Our History
Our parish was formally organized January 13, 1895, by Serbs, Greeks, and Russians (though our parish roots go back to 1862). Thus, our parish was the first parish in the State of Texas, and is one of the oldest parishes in the United States. The parish appealed to the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church in St. Petersburg, Russia, and Tsar Nicholas II (now glorified by the Church as a Martyr) decreed “Let there be an Orthodox Church in Galveston.” He then personally donated the icons on the Iconostasis, the Gospel book, which co-incidentally was printed during the reign of Czar Alexandar Alexandrevich in August of 1892, all the sacred vessels, and also sent the parish’s first priest Archimandrite Theoclitos (Triantafilides). Our Church was consecrated on June 3rd, 1896, on St. Constantine and Helen’s day. After the great hurricane of 1900 (which destroyed much of Galveston) the Church was reconsecrated by Bishop Tikhon (Later Patriarch of Moscow, glorified by the Church as a Confessor). Miraculously, the items donated by Tsar Nicholas all survived. After that time the Church came under Serbian jurisdiction, due to the large proportion of Serbs in the parish.
Our Church Today
Currently our parish is served by Fr. Serge Veselinovich, who has been rector since October 1995.
Holy & Divine Liturgy is served each Sunday at 10:00 a.m. Call 281.969.8250 for Lenten and Festal service schedules.
How to find us
Our Church is located at 4109 Avenue L, Galveston, TX 77550 - Click here for directions.
Our parish phone number and Fr. Serge can be reached at 281.969.8250
Also feel free to e-mail Fr. Serge
Links
Link to Fr. Serge's web blog.
The Forgotten Saint
Orthodoxy in America
