St. Matthew ChurchAccessible

Columbia, Maryland

St. Matthew Church

Founded 1988

Diocese: Archdiocese of Washington, D.C.

Deanery: Washington, DC Deanery

Address

7271 Eden Brook Dr
Columbia, Maryland 21046

Mailing address:

PO Box 2003
Columbia, MD 21045

Email:

Website: stmatthewoca.org

Church: 240-755-0324

Parish Contacts

Rector
Attached

Lay Leadership

Mr. Craig Moyer
Parish Council President
Ms. Beth Jubinski
Choir Director
Ms. Kate Richer
Church School Coordinator
Mr. Wolfgang Finkbeiner
Junior FOCA Youth Coordinator
Ms. Sungjoo Kim Finkbeiner
Junior FOCA Youth Coordinator

Directions

From I-95
Take I-95 to MD Route 32 west or take Route 29 to Route 32 east.  Once on Route 32 exit on “Shaker/Eden Brook”.  At the end of the exit ramp, turn right. If you were coming from I-95 you are now on Eden Brook Drive heading south. If you were coming from Route 29 you are on Old Columbia Road and will need to go to the traffic light and turn left unto Eden Brook.  When on Eden Brook go straight through the traffic light at Guilford Road. On your left there will be a shopping center, the Kings Contrivance Village Center. Turn left at the second entrance to the village center. (If you go past Sweet Hours Way, you’ve gone too far.) There are two church buildings to your immediate right. St. Matthew is the second one.

Schedule of Services

5:00 PM Great Vespers.
Saturday Evening

9:30 AM Divine Liturgy followed by Fellowship and Church School.
Sunday Morning

For a complete list of upcoming services, please visit the Monthly Calendar on the parish website.

Parish Background

The Orthodox Church of St. Matthew began as a mission parish in April 1988. The first service of the St Matthew community was held on the fifth Saturday of Lent at the Main Chapel at Ft Meade, MD. The first Divine Liturgy was celebrated by Father Gregory Pelesh, an Air Force Chaplain.

Over the years, as the parish grew, it moved to increasingly larger facilities in Columbia, MD. As the parish continued to grow, it decided to pursue the development of a permanent place of worship, to be located in the Kings Contrivance Village Center. The building is modeled after 3rd century Byzantine churches. The iconography inside the church is being written by members of the parish. On February 27, 2007, the First Sunday of Great Lent, Divine Liturgy was celebrated in the new building. The Altar and Church were consecrated by Metropolitan Herman on May 10, 2008. On March 6, 2011, Forgiveness Sunday, Father Constantine White joined St. Matthew as the presiding priest.

Being one of the few Orthodox churches in Howard County, the parish community celebrates and enjoys a diverse representation of ethnic backgrounds.