Diocese: Diocese of the South
Deanery: Southcentral Deanery
Address
103 Carolina St
San Antonio, Texas 78210
Email:
Website: OrthodoxSanAntonio.org
Office: 210-533-2492
Parish Contacts
Directions
General Location
St Anthony Church is located just south of downtown San Antonio, near the Alamodome and the historic King William district, and just off Interstate 37 / Route 281.
From I-37 / Rt 281
Take the “Florida Street / Carolina Street” exit (#140A). Go west on Florida Street to South Presa St (first stop sign). Turn left (south) on Presa to the traffic light (Carolina Street). The Church is the red brick structure on your left (east), and there is parking on Labor Street (also to your left).
Schedule of Services
6:00 PM Great Vespers (Confessions following).
Saturday Evening
10:00 AM Divine Liturgy, followed by Fellowship.
Sunday Morning
7:00 PM Daily Vespers (Catechism/Adult Ed classes following at certain times; inquire with priest).
Wednesday Evening
Contact the church office or website for Holy Days and Lenten services. Vigil is celebrated on Feast Days as announced.
All Services are in English employing a variety of musical traditions.
Parish Background
Saint Anthony’s was organized in 1979 under the leadership of Father Gregory Roth, the chaplain at Lackland Air Force Base. The founding members included a number of Orthodox civilians who had been attending services at the Lackland chapel and a few other Orthodox families without active parish affiliation. The first pastor, +Father John Schreiber, arrived in August 1979.
The first Liturgy was held at the Episcopal Student Center chapel at San Antonio College. During the early years the congregation held services in a variety of temporary locations. In 1982 Saint Anthony parish purchased its present temple, the former First Congregational Church building. This brick church was designed by Alfred Giles, a renowned local architect of the turn of the century. The city of San Antonio designated it an historic structure in 1988. For that reason, it is also referred to as The Historic Giles Church. The interior of the church was initially remodeled with work and materials donated by the parishioners. A baptismal font was given by Saint Sophia Greek Orthodox Church in San Antonio.
Father John left for another parish in 1986. His temporary replacement, Father Nazario (Ipac-Uribe), a priest-monk from Holy Ascension Cathedral in Mexico City, served for six months. Very Rev. Fr. Dimitri Cozby arrived with his family in 1987 and served the parish until 2005. Rev. Fr. Brooks Ledford served on an interim basis. The Very Rev. Fr. Leo Poore arrived in January 2006 and served faithfully for over 13 years. The current pastor, the Rev. David Wooten, arrived in the summer of 2019.
Extensive renovations of the fellowship hall and church school annex were begun in 1987. The parish hosted the Diocese of the South Assembly in 1991 and 1997. The parish carried out an extensive renovation of the temple’s interior in 1992. In 1996 another project improved access to the temple for the handicapped through the addition of a wheelchair ramp. In 1998 the front steps to the temple were thoroughly repaired and renovated to correct structural problems and to add new hand rails. In 1999 Saint Anthony’s celebrated its twentieth anniversary and was granted the status of a full parish by His Eminence, Archbishop DMITRI of Dallas.
In 2004 Saint Anthony parish completed a major renovation of its attached hall, expanding space for educational activities, ministries, and fellowship. In 2005 the parish initiated a major campaign to restore the temple to Orthodox liturgical standards, culminating in the installation of a custom made, hand-carved limewood iconostas, together with hand-painted, traditional, Byzantine style icons to adorn the new icon screen. A number of liturgical appointments were also received. These items were crafted for Saint Anthony parish by two Bulgarian artists: Mr. Peter Nedkov, Master Woodcarver, and Mr. George Goutsev, Master Iconographer, both based in Sofia. The installation of these adornments was completed in November 2006. A Dedication Liturgy was held on February 10, 2007.