Sts. Constantine and Helen Serbian Orthodox Church

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Saints Constantine and Helen Serbian Orthodox Church
Saints Constantine and Helen Serbian Orthodox Church
Saints Constantine and Helen Serbian Orthodox Church
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Location Galveston, Texas
Country USA
Denomination Serbian Orthodoxy
Previous denomination Russian Orthodoxy
History
Founded 1861 (1861) (parish founded)
Consecrated 3 June 1896
Architecture
Status Parish church
Groundbreaking 1895
Completed 1896
Administration
Parish Saints Constantine and Helen Parish
Metropolis Metropolitanate of Libertyville-Chicago
Diocese Diocese of New Gracanica - Midwestern America
Synod Holy Synod of Bishops of the Serbian Orthodox Church
Clergy
Bishop(s) Vladika Longin
Priest(s) Serge Veselinovich

The Saints Constantine and Helen Serbian Orthodox Church (Serbian: Цара Константина и Јелене Српске православне цркве) is a Serbian Orthodox church located in Galveston, Texas, USA. It is a parish of the Serbian Orthodox Diocese of New Gracanica - Midwestern America.

History

The eastern orthodox community had existed in the port city of Galveston since 1861 as the parish of Saints Constantine and Helen.[1][2][3] By the late 1800s a group of Serbs, Greeks, and Russians appealed to the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church in St. Petersburg, Russia, and Tsar Nicholas II for a church.[1] The Tsar approved the establishment of a church and in 1895 construction began. The building was finished in 1896 and consecration took place on the feast day of Saint Constantine and Saint Helen.[1] Tsar Nicholas II also personally donated icons for the Iconostasis, a gospel book, and a number of sacred vessels. The first priest assigned to the new church was Archimandrite Theoclitos (Triantafilides).[3][4][5] Services were originally held in Greek, Russian and Serbian; however, in 1933 the Greek members of the church voted create a "daughter parish" of Sts. Constantine and Helen and operate it under the Greek Orthodox Church, naming their new church Assumption of the Virgin Mary Greek Orthodox Church.[6][7][8]

Saints Constantine and Helen Serbian Orthodox Church was the first Serbian Orthodox church in the state and its parish is the oldest Orthodox parish in Texas.[5] The church also holds the distinction of being the second oldest Serbian Orthodox church in the United States.[5]

Notable clergy

Galveston native, Metropolitan Bishop Christopher Kovacevich of the Metropolitanate of Libertyville-Chicago, was born and raised as a member of Saints Constantine and Helen church.[5] As an adult and Metropolitan, he would frequently return to the city and preside at church weddings and baptisms.[9]

Gallery

  • Saints Constantine and Helen Serbian Orthodox Altar.jpg

    Church altar

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

External links

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