This will be the first Russian-Orthodox church in Puerto Rico - a temple for Misión Ortodoxa San Juan Clímaco (ROCOR). The Spanish-speaking community is mostly converts to Orthodoxy, and they hope to have a church that reflects their rich cultural heritage. They asked Andrew to design a temple that would be recognizably Orthodox, while also reflecting the vernacular Spanish-baroque building culture local to Puerto Rico. As such, it will be the first work of Puerto-Rican-Orthodox architecture, and an inspiration for Orthodox churches across Latin America.

Located on the west side of the island, adjacent the historic town of San Germán, the mission has a beautiful estate property with a hilltop site for the new church. A unique eighteenth-century altarpiece in San Germán served as the model for the iconostasis for the new church.

Read the article on the Orthodox Arts Journal for the detailed story of this culturally important project.