On Thomas Sunday, April 27, 2025, the children of the parish played basketball with Fr. John and some of the parishioners in the church parking lot. The weather was a little windy but beautiful and everyone had a marvelous time. Glory to God for a great day!

On Thomas Sunday, April 27, 2025, an egg hunt was held for the children of the parish. In the Orthodox churches, Easter eggs are blessed by the priest at the end of the Paschal Service, and distributed to the faithful. The egg is seen by followers of Christianity as a symbol of resurrection: while being dormant it contains a new life sealed within it.

On Sunday, March 23, 2025, we were pleased to welcome Brendan Fannon and Bradley Derrickson into the catechumenate during the Divine Liturgy. We humbly ask the Lord's continued blessing upon them as they prepare themselves for sacramental reception into the Orthodox Church!

During the daily services of Great Lent the Church doubles the readings from the Psalter (Book of Psalms).  As our parish was not able to offer all of these services, a group of women, organized by Georgianne Mathews, divided the Psalter into sections so that it could be read together each day. On Bright Wednesday, the Women's Psalter Group met at Cami Milite's house for dinner, fellowship, and to discuss their experience of reading the Psalter together. Many thanks to all who participated in the group and glory to God for all things!

On Bright Friday, April 25, 2025 parishioners and friends gathered at the DeArmitt's home for a Paschal Party. The weather was beautiful this year, the fellowship was as great as ever and this festive celebration of Pascha was enjoyed by all. We give glory to God Almighty and many thanks to Justin and Alexis for opening their home to everyone and punctuating our Bright Week fellowship with a splendid party!

On Sunday, April 20, 2025, the faithful gathered for the Midnight service, celebrating the Feast of Feast, Holy Pascha, which commemorates the Resurrection of our Lord God and Savior Jesus Christ. More than 250 people gathered for the celebration of the liturgical services which were followed by the blessing of foods and a festive meal in the hall and rectory. We greet you all with the joyous exclamation, "Christ is risen! Indeed He is risen!"

From April 13-19, 2025, the faithful gathered at Christ the Savior to celebrate the solemn liturgical services of Great and Holy Week, which commemorate the Lord's voluntary Passion, Cross, Death and Burial.

On Great and Holy Wednesday, April 16, 2025, the faithful gathered for the Mystery of Holy Unction, the anointing with holy oil for the healing of soul and body. The Church’s practice of Holy Unction dates back to Apostolic times, see James 5:14.

On Palm Sunday, April 13, 2025 the faithful gathered to celebrate the Lord's Entrance into Jerusalem. A procession around the church was made while the faithful bore in their hands palms in honor of the festive occasion. Following the beautiful divine services, a traditional fish meal was offered for all present. Glory be to God for all things!

On Lazarus Saturday, April 12, 2025, we welcomed Kaleb Evans and Emily Tamosaitis into the Orthodox Church through Holy Chrismation. We congratulate them, their families, their friends, and all who attended this special event.  May the Lord grant the newly-illumined servants of God health, strength, salvation, a furtherance in every good thing and many blessed years!

On Sunday, April 6, 2025, we had the baptism of Annice DeArmitt, daughter of Justin and Alexis DeArmitt, and granddaughter of Archpriest Joseph and the ever-memorable, Matushka Annice. We extend our congratulations to the entire family, as well as the sponsors, Douglas James Helmick and Julianna Oleynik Cario. May the Lord grant them all health, strength, salvation, a furtherance in every good thing, and many blessed years!

On Sunday, March 30, 2025, we asked the Lord to bestow a blessing upon Taylor, Elisha, Arcadia, and Sybil Applegarth as they have embraced the ministry of candle-making for Christ the Savior. Using the traditional dipping method, they craft new candles from the remnants of those previously offered in worship, carefully layering wax until the desired diameter is reached. This invaluable ministry not only reduces the church’s need to purchase new candles but also ensures that every remnant of these sacred offerings is reverently repurposed. May the Lord abundantly bless the Applegarth family for their dedication, skill, and devotion to this holy work!

On Sunday, March 30, 2025, parishioners and friends took part in a Cornhole Tournament during the fellowship hour after Divine Liturgy. The 20 teams with 40 total players competed in a March Madness-styled, bracketed tournament which resulted in a good time had by all. We thank the Lord for a beautiful day and all the participants as well as those who put on the event. Glory to God for all things!

On Sunday, March 23, 2025, we were pleased to welcome Ezra Harmon and Alan Rodriguez into the catechumenate during the Divine Liturgy. We humbly ask the Lord's continued blessing upon them as they prepare themselves for sacramental reception into the Orthodox Church!

On Sunday, March 23, 2025, we had the baptism of Emmalin Pearl Marina, daughter of Matthew and Kailyn Harmon. We extend our congratulations to the entire family, as well as the sponsors, Alexander Ortiz and Camelia Milite. May the Lord grant them all health, strength, salvation, a furtherance in every good thing, and many blessed years!

In honor of March Madness, we will have a Cornhole Tournament following the Divine Liturgy on Sunday, March 30, 2025.  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 March 9, 2025, we celebrated the Sunday of Orthodoxy with a procession of icons to the Archway at our roadside entrance during the Divine Liturgy. There we had a reading of the ancient Synodicon, the affirmation of the Orthodox Faith that our salvation is proclaimed in both words and images, and the faithful recited the Nicene Creed. We congratulate all who celebrate on this day!

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, March 2, 2025, 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)

We are overjoyed to announce that His Beatitude, Metropolitan Tikhon will visit Christ the Savior Orthodox Church on August 23-24, 2025, as we celebrate our 25th Anniversary! This momentous occasion will be a time of worship, fellowship, and thanksgiving to Almighty God for His abundant blessings over the past quarter-century. We look forward to welcoming our beloved hierarch, along with clergy and faithful from near and far—especially those who helped found and nurture our parish. Please mark your calendars and plan to join us for this joyous celebration! 

On Sunday, February 23, 2025 with the blessing of our diocesan hierarch, Metropolitan Tikhon, the 2025 Parish Council members were installed into office. During the first meeting of the 2025 Council, Ryan Harris was elected Junior Warden and Anya Drobish was elected Secretary. May the Lord bless them all!

Join us on Thursday, February 27, 2025 at 7:00 PM for a special screening of "Saint Joseph the Hesychast", a 60-minute 2020 documentary that dramatizes the life of Elder Joseph the Hesychast, a revered monk on Mount Athos. Please invite your family and friends to enjoy this inspiring portrayal of Saint Joseph. We look forward to seeing you there!

On Thursday, February 2, 2025 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, February 2, 2025, we were pleased to welcome Austin Phalines into the catechumenate during the Divine Liturgy. We humbly ask the Lord's continued blessing upon him as he prepares himself for sacramental reception into the Orthodox Church!

On Sunday, January 26, 2025, 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!

On Friday, January 24, 2025, 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 Saturday, January 18, 2025, we had the baptism of Amelia Kate, daughter of William and Megan Wilkinson.  William was also Chrismated on this day, entering the Orthodox Church to the great joy of his family and the entire parish. Amelia Kate has taken St. Tatiana as her patron and William has taken St. Basil the Great. We extend our congratulations to the entire family, as well as the sponsors, Rdr. Alexander Hubiak and Jessica Lapinski. May the Lord grant them all health, strength, salvation, a furtherance in every good thing, and many blessed years!

On Sunday, January 12, 2025, 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.

To kickstart our fundraising efforts for our New Temple, a generous parishioner has pledged to match every dollar donated to the building fund during the 2025 calendar year, up to $100,000. With your support, we have the opportunity to raise $200,000—bringing us closer to transforming the vision of our new church from a distant dream into a living reality. In addition to traditional donations via cash, check, or online contributions, we welcome gifts of stocks, real estate, or other assets. These alternative forms of giving can provide significant support to our efforts and may offer additional benefits to the donor. Please contact Ioana Davidson, our treasurer, if you would like to make a donation of stock, real estate, or another type of assets.

As this year we celebrate the 25th Anniversary of our beloved parish and as we look toward the future, we are eager to update you on several important developments at Christ the Savior. The Lord has blessed us with incredible growth, and we are progressing with plans for the construction of a new church temple on our property in Berlin, Maryland. This progress is now being accelerated by a generous $100,000 matching donation for the building fund throughout 2025. In the following letter, we recount our story, remembering the many blessings God has graciously bestowed upon our parish over the past 25 years. As we give thanks together, we ask that you: 1) prayerfully consider contributing to the matching donation; 2) participate in a brief survey regarding the new church. Your prayers, feedback, and support are invaluable as we continue to grow and seek to glorify God through the construction of our new spiritual home.