Met Hilarion at Holy Apostles.mp4

Metropolitan Hilarion's visit to Holy Apostles Orthodox Church, May 21st & 22nd, 2011

Metropolitan Hilarion of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia visited Holy Apostles Orthodox Church in Beltsville, Maryland, on May 21st and 22nd, 2011, on the 5th Sunday of Pascha. After the Divine Liturgy, the rector, Fr. George Johnson, took the Metropolitan and some of our guests and parishioners to see the historic brick church on two acres of land that has been donated to the parish. The St. Joseph's chapel is a cemetery chapel 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.

The Metropolitan gave a short interview as he stood on the grounds in front of the church:

"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's 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 our parish and Orthodox Christianity, see our website at www.holyapostlesorthodoxchurch.org.