About Us, Orthodox Church of Saint Matthew, Columbia, Maryland (MD)

Orthodox Church of St Matthew, Columbia, Maryland (MD)

Our Mission

The Orthodox Church of St. Matthew is to be a community of Orthodox Christians who strive to love the Lord our God with all our hearts, souls, and minds and therefore seek to love our neighbors as ourselves (Matthew 22:37-40).

The goals of our parish are to equip the members of the parish for the work of the ministry, for building up the body of Christ (Ephesians 4:12) and that together we should grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ (2 Peter 3:18).

Because of the desire of our parish community to appeal to the diverse and native population primarily concentrated in the Columbia-Laurel area, we are dedicated to the worship, witness, and teaching of the Holy Orthodox Christian Faith in the native vernacular, English.

The Community of St. Matthew is a parish of the Orthodox Church in America, the Diocese of Washington and New York. Our bishop is His Beatitude, Metropolitan Jonah, Archbishop of Washington and New York, and Metropolitan of All America, Canada and Mexico.

Parish History

— September 2011

April 24, 1988 (Pascha) — St. Matthew parish celebrated its first Divine Liturgy at Fort Meade, MD, led by Father Gregory Pelesh, an Air Force Chaplain. Over the years, as the parish grew, it moved to increasingly larger facilities in Columbia, MD.
1994 (Pascha) — The parish agreed to support the idea of and to sponsor what was to become St. Matthew House, a housing facility for physically disabled adults.
April 25, 1999 — St. Matthew House became a reality and was dedicated by Metropolitan Theodosious.
September, 1999 — The parish decided to pursue the development of a permanent place of worship to be located in Kings Contrivance Village Center, adjacent to St. Matthew House.
In 2000, land that was set aside for interfaith use by the Rouse Company's Howard Research and Development Division became available. Over several years, the parish obtained title to the land, developed, and refined architectural plans for the building.
February 27, 2007 — On the First Sunday of Great Lent, Divine Liturgy was celebrated in the new building.
May 10, 2008 — The Altar and Church were consecrated by Metropolitan Herman.
October 2008 — The parish held its first Multi-Cultural festival, which has become an annual tradition, featuring free live ethnic entertainment and delicious hand-made foods from around the globe. The festival takes place each year, the first weekend in October.
March 6, 2011 — On Forgiveness Sunday, Father Constantine White joined St. Matthew as the presiding priest.

The Orthodox Church of St. Matthew Today

The parish family is blessed with approximately 100 families with a diverse representation of ethnic backgrounds. We have a vibrant Church School for children in pre-school through high school, and a wide variety of active ministries. We invite you to join us for worship!

About Father Constantine

Father Constantine attended St. Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary and was ordained at St. Nicholas Cathedral, where he served for 25 years, eventually becoming the Dean. Father Constantine has also served as the Orthodox Chaplain at Georgetown University since 1986, a position he still holds. Matushka Nina was born in Japan and raised in the Japanese Orthodox Church, her mother having converted to Orthodoxy after WWII. Father Constantine and Matushka Nina met in Japan and eventually married at the Cathedral inTokyo. The Whites have two children, Philip and Alexandra, both recent college graduates.

Clergy Who Have Served

Father Gregory Pelesh (1988 – 1989)
Father Raymond Velencia (1989 – 2010)
Father Duane Johnson (1997 – 2010)
Deacon Nicholas Denysenko (2006 – 2010)

Orthodox Church of St Matthew, PO Box 2003, Columbia, Maryland 21045. Send comments to WebMaster@StMatthewOCA.org.