[Archbishop] Dmitri [Royster] made that Knoxville trip to ordain yet another priest in his diocese, which grew from a dozen parishes to 70 during his three decades. The 87-year-old missionary died last Sunday (Aug. 28) in Dallas, in his simple bungalow \u201d\u201d complete with leaky kitchen roof \u201d\u201d next to Saint Seraphim Cathedral, the parish he founded in 1954.<\/p>\n
Parishioners were worried the upstairs floor might buckle under the weight of those praying around his deathbed.<\/p>\n
The future archbishop was raised Southern Baptist in the town of Teague, Texas, before moving to Dallas. As teens, Royster and his sister became intrigued with the history of the major Christian holidays and began visiting a variety of churches, including an Orthodox parish. The services were completely in Greek, but they joined anyway \u201d\u201d decades before evangelical-to-Orthodox conversions became common….<\/p>\n