St. George the Great Martyr Orthodox Church, Pharr Texas

St. George the Great Martyr Orthodox Church in Pharr, Texas, serves the area of Southmost Texas and Northeastern Mexico from Laredo to South Padre Island. This illustrated website includes a walkthrough of the Orthodox Liturgy, an Icons Page, a Feasting & Fasting Page, and a page with a brief history of the congregation. It describes Orthodox church structure, and has links to various different branches of Eastern Orthodoxy as well as certain Orthodox Literature. This is a good starting place to research the Orthodox Church.

To learn more about our Parish's Patron Saint, the Holy Greatmartyr and Victorybearer George whose Feastday is on the 23rd of April, see the following internet sites:

Troparion to St. George (Tone 4)

You are great among the saints, O victorious George,
The deliverer of captives, and defender of the poor,
A physician for the sick and companion of kings:
Intercede with Christ our God
That He may save our souls!

Three Views of St. George Orthodox Church. Click thumbnail to see each full picture.

Inside the Dome of the Church (below, left ) is the Pantocrator, the image of Christ as the All-Ruler. The icon of Christ (below, right) is on the North side of the Church, and is used for Confession. Click thumbnail to see whole picture.

       St. George the Great Martyr Orthodox Church, located in Pharr, Texas is a parish of the Orthodox Church in America (OCA)   in the Diocese of the South. Priest Antonio Perdomo is currently the Rector of the Church. His Eminence DMITRI, Archbishop of Dallas and the South, is our Diocesan Bishop. His Beatitude Metropolitan HERMAN, Archbishop of Washington and Metropolitan of all America and Canada, is the Primate of the OCA.
       St. George's Church was founded by Archbishop DMITRI on February 9, 1979, with a Vespers service which was held at the University of Texas Pan-American's Catholic Student Center. Regular services began the following month, and until June 1980, were held at Our Savior's Lutheran Church in McAllen. Later, services were held twice a month at the Valley Garden Center in McAllen.
       Fr. John Reeves, a former Episcopal Priest, came to the Rio Grande Valley during the summer of 1980 to build up the mission. In the early days, Fr. Reeves held many services, served meals, and held Bible studies and services in his own home. In January 1981, the church purchased its present site at 704 W. Sam Houston in Pharr, Texas, into which it moved during July of 1981. The first worship service was held at this site on Palm Sunday, April 13, 1982. Fr. John Reeves departed The Valley for State College, Pennsylvania in 1996, where he currently resides.
       Fr. Aaron Archer then served as Rector from 1996 until the summer of 2001, leaving the area for medical reasons. He now serves in upper state New York. The South Central Diocesan Dean, Fr. Dimitri Cozby, served as Interim Rector until Fr. Antonio Perdomo's arrival in December of 2001.

Orthodox Christianity came to the North American continent in 1794 . The Faith was shared by dedicated Russian Missionaries, such as St. Herman of Alaska, St. Innocent, and many others. The OCA was granted Autocephalous status (self-headed and self-governing) within the various world-wide Orthodox Churches, by the Patriarch of Moscow in 1970.

The divisions in the Orthodox Church are most correctly considered administrative. Full Communicant Privileges in one church extends into the others. Orthodox Churches are ruled by Synods and are under a Patriarch or Metropolitan. The Patriarch of Constantinople is also called the Ecumenical Patriarch. The Patriarch of Moscow has the most followers, and as the result of the fall of Communism, is considered the least encumbered by civil authorities. The Pope of Rome was once considered the First Patriarch, the first among equals among the Patriarchs. The overly aggressive interpretation of this status, also known as Papal Supremacy, led a split between the Pope and the other Patriarchs. Other branches of the Orthodox Church include Greek Orthodox, Polish Orthodox, Finnish Orthodox, Antiochan Orthodox, Russian Orthodox, Chinese Orthodox, Japanese Orthodox, Korean Orthodox, Romanian Orthodox, Bulgarian Orthodox, Ukrainian Orthodox, Serbian Orthodox, Georgian Orthodox, Czech Orthodox, and Ugandan Orthodox.

What is the Orthodox Church?

The Orthodox Church is:

evangelical but not Protestant,

It is Orthodox but not Jewish

It is Catholic but not Roman

It is not denominational.....

It is PRE-denominational

It has believed, taught,

preserved, defended

and died for the

Faith of the Apostles

since the Day of Pentecost.

St. Anthony the Great - San Antonio Texas, Orthodox Church in America

The Exarchate of Mexico, Orthodox Church in America