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
The Sunday of Orthodoxy
(A sermon for the First Sunday in Lent) Today, in addition to observing the First Sunday of Lent, we celebrate the Sunday of Orthodoxy - a good time for us to reflect on the significance of the Orthodox faith, the faith that should always guide our lives. Our celebration today recalls a time, over a thousand years ago, back in the … More...
The Lives of the Saints
St. Chad of Litchfield
(Feast Day ~ March 2) During the presidential election of 2004 we heard much about “chads”. After the reporters had exhausted their supply of words about such things as “dimpled chads” and “hanging chads”, they moved on to enlighten us about the country Chad and then to teach Americans - many for the first time - about St. Chad, who was bishop … More...
Latest News
April Newsletter
During the month of April, we will continue to offer Stations of the Cross and Litany of the Cross as a Lenten devotion on Fridays at 6:30PM. We will also continue our collection of baby items for the Orthodox Christians for Life National Baby Shower which will be donated to the Shady Grove Pregnancy Center. Offerings … More...
The Good News of Orthodoxy
From a Sermon by the Venerable St. Bede
The Resurrection of our Lord and Savior has consecrated the vigil of this most sacred night for us, dearly beloved, as we have heard from the Gospel reading. Rightly do we celebrate this night with watching and hymns, out of love for Him who, out of love for us, willed to spend it in the sleep of death and to be raised from … More...
From a Sermon by St. Melito of Sardis
There was much proclaimed by the prophets about the mystery of the Passover: that mystery is Christ, and to him be glory for ever and ever. Amen. For the sake of suffering humanity he came down from heaven to earth, clothed himself in that humanity in the Virgin's womb, and was born a man. Having then a body capable of suffering, he took the … More...