As we celebrate the Annunciation and in honor of March Madness, we will have a Cornhole Tournament following the Divine Liturgy on Sunday, March 26.  Teams of two will compete in the bracket-style tournament with a trophy being bestowed upon the winning team.  If you would like to enter the tournament, please sign-up at the usher stand in the back of the church or submit your team(s) on our website.

On Sunday, March 12, 2023 with the blessing of our diocesan hierarch, Metropolitan Tikhon, the 2023 Parish Council members were installed into office. During the first meeting of the 2023 Council, Cheryl Kokkinos was elected Junior Warden and Vera Yevsukov was elected Secretary. May the Lord bless them all!

On March 5, 2023 His Beatitude Metropolitan Tikhon celebrated the Sunday of Orthodoxy at Christ the Savior, where he blessed the newly fashioned and installed mosaics at the parish entrance. At the conclusion of the Divine Liturgy, Mirona Bendfeldt was presented a gramota in recognition of her leading a team of parishioners, including Mat. Emily Parsells and Rachael Howard, in the design and fashioning of the mosaics which adorn the side walls of the archway and the front of the parish center. 

His Beatitude Metropolitan Tikhon will be making an archpastoral visit to Christ the Savior on the weekend of March 4-5, 2023 to celebrate the Sunday of Orthodoxy and bless the new mosaic installation at our entrance on Carey Road. The schedule of services will be as normal, with Great Vespers on Saturday at 6:00pm and Divine Liturgy on Sunday at 9:00am. At the conclusion of the Liturgy, there will be a procession with icons from the chapel to the archway for the blessing of the new mosaics and the rites commemorating the Triumph of Orthodoxy. 

During the first week of Great Lent the faithful gather for the reading of the Great Canon of Repentance, written by St. Andrew of Crete in the 8th century. In this canon, St. Andrew wonderfully weaves our own personal story of sinfulness and restoration in Christ with the accounts of the sinful and righteous of the Old and New Testaments, giving us greater awareness of not only the history of salvation for the people of God, but also greater insight into how we must participate in the writing of our own personal salvation history.

On Sunday, February 26, 2023, following the Divine Liturgy, we had the beautiful and grace-filled Rite of Forgiveness before entering into the Holy Forty Days of the Great Fast. During this solemn ritual we ask and receive forgiveness from each other and the Lord, who says, “For if you forgive men their trespasses, your Heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive yours.” (Matthew 6:14)

On Tuesday, February 21, 2023 after more than a year of preparation, the mosaics fashioned for the archway at the Carey Road entrance to Christ the Savior were installed. The icon of Christ was made by artisans in the workshop of St. Elizabeth's Convent in Belarus, Minsk, and the 10 Christian symbols were formed by our own parish mosaic team, led by Mirona Bendfeldt and including Rachael Howard and Mat. Emily Parsells. The work was part of Project Illumination, which was dedicated to the memory of Protopresbyter Daniel Hubiak, who founded the church in 2000. It is our prayer that these beautiful mosaics now adorning our entryway serve to invite and inspire everyone who sees them to come to Christ the Savior where they can by the grace of God experience His Kingdom here in Berlin, Maryland.

On Sunday, February 19, 2023 we had our first annual Chili Cook-off in lieu of the coffee hour following the Divine Liturgy. The cook-off was sponsored by the church school, whose coordinator, Anne Rowe, was instrumental in this initiative. Meat-fare Sunday was selected for the chili cook-off because this is the last day that Orthodox Christians partake of meat until Holy Pascha (this year, Sunday, April 16). We express our gratitude to Anne Rowe, the nine contestants, the church school teachers, children, and parents, as well as all who helped to plan and participated in this special event. We congratulate the winners, who received prizes for their tasty chili dishes. Glory to God for all things!

On Sunday, February 19, 2023 there was a short presentation at the end of the Divine Liturgy by the Mosaic Team, headed by Mirona Bendfeldt and including Rachael Howard and Mat. Emily. During the presentation everyone had a chance to view the 10 mosaics fashioned by the team – all of which are Christian symbols which will adorn the walls of our entrance way on Carey Road. Additionally, the large mosaic of the Icon Not-made-by-hands, prepared by St. Elizabeth’s Convent in Minsk, Belarus, was on display before later being installed in the archway in the near future. This was an opportunity to see these beautiful mosaics in advance of their installation and to hear from the Mosaic Team, who has worked diligently for more than a year, dedicating their time, talent, and other resources to this important work, in memory of our parish’s beloved founder, Protopresbyter Daniel Hubiak, and to the glory of God!

On Meat-fare Sunday, February 19, 2023, the parish welcomed a number of visitors, including Archpriest Timothy Hojnicki, who delivered a very fine sermon on the Last Judgment and concelebrated with Archpriests Joseph Oleynik and John Parsells. Following, the Divine Liturgy there was a presentation about the newly fashioned mosaics which are to be installed at the parish entrance on Carey Road. Afterwards everyone gathered for the first annual Chili cook-off, sponsored by the church school.

On Tuesday, February 7, 2023 there was a gathering of the Women’s Group at The Irish Penny in Salisbury, MD.  It was also a celebration of Marian’s birthday and a little February doldrums “pick-me-up”. All ladies in the parish and friends (18+) are welcome to the Women's Group events! Please see Pat McAlpin for more info.

The church school children will be sponsoring a Chili Cook-off on Sunday, February 19 in lieu of the coffee hour. The top three chilies get a prize – anyone can enter a chili and everyone gets a vote! The event coincides with Meat-Fare Sunday, the last day to eat meat before Pascha. Come and cook/compete or just eat – everyone is welcome! To enter a chili dish into the competition, please fill out the form on our website or contact Anne Rowe, our church school coordinator, with any questions.

We resume our Bible Study this Wednesday, February 8, 2023 with a new topic: Christ in the Psalms. The class will be led by Fr. James Parsells from Ss. Peter & Paul in Manville, NJ, who will take us through a number of the Psalms with important messianic prophecies and Christological significance as we journey to Pascha. All are invited to attend!

On Thursday, February 2, 2023 we celebrated the Great Feast of the Meeting of Our Lord in the Temple, which commemorates the Lord’s presentation into His Temple 40 days after His birth in the flesh. This feast concludes the Nativity season. This feast is also called Candlemas as we bless candles on this day.

On Sunday, January 29, 2023, Christ the Savior had its Annual Parish Meeting. The agenda, reports, budget and draft minutes for the meeting are available below. We thank all who attended, presented reports, and assisted with the minutes!

We will have our Annual Parish Meeting this Sunday, January 29, 2023, following the Divine Liturgy, and everyone is asked to please be present for this special event.  Pizza will be provided in lieu of the coffee hour.  We are asking that people so inclined bring drinks and snacks to share.  Questions regarding food/drinks, please see Barbara Kaloroumakis.  There will be no church school but a movie will be shown for the children in the parish hall.  The draft minutes of last year’s annual meeting were distributed in early 2022 and are available online for your review in advance:

On Saturday, January 21, 2023, His Beatitude Metropolitan Tikhon presided at the celebration of the Hierarchical Divine Liturgy at St Nicholas Orthodox Cathedral in Washington, DC. The Archdiocesan clergy and faithful gathered in honor of His Beatitude who will mark the tenth anniversary of his primatial enthronement on Friday, January 27.

On Friday, January 20, 2023, parishioners from Christ the Savior joined other Orthodox Christians and countless people who gathered for the March For Life in Washington, DC. The march is a pro-life rally protesting abortion, held in the nation's capital near the anniversary of the infamous decision in the United States Supreme Court case Roe v. Wade, which was thankfully overturned in 2022. 

On Sunday, January 8, 2023, Archpriest Joseph Oleynik blessed the rectory in the Parish Center. Following the service for the annual blessing of a home, there was an open house in the rectory. Appreciation is expressed to Fr. Joseph as well as all who attended, prayed, prepared food, and shared in fellowship.

On Saturday, January 7, 2023, faithful from Christ the Savior joined St. George Greek Orthodox Church in Ocean City, MD, for the annual blessing of the Atlantic Ocean. The services were led by His Grace, Bishop Apostolos of Medeia of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America. Many thanks to Fr. Christopher Xanthos and the community of St. George for hosting this wonderful event to the glory of God!

On Sunday, January 1, 2023, we kept the custom of St. Basil's Bread (The Vasilopeta). This year the St. Basil's coins were received by Ana Anderson, Ginny Borodulia, John Isaac Davidson and Ludmila Yevsukov; the other coins were received by Nissa Nancy Hall and Daria Parsells. May the Lord grant them many blessed years!