Saints Peter and Paul
Community
Saints Peter & Paul Church community was first sanctioned as a Mission
on May 15, 1979. The outpouring of love and faith which brought about this
new beginning, by Fr. George Rados and sixty founding members, was living
proof that faith in God can provide greater miracles than is often
anticipated. For how else did this community, with much potential and few
resources, purchase property, renovate an existing structure and furnish a
church at a cost of $500,000 in less than two years time? How often does a
membership in a parish increase 75% in four short years and continue its
growth despite the transient nature of its area?
The first Vesper-Liturgy of the Parish was celebrated on June 29, 1979,
the Feast day of its Patron Saints, Peter & Paul, at St. George’s
Greek Orthodox Church in Bethesda. With three days notice, a makeshift
altar and borrowed utensils, the first Divine Liturgy was celebrated on
Sunday, August 10, 1979 at Whittier Woods Elementary School. For two years
this school was the church home. The resiliency and enthusiasm of the
parish led to its establishment as a church on Sunday, July 11, 1980. An
abandoned fire house, situated on 2.3 acres in Bethesda, Maryland, had
been purchased one month earlier. This was another miracle since the
Parish, in order to purchase this property, had to raise $65,000 in cash
within sixty days. Time was not an ally. The school auditorium had to be
vacated prior to the start of the 1981 Fall term. The parishioners met the
challenge with the enthusiasm and the spark that was characteristic of the
tenacity they had displayed in founding this community.
On June 29, 1981, the Feast day of Saints Peter & Paul, a Vesper
Liturgy was celebrated with 240 parishioners and guests at the new church
home, 7108 Bradley Boulevard, Bethesda, Maryland. As was hoped and
anticipated, the requirements of the parish exceeded these facilities and
in 1985 the parishioners again committed themselves to a building fund for
the purpose of erecting an educational building and a social hall. This
was completed in July 1988 at a cost of $800,000.
Again in May 1989, the Parish voted to purchase property immediately
adjacent to the church at a cost of $450,000 with future needs to be the
determinant as to how to proceed with the development of the property. In
the meantime, this property was leased first to the Hellenic American
Academy, an Orthodox parochial school, and subsequently to the Lone Oak
Montessori School.
In 1995, the parish whose motto has been ‘ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE TO
HIM WHO BELIEVES’ once again dedicated themselves to a new building
program and purchased six acres of land at River Road, in the heart of
Potomac, on which they plan to build their new and permanent home. An
architect has been hired and the initial design is being developed. Once
the sale of the existing property at Bradley Boulevard has been
consummated, the building program for the new church will be accelerated.
The Antiochian Orthodox Christian
Church
We are a parish of the
Antiochian Orthodox Christian
Archdiocese of North America under the jurisdiction of the
Orthodox Christian Church whose roots trace directly back to first
century Antioch, the city in which the disciples of Jesus Christ
were first called Christians (Acts 11:26). The Orthodox
Church is the oldest and second largest Christian group in the
world. We are called by God our creator to worship and
follow Him, and to proclaim to the world His message of love,
peace, and salvation.
The Antiochian Archdiocese, under the leadership of His
Eminence Metropolitan PHILIP Saliba, sees itself on a mission to
bring America to the ancient Orthodox Christian Faith. We
join our brothers and sisters in the various other Orthodox
Christian jurisdictions affiliated through SCOBA (the Standing
Conference of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of the Americas) — Greek,
Orthodox Church in America, Romanian, Ukrainian, and more — in
this endeavor. In less than 20 years the Archdiocese has
doubled in size to well over 200 churches and missions throughout
the United States and Canada. We welcome you to
visit our parish. More
information about what we believe can be found
here.
Our Clergy
