ABOUT US
Saint Augustine’s Orthodox Church is the Cathedral Parish of the Diocese of the Southwest. Our mission is to bring non-Orthodox Christians of the West to the fullness of Faith and Holy Tradition of the Holy Orthodox Church of the East.
OUR MISSION
We are reaching out to western non-Orthodox Christians by the restoration and use of Liturgical Rites that were used by the Ancient Orthodox Church of the West before the schism of 1054. We are of a particular interest to former Anglican and Roman Catholic Christians due in part to the similarity of our Western Orthodox liturgical rites.
OUR HISTORY
The Roman Catholic Church of Pflugerville was organized in 1926. The parish built a building at 100 E. Wilbarger St, Pflugerville, Texas, which was finally dedicated on 11 September 1932 as St Elizabeth’s.
On 4 August 1979 the congregation of St. Augustine’s church purchased the property and the building for $15,000. The first service as St. Augustine’s was held on 26 August 1979. The roof was leaking and causing water damage inside the building, so it was replaced later that year in September and October.
The addition that was to become the Parish Hall was completed in March 1985. That same year the original steeple was removed, having been damaged in a wind storm. The intent was to replace it right away with a new steeple. The new steeple was not installed until over ten years later, in April 1996.
The current Allen TC-4 organ was given to St Augustine after a donation of $1,000.00 was made to a Roman Catholic Franciscan parish in Canton Ohio and installed in 1991.
In April 1992, the first of many beautiful etched glass windows were installed. This project lasted almost 10 years with the last windows installed in May 2001. Eventually the floor was carpeted. This project was finished in time for Christmas eve services in 1994. More recently, a new stone / stucco sign was built in 2011.
ABOUT WESTERN RITE
The Orthodox Catholic Faith is universal in scope and transcends differences of geography and culture. The worship of the church, on the other hand, has always been sensitive to the diverse culture and linguistic expressions of the true Faith throughout the world.
Prior to the great schism between the East and the West, the five great centers of Christianity (Rome, Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch and Jerusalem) held the Catholic faith in common, but utilized variations of the Eucharistic liturgies to express that faith. When the Western Church (Rome) broke with the churches of the East, it continued to use the ancient liturgies of the previously orthodox West.
As the years passed, Orthodox Western Rite Liturgy was changed erroneously, and came to be identified with the theological errors of the Roman Church. This was unfortunate for Western Orthodox Christian history, witness, and spirituality, as seen in the lives of St. Patrick, St. Bede, St. Augustine of Canterbury, St. Benedict, St Vincent of Lerins, St. Gregory the Great, and so many others because their liturgical forms, actions and expressions were eventually replaced by those of the Orthodox East, the liturgies of St. John Chrysostom, St. James, St Basil increasingly seen as the only true forms of Orthodox Eucharistic worship
In the past three decades there has been a conscience effort, on the part of some Eastern Orthodox Bishops, to restore and allow for the use of the liturgical forms, actions and expressions of the pre-schismatic Orthodox Church of the West. The result of these efforts is a growing number of Orthodox Christian congregations identified as Western Rite Churches. St. Augustine’s Church in Pflugerville, Texas is a Western Rite Orthodox Parish.
St. Augustine Church uses two basic liturgies in the normal Sunday worship; the Devine Liturgy of St. Gregory the Great and the Divine Liturgy of St. Tikhon, Patriarch of Moscow. These restored liturgies contain the fullness of the liturgical form, action and expression of the Orthodox faith, doctrine and discipline that was lost in western Christianity after the great schism of 1054. The mission of St. Augustine’s Church is to bring the Orthodox faith of the Undivided Church to all people, regardless of background, into one united body of faith.
WESTERN RITE ORTHODOX CHURCH HISTORY
During the days immediately following Christ’s death, the Apostles were confronted by an issue upon which there was not agreement. The question of whether a Gentile had to first be circumcised and follow the Law of Moses before they could become a Christian. A Council was convened in Jerusalem attended by all 12 Apostles and St. James presided. By the light of the Holy Spirit the Apostles ruled that new Christians did not first need to be circumcised or follow the law of Moses.
This meeting was extremely important not only because of its outcome, but because it established a principle that would guide the Church. No one Apostle or other person was infallible. However when meeting in council under the guidance of the Holy Spirit the decisions have the authority of the Spirit for all the Church and are of greater authority than the word of any individual.
FIRST COUNCIL OF ALL CHRISTIAN BISHOPS
During the days immediately following Christ’s death, the Apostles were confronted by an issue upon which there was not agreement. The question of whether a Gentile had to first be circumcised and follow the Law of Moses before they could become a Christian. A Council was convened in Jerusalem attended by all 12 Apostles and St. James presided. By the light of the Holy Spirit the Apostles ruled that new Christians did not first need to be circumcised or follow the law of Moses.
This meeting was extremely important not only because of its outcome, but because it established a principle that would guide the Church. No one Apostle or other person was infallible. However when meeting in council under the guidance of the Holy Spirit the decisions have the authority of the Spirit for all the Church and are of greater authority than the word of any individual.
THE FIRST THOUSAND YEARS
For the first thousand years of her history the Church was essentially one. Five historic Patriarchal centers – Jerusalem, Antioch, Rome, Alexandria and Constantinople – formed a cohesive whole and were in full communion with each other. There were occasional splinter groups going their own way, but to be sure the Church was unified until the 11th century. Then in events culminating in AD 1054, the Patriarch of Rome (by now considered the western church) pulled away from the other four, pursuing his long developing claim of head of all the Church.
The worship of the Church has always been sensitive to the diverse cultural and linguistic expressions of the true Faith through out the world. Prior to the great breaking up of the Church in AD 1054, the East and West held the Catholic faith in common, but utilized variations of the Eucharistic liturgies to express that faith.
The rich Orthodox faith is of most interest to persons with a background in deep rooted faith. People with a liturgical background will be very comfortable with the Western Rite.