Sts. Constantine and Helen Serbian Orthodox Church

29°17′33″N 94°48′46″W / 29.292503°N 94.812712°W / 29.292503; -94.812712LocationGalveston, TexasCountryUnited StatesDenominationSerbian OrthodoxyPrevious denominationRussian OrthodoxyHistoryStatusParish churchFounded1861 (1861) (parish founded)Consecrated3 June 1896ArchitectureGroundbreaking1895Completed1896AdministrationSynodBishops' Council of the Serbian Orthodox ChurchMetropolisMetropolitanate of Libertyville-ChicagoDioceseDiocese of New Gracanica - Midwestern AmericaParishSaints Constantine and Helen ParishClergyBishop(s)Longin (Krčo)Priest(s)Father Djordje Veselinovic

The Saints Constantine and Helen Serbian Orthodox Church is a Serbian Orthodox church located in Galveston, Texas, United States. 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 to 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

• 
  Church altar

See also

• Serbian Orthodox Church
• Serbian American

References

Sources

• Vuković, Sava (1998). History of the Serbian Orthodox Church in America and Canada 1891–1941. Kragujevac: Kalenić.

External links

• "Diocese." Diocese of New Gracanica - Midwestern America.