What started out as a small parish under the Malankara Orthodox Church in 1978 by 17 families has flourished into a congregation of more than 170 families and counting! Our founding members had little to nothing when coming to America from India, but they had a dream to serve God. 

Rev. Fr. Dr. Zach P. Zachariah Achen was pivotal in establishing this foundation for our church. His passion, selflessness, and dedication to Christ paved the way for our existing church building which was completed in 1986. Zachariah Achen’s example of servant leadership became the cornerstone of our congregation, and to this day, remains the glue to our church. We are now blessed to have the leadership and guidance of Rev. Fr. Varughese Thomas (Vicar) who joined us in 2019 and Rev. Dn. Joshua Varughese (Youth Minister) who also joined us in 2023.

By the grace of God, our church membership continues to expand and we are now in need of new facilities to accommodate our growing needs. Similar to our founding members, we would love to share the same Tradition, Vision and Hope for our children so that the legacy of St. Gregorios Orthodox Church Houston carries forward across generations. 

For more information regarding construction project objectives, please read below.

A Place for Worship

At the heart of our Orthodox faith is offering the Holy Qurbana where congregants give peace to one another, sing hymns together, and receive Holy Communion in the presence of God. While we recognize how important in-person attendance is for these things (especially following a worldwide pandemic), our worship space continues to be stretched thin. With the rise in church membership, we would like our members and guests alike to be able to attend church services without the concern of not being able to find a seat in our main worship area, particularly during special services such as Christmas or Holy Week.

“For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.” -Matthew 18:20

A Place for Spiritual Growth

With approximately 120 Sunday School students (that’s 14 classes with 27 teachers!), our little ones and young adults are top of mind with regards to future construction plans. Whether it’s providing adequate facilities for our kids during weekly Sunday School classes, or it’s our church family being able to comfortably host summer OVBS (Orthodox Vacation Bible School) for our sister churches, we want to create a space that is both welcoming and inviting to our children. 

Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” -Matthew 19:14

A Place for Community

In addition to participating in Holy Qurbana, our church members are active in various spiritual organizations (MGOCSM, FOCUS, OCYM, MMVS, etc.). These groups bring about a sense of community and purpose related to faith, charity, culture and fellowship. We would like to comfortably gather for meetings, conferences, as well as religious and/or recreational events. Getting plugged into our church means that we are prioritizing and staying busy with the right kinds of activities in life. To foster this, our desire is to have clean, safe, and spacious facilities that can support these supplementary activities outside of church services every Sunday.

“Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor. If either of them falls down, one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up.” -Ecclesiastes 4:9-10