Corrine Elliot Lawton sculpture located among the Lawton family monuments in Bonaventure Cemetery (see PFS-77). 

Alexander Lawton counted Robert E. Lee among his close friends. He served the Confederacy with all his might, leading the Georgia Militia in early 1861 by capturing Fort Pulaski, located down the Savannah River, just before Civil War hostilities officially began at Fort Sumter in Charleston. Fort Pulaski would be recaptured by Union forces 15-months later, which blockaded the Savannah River until the war’s end. 

Lawton was later assigned to Virginia, and found himself fighting alongside Stonewall Jackson in the Shenandoah Valley campaign and in the Second Battle of Bull Run. He was seriously wounded at the Battle of Antietam while defending the line for the Army of Northern Virginia. 

In his busy lifetime, Alexander Lawton was a West Point cadet, a graduate of Harvard Law School, a member of the Georgia legislature, a soldier, a lawyer, became Brigadier General and Quartermaster-General of the Confederate Army, the President of the Georgia and Atlantic Railroad, served as the fifth President of the American Bar Association, and was appointed Ambassador to Austria-Hungary. He also lost a close contest to represent Georgia in the U.S. Senate. 

He was an important man. This building was a magnificent monument to a legendary Savannah family. 

In 1941, the building was acquired by St. Paul’s Greek Orthodox Church for use as its sanctuary. The church received its original charter in 1907. 

A two-year renovation transformed the Lawton building into this gorgeous Greek house of worship. 

The religion of my native Russia owes a great deal to missionaries of the Greek Orthodox Church. The story goes that Saint Vladimir the Great wanted a religion for the conquered Rus peoples. He studied the religions of nearby regions and came to these conclusions:  

The Muslims didn’t favor alcohol, which was unacceptable to any Russian! The Jews had lost Jerusalem, so that wasn’t a good sign. And the German Christians worshipped in ugly churches, which was definitely uninspiring. But Greek Christians built such beautiful edifices that ‘God must dwell within,’ or so he surmised. Thus, under the logic of Saint Vladimir, Russia officially adopted Orthodox Christianity.  

Indeed. I snuck into St. Paul’s Greek Orthodox Church and reviewed the fabulous art inside, the atmosphere of which, together with an endless supply of lighted candles, reminded me of the Russian Orthodox churches of my native country.  

And that made painting this en Plein air an added joy. By the way, in Russian my name means ‘Love.’