Welcome!
We are a Western Rite Orthodox church located in Silver Spring, Maryland, a suburb of Washington, DC. As a congregation of the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese, we are part of the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch and all the East (“…the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch” Acts 11:26). While we share the faith of all Orthodox Christians around the world, as a Western Rite congregation we are blessed by our bishops to use the ancient forms of Western worship. Most of us are converts from many different backgrounds who have come to Orthodoxy in search of authentic Christianity and a place where we may grow in knowledge and love of God. In the Orthodox Church we have found the “pearl of great price” and we rejoice to share what we have discovered. We hope that you will explore our web site and join us in worship.
Sermons by Fr. Nicholas Alford
Nativity of St. John the Baptist
While we celebrate the lives of most of the saints on the day of their deaths, or rather on the day that they entered into the life to come, we also celebrate their birthdays in the church calendar: the birthday of Our Lord (on December 25th), of His blessed Mother (on September 8th), and of St. John the Baptist (today, June 24th). … More...
The Lives of the Saints
St. Gorazd of Prague, Bishop & Martyr
(Feast day ~ September 4) We should never forget that saints are being made every day. Devout Christians are living holy lives, providing others with examples of Christian love and sacrifice. Often, it is one important decision in one moment that causes a person to rise to such sanctity, and it is only in retrospect that we learn about and come … More...
Latest News
September Newsletter
In the month of September, two holy days will be celebrated with Vespers at 6:30pm, Mass at 7, and pot-luck suppers following: the Exaltation of the Holy Cross on Monday, September 14 and St. Michael the Archangel on the Eve, Monday, September 28. Thanks to all who have volunteered to be a part of one of the … More...
The Good News of Orthodoxy
A Reading from a homily by St. Caesarius of Arles
In the lesson which was read to us, dearly beloved, we heard about the time when the people were destroyed in the desert by serpents or basilisks, because of the pride of the Jews and their murmuring against the Lord. [Numbers 21:9] Moreover, the Lord commanded Moses to make a brazen serpent and hang it on a tress, so that anyone who had been … More...