Holy Transfiguration Orthodox Church - Morrisville/Raleigh/Durham, NC

Early in September 2000, a group of about 20 Orthodox faithful in the Raleigh area of North Carolina asked their Bishop for permission to start a new parish. Archbishop DMITRI granted his blessing, approved the parish's name (Holy Transfiguration), and assigned a priest. Through the end of October 2000 we met for weekend services at the Holiday Inn in Cary. After an intensive search, we found and rented space in a light industrial complex off US-70. With the enthusiastic help of our members, that warehouse was transformed into a place of worship. At the same time, the national Church (OCA) and Diocese of the South awarded Holy Transfiguration a three year church planting grant. By the beginning of 2001 we were "up and running."

After only a year (January 2002), we had outgrown our facilities. Our next step was to rent the adjoining unit in our building. This allowed us to expand the original worship area and provide space for fellowship and church school classes.

In January 2004, the church successfully assumed full financial responsibility when the church planting grant came to an end. Financially independent and still growing, the parish offered a full cycle of services with an average attendance of about seventy at Sunday Liturgy.

By the beginning of 2005, we were once again on the verge of outgrowing our facilities-not only in the nave, but also in the fellowship area and the classrooms. The obvious next step was to locate and purchase property for a new church building. To that end, we had already established a building fund and organized a search committee. In spite of considerable effort, we could not find affordable property. However, we did find a church building for rent and decided to go ahead and take advantage of the opportunity. The new facility will give us more space in the nave, an adequate fellowship hall with a kitchen, more classrooms, and offices.

In June 2006 we signed the lease for the new building and started necessary renovations. On July 15, 2006 we began church services at our new location.

On August 27, 2009 we completed the process of purchasing the church and property. Thanks to the prayers, dedication and hard work of our parishioners who made this possible, we look forward to the continued growth of Holy Transfiguration Orthodox Church to the glory of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.