Our Mission
Our History
From the early 90s, several Mar Thoma families have lived in the Austin area, most of whom were members of the Mar Thoma Church of Dallas or Trinity Mar Thoma Church of Houston. The first Mar Thoma function was a house-warming service conducted in October 1992 by the Rev. P. J. Alex. The first Mar Thoma Bishop to visit Austin is the Rt. Rev. Dr. Geevarghese Mar Theodosius in 1995. On May 1st 1999, the Rt. Rev. Dr. Zacharias Mar Theophilus was the first Mar Thoma Bishop to conduct a Holy Communion Service at St. George’s Episcopal Church, Austin. In June 2002, the Rt. Rev. Dr. Euyakim Mar Coorilos accompanied by the Rev. T. V. George conducted a Holy Communion Service at St. George’s Episcopal Church, Austin. During this period, Vicars of Dallas Mar Thoma Church and Trinity Mar Thoma Church and Youth Chaplains from Houston conducted Holy Communion Services and other functions in Austin.
In 2004, the members in Mar Thoma and CSI churches residing in Austin and San Antonio felt the need to have a prayer meeting or worship services on a regular basis. The Rev. George Thomas, the Vicar of Trinity Mar Thoma Church, Houston, celebrated Holy Communion on August 29, 2004 in Austin and he motivated the members who attended the service to pray, think and plan a regular meeting in their houses at least once in a month. The progress and interest among the members were communicated to the Rev. George Thomas. From January 2005, the Rev. George Thomas conducted the Holy Communion service once a month at St. George’s Episcopal Church, Austin with the approval of our Diocesan Bishop, the Rt. Rev. Dr. Euyakim Mar Coorilos Episcopa. An application to form an official congregation, with the signatures of all the members was sent to the Diocesan Bishop, the Rt. Rev. Dr. Euyakim Mar Coorilos Episcopa on December 5, 2005 along with a letter from the Rev. George Thomas. Our then Diocesan Bishop Coorilos Thirumeni visited us and celebrated Holy Communion on Saturday December 3, 2005. In response to our request, the Diocesan Bishop was kind enough to permit to form an official congregation in Austin through a Kalpana dated Dec 21, 2005. Thirumeni’s Kalpana, read on December 24, 2005 announced the formation of Austin Mar Thoma Congregation from January 1, 2006 with the Rev. Mathew Joseph as the first Vicar.
The newly formed Austin Mar Thoma Congregation met regularly for worship at St. George’s Episcopal Church, Austin in the afternoons. Holy Communion Services in Malayalam were conducted on the first Sunday and in English on the third Sunday of each month. English Praise and Worship Services were conducted on the second and fourth Sunday of each month, a tradition we have followed for some time now. Under the Rev. Mathew Joseph’s guidance, vibrant parish ministries such as Sunday School, Choir, Sevika Sangham, Edavaka Mission and Yuvajana Sakhyam were started.
As Austin Mar Thoma Congregation started growing, the members felt a need to have worship on Sunday mornings. The Episcopal Seminary of the Southwest agreed to let us use their chapel for morning worship and in September 2010, we moved from St. George’s Episcopal Church to Christ Chapel. We were ably guided in this transition and in our spiritual journey by the Rev. Dr. Philip Varghese who became our Vicar after the Rev. Mathew Joseph. Under his guidance and leadership, Austin Mar Thoma Congregation applied to become a parish. Our current Metropolitan, the Most Rev. Dr. Joseph Mar Thoma Metropolitan accepted our application and became a parish called Austin Mar Thoma Church on April 15th, 2010. In 2014, we were allowed to elect a Mandalam member.
The Rev. John N. Abraham took over as the Vicar and under his leadership a separate San Antonio Prayer Group and a Senior Citizens group was formed to better cater to the needs of the parish. During the last few years, Austin Mar Thoma Church has been looking to move to a church building of their own. Various capital campaigns have been conducted towards reaching this goal.
Our Belief
We believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all that is, seen and unseen.
We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God, eternally begotten of the Father, God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, of one Being with the Father. Through Him all things were made. For us and for our salvation He came down from heaven: by the power of the Holy Spirit he became incarnate from the Virgin Mary, and was made man. For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate; he suffered death and was buried. On the third day He rose again in accordance with the Scriptures; he ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and his Kingdom will have no end.
We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son. With the Father and the Son He is worshiped and glorified. He has spoken through the Prophets.
We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church. We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins. We look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen. (THE NICENE CREED)