In the Houston area, we have parishes under seven different general jurisdictions.

ORTHODOX CHRISTIAN PARISHES IN THE GREATER HOUSTON AREA ARRANGED BY JURISDICTION:

The Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America
The Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America
The Orthodox Church in America
The Orthodox Church in America - Romanian Episcopate
Romanian Patriarchal Archdiocese
The Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia
The Serbian Orthodox Church in America

A WORD ABOUT JURISDICTIONS:   The Orthodox Church is the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Chuch (as per the Nicene Creed). Many people are confused by the Church's administrative jurisdictions. There are titles that one hears, such as Greek Orthodox, Russian Orthodox, Serbian Orthodox, Eastern Orthodox, etc. Make no mistake, the Church is nevertheless UNITED in faith, sacrament, and practice. The fact is that the Orthodox Church's divisions are natural and echo the situation from the beginning. In the earliest Church, there were the churches of Jerusalem, Antioch, Thessalonika, Rome, and the like. The divisions were only of a geographical nature. Likewise, today the Church is divided administratively into jurisdictions. In the United States and some other areas where the Church expanded due to immigration, the jurisdictions followed. Eventually, there will be a single "American Orthodox Church." For now, however, we celebrate the diversity of ethnicities and backgrounds from which our SINGLE, UNITED Church has come together.

© 2009 The Orthodox Clergy Association of Southeast Texas / Orthodox Pages