St John Of Damascus Orthodox Church (OCA)

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Welcome to the parish website of St. John of Damascus Orthodox Church, a mission of the Orthodox Church in America. We would like to invite you into the sights, sounds, fragrance and Truth of The Ancient Church. The Orthodox Church has been proclaiming The Truth since 33 A.D. as the Church of the Apostles, the Church of Pentecost, theBody of our Lord Jesus Christ.
We invite you to come and experience true worship. All our services are in English. Come and be visually surrounded by the Icons of the Living Saints, hear the ancient chants which are bathed in Holy Scripture and breathe deep the incense of our prayers being lifted up to our Lord, God and Saviour Jesus Christ.
If you have never been inside an Orthodox Church, then be prepared to be surprised and humbled. The gift of worship is given to us for the ability to enter into the experience of The Kingdom of God. It is a place of spiritual healing as the Creator renews us, His creation, in the Divine Liturgy.
Our parishioners are very diversified in their spiritual journeys. Most of us at St. John of Damascus are converts from varying church backgrounds, some were born into the Orthodox Faith and still others are very welcomed inquirers. So please come and join us to discover the fullness of the Faith in Orthodoxy.
This website has articles and links to further reading, lectures and even the sounds of Byzantine chant. We encourage you take your time and sift through everything, but to more importantly come and experience True Worship. You are always welcome within our doors, whether you stay for an entire Divine Liturgy or sit for 30 minutes. You are welcome.

Our Parish has been blessed by thetalents of many people. Dan Rudder had made and donated the Orthodox Cross which stands at the roadside engraved with mission's name. Now he has has also made athe cross which bears the icon of Saint John of Damascus which stands to the right of the entry of the church. Itis a great blessing to us all. The iconostas is adorned by icons drawn by a former parishioner Despina Levier, who now resides in her homeland of Cyprus. Addittionally, our beautiful Gospel book has arrived from Greece. Father blessed the Gospel book this past Sunday. It was given in memory of James Wingerd.

Explore Orthodoxy through Orthodox Church Network. Listen to Traditional Byzantine Chant, Internet Orthodox Radio, lecture and sermons from around the globe. A wonderful gift to all of us to be enriched by the blessings of the Orthodox Faith shared in such a rich format. The Ark is the Orthodox internet radio, while The Rudder is Traditional Byzantine Chant. OCN serves up to 18 Orthodox Podcasts. There is a Teen Talkline and a Podcast to study the Ancient Church!
http://www.myocn.net/

We are celebrating one year with our full-time Priest, Father John Mikita. Father John and his wife, Matushka Christine,and their two children, Alexander and Rachel Hannah, moved to Tylerin January, 2008,from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Father John served an Orthodox parish in Western Pennsylvania before embracing the call tocome to the "mission field" of East Texas.He hosted a weekly radio show which featured teachings and chant of the Orthodox Church and was involved in the OCF at the local college. He was an Episcopal priest before he and his family converted to the Orthodox faith.
Please email me with any of your questions about Orthodoxy. I would be happy to meet with you as well, whether individually or as a group. I can also offer you guidance in reading resources, but I do encourage you to visit an Orthodox Parish.
Your servant in Christ,

We continue to thank Our Lord for the pristine piece of Tyler property graciously gifted to us by one of our parishioners. We are steadily moving forward to cultivate the property and come humbly before Our Lord for His vision for this parish and the building of a permanent temple.The Sopocani Monastery churchnear Kosovo has become the working template for our future temple. We also have been inspired by the building process atArchangels Greek Monastery near San Antonio and encourage you to visit their website. We are very excited about recent developments in our building plans! You may also enjoy reading Andrew Gould's article about Orthodox architecture. http://www.ocacharleston.org/on%20earth%20as%20in%20heaven%20andrew%20gould.pdf