St. Sava Orthodox Church is blessed to have a loving and knowledgeable clergy to shepherd the church faithful and those who are inquiring about the Orthodox faith. Father Photius Avant is the rector of St. Sava. He is supported by Father Gregory Conley and Deacon Vasilios Colias.
Fr. Photius Avant
Father Photius has been with St. Sava’s since June 2011. Father is a native of Texas, and graduated from the University of North Texas with a Bachelor of Arts in Literature. He lives in Plano with his wife Matushka Carissa and their four beautiful children. Prior to attending seminary, Father was a full-time public school teacher. After attending St. Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary in Crestwood, NY, where he earned a Master of Divinity in 2011, Father joined St Sava’s and now serves as our pastor.
Father is able to bless St Sava’s with his deep experience in education through continuing adult religious education in our community.
We are excited and blessed to have him as our pastor ministering to the spiritual needs of our community.
Fr. Gregory Conley
Father Gregory was ordained to the Holy Priesthood by His Grace Bishop Gerasim on December 18, 2022, after having served for many years as Protodeacon at St. Sava and as a deacon at St. Seraphim Cathedral in Dallas. Fr. Gregory had a long career in public service as a police officer, as Police Chief in McKinney, Texas, and then as Director of Public Safety for McKinney. In addition to a master’s degree in criminology and criminal justice from the University of Texas at Arlington, Fr. Gregory has a bachelor’s degree in theology and attended a protestant seminary prior to becoming an Orthodox Christian.
He and his wife Matushka Hilaria (Lori) are the parents of Matushka Carissa.
Dn. Vasilios Colias
Deacon Vasilios Colias was raised in the Orthodox faith from birth and began his ministry at the age of five as an altar server at his childhood home parish, St Symeon the New Theologian, in Birmingham, Alabama. He was tonsured a Reader by Archbishop Dmitri of Dallas in 2003 at St. Seraphim Orthodox Cathedral in Dallas, TX, and was ordained to the Holy Diaconate in December 2022 at St Sava by His Grace Bishop Gerasim of Fort Worth.
When he is not serving at the church, he is working as a Firefighter/Paramedic for the City of Richardson or spending time with his wife Elizabeth and their five children at their home in Mckinney, TX.
History of St. Sava Orthodox Church
St. Sava Orthodox Church, a parish of the Orthodox Church in America, Diocese of the South, was founded in 1988, by the V. Rev. Bogdan Djurdjulov to serve the communities of Allen, Plano, McKinney, Frisco, and beyond. In early 2005, St. Sava relocated to 3801 Avenue K, a former Baptist church. In 2007, the Church purchased the current property, and in December 2009, moved to the current location in Allen, TX, where a temporary mobile structure became our temple. In 2021 our new temple was built on the corner of S. Jupiter Rd. and Chaparral Rd. The original temple currently serves as our temporary parish hall to accommodate meals, meetings, classrooms, and office space. A new Parish Hall Campaign is currently underway. Click the link above to learn more about our future plans for St. Sava Orthodox Church.
