St. Matthias Episcopal Church, Athens, Texas, was founded in 1946. The first service was conducted on February 24 of that year. In the church calendar, this date is the feast of St. Matthias, the Apostle so the new church was given his name. The first church building, originally a WWII era army base chapel from Camp Fannin in Tyler, TX. It was erected on the corner of Mission and Loyola in Athens in 1947.