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.