Catechumen-friendly churches in the DC Metro area

[MedicineHead]

Hi,
I've been studying Orthodox Christianity for almost 6 years and attending a parish for 2, and considering myself "Orthodox" for about 4, although my baptism and 1st communion were Roman, and I went to an evangelical church for most of my adolescence. I have not been in months due to some issues, personal and church-related. I came to the Church to be chrismated, learn, and worship. I felt like an outsider, since the rest of the OCA church were either cradle-Orthodox or Orthodox-by-marital-necessity. I'm sure the social phobia and associated avoidance don't help. In any case, it's hard to "learn the faith" when I'm the only one who has had to do it, to be chrismated when the priest deems me a mere observer, and to discern authentic Orthodox worship from ingrained cultural identities.

Long story short, I am looking for a parish where I can be a better catechumen in the DC area (anywhere within an hours drive). I'd really appreciate: a spiritual father or priest who is a convert, outreach to parishioners with mental health or substance abuse problems, more formal catechism classes, or somewhere I'm not regarded as a suspicious, church-shopping, ignorant, Scots-Irish "observer."

Thanks for any help, and just for listening.

 

[Dorothea]

Hi, Medicinehead. Welcome to TAW. So, you are looking for an Eastern Orthodox Church in the D.C. area? Well, I am looking around, and I'll post churches in the area, but I'm not sure how far they are from you, and if they will work, but you can always give them a try and see how it goes.

Here's all the Orthodox Churches in the surrounding area on one website:

Orthodox Christian Churches Maryland, Virginia, and Washington D.C. Orthodox Christian Mission Farmville, Virginia Russian Orthodox Church Virginia Greek Orthodox Churches Maryland

 

[Lirenel]

I've attended both the St. Raphael of Brooklyn parish in Chantilly, Virginia (where I was chrismated) and Holy Cross in Linthicum, Maryland. Both have a large percentage of converts (including both priests), and they are both full of really great, welcoming people.

 

[ArmyMatt]

welcome to TAW! I hope you stick around. here are some links for the Churches in the DC area that I found.

OCA - Parishes - District of Columbia
Find a Parish Near You | Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese
ROCOR Parish and Clergy Directory
Saint Sophia Greek Orthodox Cathedral of Washington DC

hope you keep us posted!

 

[Orthosdoxa]

I second Holy Cross. I was there once about 12 or 13 years ago and thought it was very nice. 105 North Camp Meade Road, Linthicum MD 21090 · (410) 850-5090 Maybe give Fr. Gregory a call ahead of time and let him know you're coming, so he can be looking for you to welcome you?

I also went to the OCA Cathedral there in DC a couple of time and I have to say while it was mind-blowingly beautiful inside, I didn't find the people there friendly at all. I wonder if that's the same place you've been attending. It's always unfortunate to hear of a place that seems unwelcoming to outsiders, because that is against everything Orthodoxy is meant to be.

I also went to Vespers at tiny Western rite church that was held in the basement of a Methodist church. Or was it a Catholic church? Wish I could remember what it was called.... it was right off a subway stop, which is why I chose it, but I can't remember much else. I had a summer job a few times at that time with training in Rockville, MD, so I was able to explore a few of the churches out there. Wish I could help more, but that's the extent of my experience in DC. Hope you can find some place to feel comfortable. I have social phobia as well so it's always a struggle to make sure I'm putting out a friendly vibe and seeking out others as well as looking for them to seek me out.

 

[Nephi]

Your experience is a shame to hear about, and while it's not limited to Orthodox churches, isn't an excuse to create ethnic walls. Your faith icon says Oriental Orthodox - are you OO? If so, does that mean you're currently going to an OO church?

If you are going to an OO parish, I would recommend just staying Oriental.

 

[Padovana]

St. Mary's in Falls Church, VA is a nice parish. A bit hard to find, but very friendly and active.

 

[Damaris]

www.stjohndc.org - Russian Orthodox Cathedral of St.John the Baptist, Washington, D.C., USA

The Sunday English liturgy is rather early (8 AM, they start reading the hours at 7:40), but it's a gorgeous church and they are very nice.

It's not near the Metro, but there's a bus stop one block away on 16th St.

 

[MedicineHead]

Thank you for all your responses. It's especially good to hear from some people my own age. Are any of you all converts yourselves, not including for marriage?

I am in Loudoun Co., so St. Mary's and St. Raphael of Brooklyn would be pretty close. In all honesty, I hate going into DC, but I do like going to St. Nick's--the OCA cathedral--for Pascha (easier to get around that late at night!).

Nephi: I just chose the OO icon since I thought it was interesting they had it. Also, reading about orthodoxy in Ethiopia was how I discovered the Church. My feelings on the difference between "Eastern" and "Oriental" are moot, since the very nationality-based OO churches are exactly opposite of what I'm seeking.

Orthosdoxa: You mention a Western rite. That idea sounds perfect. I went to an OCA church thinking it was more an "American" Orthodox church. That was a mistake! It's ironic and sad that Western churches seem to do a better job at being catholic and undivided than the one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church.

Has anyone had any other experiences with Western-rite parishes, or any other recommendation?

 

[Orthosdoxa]

St. Gregory the Great Orthodox Church — A Western Rite Congregation of the Antiochian Archdiocese in Washington, DC Hey! I think this was the one. I was thinking it was named after St. Gregory. Looks like they have their own building now. If you hate going into DC, though, you might not like it so much.

I go to a regular Antiochian parish and love it. We do have a Western rite one in town that I've visited before though, and it's very nice.

I'm a convert - my husband and I met as seekers at Church, actually, and converted together.

 

[Joseph Hazen]

Thank you for all your responses. It's especially good to hear from some people my own age. Are any of you all converts yourselves, not including for marriage?

I don't see your age, but I'm 24 and didn't convert for marriage (converted before I met my wife actually). So did my wife, and so did my best friend. There's a big online community of people our age who converted to Orthodoxy spanning the continent, and so far, while some are now getting married, non converted for that reason.

Orthosdoxa: You mention a Western rite. That idea sounds perfect. I went to an OCA church thinking it was more an "American" Orthodox church. That was a mistake! It's ironic and sad that Western churches seem to do a better job at being catholic and undivided than the one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church.

Be careful to understand the Orthodox definition of "catholic." It is be whole and full, that is, the teachings are present fully from the apostolic times and in not need of any new revelation. If it meant geographically universal The Church could not have been catholic when it only covered the Mediterranean world, could it? Yet it was. The Catholicity of The Church would remain even if there were only one bishop and parish in existence. It's also important to remember that just because something is organized upon national lines doesn't necessarily mean it is divided upon them. Even with their many definitions I regularly find (and this isn't meant to be a sling at Westerners, just a statement of my experience) that practicing members of bodies such as Anglicanism and Roman Catholicism, roughly, historically, analogous to Russian and Greek Orthodoxy, have very widely different doctrines, whereas the "ethnically divided" Orthodox remain consistent in their faith across those "divisions."

I've been to a Western Rite parish several times. Despite having been Roman Catholic for years it doesn't appeal to me as much as the Eastern Liturgy, but I still love that we have it and it is growing. Nevertheless, even if we didn't, that doesn't mean The Church is any less open to Westerners than with it, fundamentally. Eastern and Western are expressions of Orthodoxy, and expressions are cosmetic.

 

[MedicineHead]

It's also important to remember that just because something is organized upon national lines doesn't necessarily mean it is divided upon them.

For sure. But someone ought to check on the guy who organizes that stuff, because America has been a nation for over 200 hundred years now!

 

[gzt]

Orthosdoxa: You mention a Western rite. That idea sounds perfect. I went to an OCA church thinking it was more an "American" Orthodox church. That was a mistake! It's ironic and sad that Western churches seem to do a better job at being catholic and undivided than the one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church.

I don't see what's so unamerican about an OCA church, why the Western church is somehow more catholic and undivided than Orthodoxy, and why a western rite would somehow be more American. I mean, I'm completely at a loss, there are so many latent assumptions there that just do not have to be what they are.

 

[Nephi]

Nephi: I just chose the OO icon since I thought it was interesting they had it. Also, reading about orthodoxy in Ethiopia was how I discovered the Church. My feelings on the difference between "Eastern" and "Oriental" are moot, since the very nationality-based OO churches are exactly opposite of what I'm seeking.

Oh okay, just wondered. By the way, the OO are no more nationality-based than EO churches. They, like the EO, are mostly the byproducts of immigrants and have yet to properly organize here in the USA.

 

[27B6]

...

 

[gurneyhalleck1]

Same with Kate and I...we were married 12 years when we started inquiring into Holy Orthodoxy. 13 years married now. We didn't marry with religious aspirations or one of us to placate the other either...

Welcome to TAW!

A lot of us regulars on TAW are adult converts not by reason of marriage. A lot of us, including me, found Orthodoxy or were helped during our inquiry by people on this forum. I've been Orthodox now for almost four years, was an inquirer/catechumen for one year before that, and was researching Orthodoxy privately for two years before that. I've been participating in this online community for about 5 years I think. My story is pretty typical of others on here. This is a great forum for people who are inquiring about our faith or in the process of converting, because most of us have walked that path and understand the joys and difficulties commonly encountered.

In Christ,
Patrick

 

[Knee V]

Hey there, MedicineHead!

I converted on my own. I began inquiring into Orthodoxy and became a catechumen when I was 22. I had been studying Catholicism for years before that, and my discovery of Orthodoxy was in that context. Once I attended my first Orthodox liturgy, I was hooked. My wife converted on her own as well. We met each other years after we independently converted.

Every Orthododx jurisdiction - even the OCA - has ties and cultural affiliations outside the US. Despite its name, the OCA is an offshoot of the Russian Church, and everything about it, except for the language, is Russian. But don't let that discourage you. None of the foreign affiliations have much to do with the everyday life of the parish. Even the Roman Catholic Church has permanent ties with foreign bishops and is not entirely independent.

I will agree that it is a tragedy that some parishes seem to go out of their way to exclude people that don't look and talk just like them. But other than that - and I think that that is less common than people make it out to be - the organization of our churches has no bearing on our Eucharistic unity that we share as Orthodox Christians.

 

[Joseph Hazen]

For sure. But someone ought to check on the guy who organizes that stuff, because America has been a nation for over 200 hundred years now!

If we had one guy organizing it we'd be Roman Catholic...

 

[ArmyMatt]

I converted when I got into a discussion with an Orthodox street preacher, started arguing, and lost. the rest is history.

and as far as parishes go, they are all Orthodox so I would say go to the closest one to you (either Western or Eastern Rite), and go from there. if they are a welcoming and loving parish and are close by, that would probably be the best.

some food for thought as it were.

 

[AndreasProtoklitos]

I recommend looking at Holy Archangel's mission in Annapolis . My fiancée attends there and leads the choir. The priest is a wonderful and dedicated man. He was raised Baptist and almost became an Anglican priest, but converted to Orthodoxy some years ago. He has a great heart for evangelism and is active at the local colleges. If anything, you could contact him about steps to become Orthodox.

In Christ,
Andrew