About Annunciation Greek Orthodox Cathedral
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Annunciation Greek Orthodox Cathedral is the proto-cathedral of the Metropolis of Denver, the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, under the spiritual authority of His Eminence Metropolitan ISAIAH of Denver. Located at 3511 Yoakum Boulevard in the Museum District, just north of St. Thomas University, the Cathedral is a well-known Houston landmark.
In 1917 the Annunciation community organized the first Greek Orthodox Church in Houston, located on Walker Avenue in the present-day Tranquility Park in downtown Houston. Required to move because of city construction and its own expanding membership, the congregation erected its present sanctuary on Yoakum Boulevard in 1952. Annunciation gained the distinction of "Cathedral" in 1967 when Houston became the See of the 8th Diocesan District of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of North and South America. While the Metropolitan Center is now located in Denver, Colorado, Annunciation Cathedral remains one of the largest Orthodox churches in America and a center for Orthodox education, ministry, and Greek cultural events in the Houston area.
The Annunciation Cathedral complex includes the Cathedral sanctuary; the Polemanakos Educational Building; the Steve G. Caloudas Athletic Center; the S. P. Martel Hall, with kitchen and banquet facilities for 500, and the Cathedral bookstore; the Administration wing; the Festival Center; and the St. George Chapel. An outdoor courtyard with fountain, reminiscent of Greece, provides an attractive space for visiting outdoors, with an adjacent playground and two nurseries for the children. Ample parking is provided on Yoakum Boulevard across the street from the Cathedral.
