COME AND SEE!
You are warmly invited to experience authentic early Christian worship in the Orthodox Church
Upcoming Feast Days
The Feast of the Transfiguration of Our Lord Vigil w/ Artoklasia (Blessing of the Five Loaves) 6:30pm, August 5 Divine Liturgy, 9:30am, August 6
The Feast of the Transfiguration of Our Lord, God and Savior Jesus Christ is celebrated each year on August 6. The feast commemorates the transfiguration of Christ on Mount Tabor, when our Lord appeared in His divine glory before the Apostles Peter, James, and John. We will celebrate this great feast of the Church with a Vigil w/ Artoklasia, tonight, 6:30pm and the Divine Liturgy, tomorrow, 9:30am. Please bring food to share for a potluck meal to follow the morning liturgy.
It is also the Orthodox custom to include the blessing of grapes and other fruit as part of the Feast of the Transfiguration since it coincides with the first harvest of the season. They are blessed as an offering of the "first-fruits" our labor to the Glory of God. Feel free to bring grapes, figs, pomegranates, apples, peaches, etc. to be blessed and place them in the baskets that will be provided at the front of the church
“Thou wast transfigured on the mount, and Thy Disciples, in so far as they were able, beheld Thy glory, O Christ our God; so that, when they should see Thee crucified, they would remember that Thy suffering was voluntary, and could declare to all the world that Thou art truly the effulgent Splendor of the Father. ”
The Feast of the Dormition (falling-asleep) of the Most Holy Theotokos 5:00 & 6:30pm Matins & Divine Liturgy, August 14
The Orthodox Church teaches that Mary is without personal sins. In the Gospel of the feast, however, in the liturgical services and in the Dormition icon, the Church proclaims as well that Mary truly needed to be saved by Christ as all human persons are saved from the trials, sufferings and death of this world; and that having truly died, she was raised up by her Son as the Mother of Life and participates already in the eternal life of paradise which is prepared and promised to all who “hear the word of God and keep it” (Lk11.27–28).
In giving birth, you preserved your virginity. In falling asleep you did not forsake the world, O Theotokos. You were translated to life, O Mother of Life, and by your prayers, you deliver our souls from death (Troparion).
Neither the tomb, nor death, could hold the Theotokos, who is constant in prayer and our firm hope in her intercessions. For being the Mother of Life, she was translated to life, by the One who dwelt in her virginal womb (Kontakion).
Our Patronal Feast of the Elevation of the Holy Cross 8:15 & 9:30am Matins & Divine Liturgy, September 14
Following the legal recognition of the Christian Faith and the end of the persecutions against the followers of Jesus by the emperor Constantine, he sent his mother to the Holy Land to find the cross on which our Lord was crucified. Our parish, Holy Cross Orthodox Church, lives under the protection of the Precious and Holy, Life-giving Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. Each year on September 14 we commemorate this blessed event. Please join us for this wonderful celebration!
“O Lord, save Thy people and bless Thine inheritance, granting victory to Orthodox Christians over their adversaries and by Thy Cross, preserve Thy habitation.””
☦️ ☦️ ☦️ Memory Eternal ☦️ ☦️ ☦️
SUNDAY, JUNE 22, 2025
Attack on St. Elias Church of Dweilaa, Damascus
Statement from the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch and All the East
On this day when our Antiochian Church commemorates All the Saints of Antioch, the treacherous hand of evil struck this evening, claiming our lives, along with the lives of our loved ones who fell today as martyrs during the evening Divine Liturgy at the Church of the Prophet Elias in Dweilaa, Damascus.
According to the initial information available at this time, an explosion occurred at the entrance of the church, resulting in the deaths of numerous martyrs and causing injuries to many others who were inside the church or in its immediate vicinity.
As we are currently counting the martyrs and the wounded, and gathering the remains and bodies of our martyrs, whose exact number we have not yet been able to determine, the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch and All the East strongly condemns this heinous act and denounces, in the strongest terms, this horrific crime. It calls upon the responsible authorities to assume full responsibility for what has happened and continues to happen in terms of violation against the sanctity of churches, and to ensure the protection of all citizens.
His Beatitude Patriarch John X has been personally following the developments from the very first moment. He is conducting both local and regional communications to convey the grim reality unfolding in Damascus to the entire world. He is calling for urgent action to put an end to these massacres.
We offer our prayers for the repose of the souls of the martyrs, for the healing of the wounded, and for the consolation of our grieving faithful. We reaffirm our unwavering commitment to our faith and, through that steadfastness, our rejection of all fear and intimidation. We beseech Christ our God to guide the ship of our salvation through the storms of this world, He who is blessed forever.
The Homily of Patriarch John X At the Funeral of the Martyrs of St. Elias Church in Dweilaa, Damascus
We pray, dear ones, for our martyrs, our wounded, and their families. We pray for our country and for the entire world. We pray that the future Syria will be the homeland every Syrian dreams of.
This criminal entered the church, being armed and carrying explosives. Our young men—Jiries, Bishara, and Boutros, whom I know personally—saw him. They pulled him back, pushed him away, and threw themselves on him. They willingly accepted to be torn apart, and they were, so they could safeguard those inside the church. This is our people. They are our heroes. They were torn apart to protect, as I was told, 250 people inside the church.
Before this heroic Christian people, I affirm boldly: we do not fear, and we press onward in our journey.
In the presence of the magnitude of this scene, I conclude by affirming that they would have acted likewise to protect those around them, even if they had been in a mosque.
Metropolitan Saba’s Pastoral Letter on Dweilaa Attack
Beloved in Christ:
I greet you with a heavy heart as we continue what has otherwise been a joyous time for me leading our seminarians, recent seminary graduates and clergy on a pilgrimage in Jordan and Lebanon, allowing them to deepen their roots and their understanding of the Patriarchate of Antioch and Christianity in the Middle East.
Yesterday, for the first time, we celebrated the feast of the Sunday of All Saints of Antioch, recalling the many martyrs and other great saints of our ancient and Apostolic Church where “the Disciples were first called Christians” (Acts 11:26). Sadly, yesterday, in addition to the martyrs of history like Ignatius, Barbara, Christina, Joseph of Damascus and the recently canonized father and son priests Nicholas and Habib, new faithful were added whose blood will nourish the soil of our Church, allowing it to grow and flourish in the days and years to come. During the sacred and holy Divine Liturgy, there was a terrorist attack on our church of the Prophet Elias in the suburb of Dweilaa in Damascus, Syria. As of this letter, more than 25 people have been martyred, and dozens more have been injured. This is the first such deliberate bombing of a church in Syria since the start of the war in 2011.
Along with praying for the souls of the departed, the families of these new martyrs for the Faith need our prayers and encouragement. With that in mind, I ask that all our churches hold Paraklesis services in the coming days, asking the Most-Holy Theotokos to comfort those who are suffering. At the same time, I am directing all our parishes to hold Trisagion Prayers of Mercy this Sunday, June 29, for those who lost their lives in this cowardly act of violence directed at people who were simply trying to pray and participate in the Divine Liturgy.
Finally, this Sunday is significant in that it is the feast of Saints Peter and Paul, the patrons and protectors of our Holy See of Antioch. The successor of these holy apostles is our Father in Christ, His Beatitude Patriarch John X. A notable layman, Mr. Carol Saba, wrote a piece after the bombing which began, “The Patriarch consoles everybody, but who consoles the Patriarch?” As the successor of our patron saints, let us also pray for him that he may lead the Church of Antioch through this difficult time.
Wishing you and your families peace and asking for your prayers for us as we continue our pilgrimage, I remain,
Your Father in Christ,
+SABA
Archbishop of New York and Metropolitan of All North America
New martyrs of Dweilaa, pray to God for us…
Paraklesis Service led by Fr Joshua at the Parish Life Conference of the Dioceses of New York and Washington, D.C. & Oakland, Charleston and the Mid-Atlantic at the Antiochian Village on Friday, June 27, 2025.
“When He opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the testimony which they held. And they cried with a loud voice, saying, “How long, O Lord, holy and true, until You judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?” Then a white robe was given to each of them; and it was said to them that they should rest a little while longer, until both the number of their fellow servants and their brethren, who would be killed as they were, was completed.”
+ St. John the Beloved (Revelation 6:9–11)
The Orthodox Church is the One Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. We are a Christ-centered church. In fact, we share an unbroken history with the Faith of the first Christians, and we can trace our history back to the Apostles themselves.
This parish is part of the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America. We are pan-Orthodox. This means our membership includes many who were born into the Faith, as well as many converts. In our parish, all services are fully in English.
Anyone and everyone is more than welcome to join us for services! If you have questions about our church and what we believe, feel free to reach out to Father Joshua, our parish priest!
Upcoming Events
Online Giving
Use the button below to make a secure online donation.
Usual Service Times
Matins - Sun 8:15am
Divine Liturgy - Sun 9:30am
Vespers/Akathist - Wed 6:30pm
Great Vespers - Sat 5:00pm
Live Streaming
While there is no substitute for gathering together in the mystery of the Divine Liturgy and partaking in Holy Communion, and participating in the other divine services of the Church, if you are unable to attend in person, you are invited to join us via live stream.
Located in Linthicum, MD, Holy Cross Antiochian Orthodox Church is a parish of the Antiochian Orthodox Archdiocese of North America. We began as a mission parish in early 1993 with six families who converted to Holy Orthodoxy. Today, our community numbers over 200 members, about half of whom are converts from several Protestant denominations.