Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ!
On behalf of the clergy and faithful of the Diocese of the South, welcome to our Diocesan website. The purpose of this website is to give glory to God and to invite those searching for the Truth that is Jesus Christ, to "come and see."
This website will also serve to help us better communicate with the more remote parishes of the Diocese of the South, for we are a diocese which stretches from New Mexico in the west to Florida in the east, from Virginia in the north to the Mexican border of Texas in the south. Thus, this website can be a tool for "bridging the gap" that our geography imposes.
We are a missionary diocese committed to the growth of the Orthodox Christian Faith, the Faith given to the Apostles by our Lord and handed down in an unbroken succession from that time to the present in The Orthodox Church.
We are a welcoming diocese to those who are already Orthodox Christians or to those who are searching for the fullness of the Truth.
By the Grace of God and the sacrificial commitment of its clergy and faithful, we are a diocese that is growing both spiritually and numerically. We teach the practice of tithing and encourage our faithful to tithe to their parishes. In turn, the parishes of the Diocese of the South tithe to the Diocese to support its missionary growth.
We are a diocese that encourages mission communities to commit to the building of their own church facilities as soon as it is possible and prudent. Even now new churches are under construction across the Diocese of the South.
We are a diocese that is constantly looking to plant new missions in areas that have little or no Orthodox presence. We are aware that the population shift in the United States is south and west and we are doing our best to plant communities to be ready to minister to those moving into the boundaries of this diocese as well as those already here. Such a population shift is a blessing given to us by our Lord and we work to be equal to the challenges it offers.
In 2008, the Diocese of the South will celebrate its 30th Anniversary. Created in 1978 by action of the Holy Synod of Bishops of the Orthodox Church in America, the Diocese of the South consisted of less than 15 parishes. Today we are a diocese approaching 70 communities.
Again, welcome to our website. We pray that you will make use of it and that it will help you in your personal and communal efforts to share the Orthodox Faith will all those you encounter.
With love in Christ,
+DMITRI
Archbishop of Dallas and The Diocese of the South
Orthodoxy in America
