Arlington, Washington, October 8, 2026
Photo: Natalie Molfino
29 people were baptized into holy Orthodoxy at St. Andrew Orthodox Church in Arlington, Washington, on September 26, while 78 more are catechumen, preparing for their own Baptisms.
The Antiochian parish, located about halfway between Seattle and the Canadian border, has 310 members. Its congregation has doubled over the past three years, and about 65 people have been baptized at the church so far in 2026, reports the Union of Orthodox Journalists of America.
Those baptized on September 26 included several single men, a high-school football player who later led his mother to Orthodoxy, several young families, and four infants born to Orthodox parents. The recent growth is a substantial increase from the parish’s membership of just three years ago.
Photo: Natalie Molfino
Fr. David Hovik serves as rector of St. Andrew, which entered the Orthodox Church about 30 years ago after converting from a nondenominational Protestant background.
The parish website states: “The St. Andrew Orthodox Christian community is striving to obey unadulterated traditional practices of the One, Holy, Apostolic and Undivided Orthodox Church.”
It adds that, “with the help of God, the Most Holy Ever-Virgin Theotokos, our Patron Saint St. Andrew the First-Called of the Apostles and all of the Martyrs and Saints, we are steadfastly committed to preserving and safeguarding the Purity of our Holy Orthodox Faith in the midst of the growing universal apostasy.”
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