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FROM THEIR WEBSITE: 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, 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.
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