Denton, Texas, June 25, 2025
Photo: Vimeo
After nearly a quarter-century of steady growth in the Victorian historic district of Denton, TX, St. Maximus the Confessor Orthodox Church is embarking on an ambitious building project to accommodate its expanding congregation.
The parish, which began as a small mission in 2001 with just ten adults and two children, is the only Orthodox church serving the greater Denton region. Now, faced with a congregation that has far outgrown its current space, church leaders are raising funds for a new $3.7 million church designed specifically for their unique needs.
“We started getting inundated in the mid-2010s and totally outgrew the existing space,” says the church’s fundraiser. The parish has an active schedule with multiple services, Bible studies, and catechism classes occurring almost daily.
The fundraising effort has already shown strong community support, with over $1 million raised to date— representing 27% of the total $3.7 million goal.
Unique design blends Orthodox tradition with Texas character
The new church building represents a thoughtful approach to architecture that honors both Orthodox Christian traditions and local Texas aesthetics. Designed by renowned Orthodox architect Andrew Gould, the structure aims to “look Texan as well as Orthodox” while remaining welcoming to people of both American and ethnic backgrounds.
The parish’s current worship space. Photo: stmaximus.org
Plans for the new church. Photo: givebutter.com
The design incorporates several distinctive features driven by both liturgical needs and historic district requirements. Because the building must maintain a “sensitive relationship” to the existing Greek Revival house on the property without blocking its street visibility, the architects developed a compact footprint with a spacious wraparound loft to accommodate the full congregation.
This loft design, while common in compact urban churches built under the Ottoman Empire, is rarely seen in new Orthodox construction today. Combined with the vertical proportions and tall iconostasis, the space promises to create an “impressive and dramatic liturgical space.”
The exterior will feature red brick trim and timber ceilings that contribute what designers call “a warm American aesthetic” while maintaining Orthodox architectural principles.
Historic significance and community impact
St. Maximus the Confessor Orthodox Church holds special significance as the only canonical parish in the Western Hemisphere dedicated to the memory of St. Maximus the Confessor, the great 7th-century theologian and saint. The parish was established in July 2001 when Archbishop Dimitri of Dallas of blessed memory sent Fr. Justin Frederick to Denton to start the mission.
Fr. Justin stated in a promotional video:
We are one of a handful of churches in the whole world dedicated to the memory of St. Maximus. We’re honored to have him as a patron and we’d like to give you the opportunity to show your love for him and appreciation for him by helping build a beautiful, durable, traditional temple in his honor. It would be a credit to his name and a place where Orthodoxy can continue grow here in north Texas, and hopefully be a place from which other parishes will spring. To build a traditional church like this would be a testimony to the beauty and truth of the faith, that we’re willing to make the effort to build something truly lovely and unusual compared to local building standards. This would be a testimony to the truth of the Orthodox faith and something that would attract people to come and see.
Visit the church’s Givebutter campaign to learn more and offer a donation.
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