Fw: [DOS Communications] Fire in South Carolina: Request for Prayers and Support

[Fr. Theophan Warren]

Dear Cathedral Family,

Please see the emails below from our Archbishop Alexander, and from our Diocese of the South Chancellor, Fr. Marcus Birch. They describe the recent fire and water damage that was done to the St. John of the Ladder parish in Greenville, South Carolina, that was caused by a lightning strike.

If you should feel lead to help them rebuild and restore their temple, please visit the following Gofundme page. Any amount will help. Thankfully, people have begun to help already, and $74,525, has already been raised towards their $90,000, goal. 

https://www.gofundme.com/f/post-fire-support-st-john-of-the-ladder-orthodox-church

In Christ,

Fr. Theophan 

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From: Archbishop Alexander 
Sent: Monday, March 9, 2026 3:21 PM
Subject: [DOS Communications] Fire in South Carolina: Request for Prayers and Support

Beloved in Christ,

Please find below a letter from Fr. Marcus Burch regarding the devastating lightning strike and fire at St. John of the Ladder parish in Greenville, SC. Please consider sharing this with your communities via email and otherwise. At the very least, pray for our brothers and sisters in Greenville in this time of extreme need.

May the Lord bless you all in our continued Lenten journey.

In Christ,

+A 

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+Alexander

Bishop of Dallas and the South

Dear Brothers and Concelebrants,

All the blessings of the fast!

Sometime around 10:00 pm on Saturday, March 7th, our parish, St. John of the Ladder Orthodox Church, was struck by lightning and caught fire. We have seen tremendous growth the last few years and we are a community that is simply “bursting at the seams.” We had already started hosting services in Spartanburg, SC, (what we call our Spartanburg Chapel) in order to serve our growing flock. We also serve an early morning service in our side chapel in Greenville. With our three services we find ourselves serving well over 500 souls, and the growth continues without any sign of slowing down. 

 

Due to the damage to our temple, we will temporarily be holding services in our Parish Hall. We plan to continue to have Divine Liturgy at 7:00 am and 9:30 am on Sundays, as well as our normal weekday services. We will also continue to hold services at our Spartanburg Chapel, currently hosted at the American Legion. 

 

This unfortunate disaster poses some challenges to serve our people amidst this continued growth. Our use of the Parish Hall simply further limits our capacity. Our beautiful iconography, which is done by Seraphim O’Keefe, our artist-in-residence, will need to be restored, along with our temple complex more generally. We also need to continue to provide more space for our growing parish and hope to plant more chapels that can become distinct parishes. 

 

All this simply underscores the mission of the Church more broadly and St John of the Ladder more particularly: to bring the fullness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the Upstate SC, particularly with beautiful and reverent worship, as well as Christ-centered hospitality for our neighbors. We have been working tirelessly to this end already, and we believe God has opened the roof of our building (as in Christ’s encounter with the paralytic, Mark 2.1-12) to galvanize us, our community, and hopefully our wider community, to support this mission with time, talent, and treasure.

 

We are in a season of growth and expansion. God is doing marvelous things here in Greenville. We ask for your prayers, and we ask that you consider giving to our GoFundMe campaign, which is aimed at meeting our needs, both physical and missional. 

 

Far from being discouraged, we see this as a clear opportunity to continue with our mission in the upstate of South Carolina. 

Link to our GoFundMe page.

I have also attached a few photos below of our parish before and after the damage (others are available on the GoFundMe page). I am happy to provide others, should you need them.

In Christ, and with the fast,

Fr. Marcus

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