Our Priest
Father Philip LeMasters is the pastor of St. Luke Orthodox Christian Church. Having grown up Baptist and then done some denominational wandering through various Protestant denominations, he became Orthodox in 2000 along with his wife and two daughters. His day job is as Professor of Religion and Director of the Honors Program at McMurry University. In addition, Fr. Philip served from 2008-2020 as a member of the Board of Trustees of St. Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary in New York, where he has taught hybrid courses as Professor of Christian Ethics.
Closer to home, Fr. Philip regularly introduces visiting groups of students from local universities to the Orthodox faith. He has also spoken about Eastern Christianity at Methodist, Episcopal, and Church of Christ congregations in Abilene. He's racked up many frequent flyer miles by speaking at international Orthodox conferences in Greece, Romania, the Netherlands, the Republic of Georgia, and Syria. He has also led retreats in Orthodox churches in Beaumont, TX, and Toronto, Canada.
His latest book, The Forgotten Faith, is a great introduction to Orthodox Christianity: https://www.amazon.com/
Fr. Philip received the Ph.D. in Christian Theology and Ethics from Duke University and is also a graduate of Rice and Baylor. Through the Antiochian House of Studies, he earned the M.A. in Applied Orthodox Theology from the St. John of Damascus School of Theology of the University of Balamand. He was ordained to the priesthood in 2006.
Contact Fr. Philip at frphiliplemasters@gmail.com.
