June 26, 2011
Beltsville, MD: Archpastoral visit of Metropolitan Hilarion to Holy
Apostles Church and historic St. Joseph’s Chapel
On
Saturday the 21st and Sunday the 22nd of May, the 5th Sunday of
Pascha, His Eminence, Metropolitan Hilarion, First Hierarch of the
Russian Orthodox Church Abroad, visited
Holy Apostles Church in Beltsville, MD. Upon completion of the
Divine Liturgy, the rector, Archpriest George Johnson, escorted the
First Hierarch along with a group of parishioners and guests to the
historic brick church on two acres of land that has been donated to
the parish. St. Joseph’s Chapel is a cemetery church, and is listed
on the National Historic Register. The two-acre parcel of land is
located in Beltsville, in an idyllic, peaceful spot on a hill, next
to a cemetery. The land is dotted with beautiful old walnut, cedar,
and holly trees. The church and land were given by the Christian
Brothers to Holy Apostles’ Mission parish as an outright gift on
June 3, 2009.
While strolling the scenic grounds of the chapel, His Eminence gave
a short interview:
"This is one of the old churches in the Washington area, from 1880,
and it’s been given to the parish of the Holy Apostles in Beltsville
for their usage. But it requires about a million dollars or more of
funds to restore it to proper usage as a church. So we appeal to
people, Orthodox Christians, friends, lovers of history, to support
this most worthy endeavor to restore this building as a proper
church. It is in a beautiful setting, and it would be very conducive
to very peaceful spiritual church life for the parish of the Holy
Apostles. So, may God bless everyone who will contribute funds to
the restoration of this church." - Metropolitan Hilarion
For information about the parish of the Holy Apostles, please visit
the parish website
here. A video of Metropolitan Hilarion’s visit to St. Joseph’s
Chapel, prepared by the parishioners of Holy Apostles Church, is
available below:
Republication of materials must include a reference to:
"Eastern American Diocesewww.eadiocese.org."
