St. Matthew Antiochian Orthodox Christian Church

St. Matthew is a pan-orthodox congregation. What does that mean? We have many members who are of Middle Eastern descent. But we also have members who are of Russian, Romanian, Egyptian, Greek and Ethiopian background. In addition, we have many who are converts to Orthodoxy.
In order to serve such a diverse community, all our services are in English.

If you have any questions about our church, or about Eastern Orthodoxy, feel free to call or e-mail Fr. George (Aquaro)

Regular services are held Sunday (Orthos and Divine Liturgy) and Saturday (Vespers)
The times of these services and other special services can be found here.

We are located in the South Bay area of Los Angeles county. We are close to both the 110 Harbor Freeway and the 405 San Diego Freeway. Get directions.

House Blessings
With the celebration of Theopahany, Fr. George has begun this year's house blessings.
If you would like him to bless your home (house, condo, apartment, etc), please contact him.

A short description of a house blessing:

If you have an icon corner where you pray, light the candle there, otherwise an icon and lit candle(s) can be placed on a clean table. If there is a censer, it may be lit.

The priest begins the service with a blessing and the Trisagion prayers (O heavenly King through the "Our Father".

After this the entire home is blessed, with the family walking with the priest while the Theophany Troparion is sung over and over:

When Thou, O Lord wast baptized in the Jordan, worship of the Trinity wast made manifest;
for the voice of the Father bore witness to Thee, calling Thee His beloved Son.
And the Spirit in the form of a dove confirmed the truth of His word.
O Christ our God, Who hath appeared and enlightened the world, glory to Thee.

It is a very good idea for the family to sing this troparion, and know it by heart. Otherwise, if the priest has many houses to bless, his voice will get tired!

Upon finishing blessing the house, the family gathers , and a short litany is said for the welfare of the family. The priest should have been provided a list of all family members, including those who are ill. After this a short prayer, and the service is ended.

It is entirely appropriate the deceased loved ones of the family be commemorated from a list provided to the priest.
Sometimes the family wants to give the priest a little something to eat; depending on the time the priest has, he may stay and visit.

When a priest visits, it is NEVER required that the family gives him money. The scripture tells us "Freely you have received, freely give".

View our Activities and Ministries

St. Matthew was the son of Alpheus. From the Hebrew his name means the Gift of Jehovah. He was also known as Levi the Publican, a tax collector for the government of Rome in the Judean town of Capernaum.

St. Matthew wrote the first book of the New Testament, the Gospel According to Saint Matthew. Here he wrote of the coming of Our Lord, the birth of Jesus Christ, the years of His preaching, the story of the Sermon on the Mount and the Passion and Resurrection. It is known that St. Matthew wrote the Gospel in the last quarter of the first century.

St. Irenaeus and St. Clement of Alexandria tell us that after Our Lords Ascension, St. Matthew preached the Gospel in Judea for fifteen years. Tradition says he also preached in Persia and Ethiopia and stories of his martyrdom exist.

Troparion for St. Matthew
You did hear the divine voice and received the light of faith, abandoning the office of publican. You proclaimed the Good News of the ineffable Kenosis of Christ, O Apostle Matthew and now you intercede that they who praise you be granted forgiveness of offenses and great mercy.

Feast Day November 16