St. Timothy & St. Athanasius Coptic Orthodox Church

Business Details

Who We Are
Located in Arlington, Virginia—just a few miles outside of Washington, DC—St. Timothy and St. Athanasius (STSA) Church is a Coptic Orthodox Church established in 2012. Here at STSA, we aim to provide a welcoming environment that will help you and your family learn, grow, and feel the power and love of God through an ancient faith, extreme love, and real community. We are a place where people can unite to worship God as one family – regardless of ethnic, cultural or spiritual background.

Our Mission
STSA’s mission is to “bring an ancient faith to a modern world" by:
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Presenting eternal truths in a manner relevant to modern culture

Celebrating all services entirely in English

Engaging in and serving the local community

Emphasizing the importance of evangelism

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We believe that the Church of the New Testament – which is the Body of Christ – is alive today in the same way that Christ – who is the Head – is alive as well. Therefore our aim is to continue in the footsteps of the New Testament Church and follow the model given in Acts 2​.

How We Do It
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CORE VALUES FOR A MODERN WORLD
STSA organizes its ministry around 10 Core Values: limitless acceptance, authentic community, transformation communal worship, passionate pursuit of God, Christ-like integrity, faith-filled vision, irrational generosity, faithful stewardship of talents/gifts, personal call to evangelism and genuine love for community—that flow from its foundational tradition.

Our church strives to live out these core values through a variety of means, including:

THE WELL
This is our guest-friendly “second service,” which takes place weekly after the Divine Liturgy. Each week The Well brings a relevant, thought-provoking topic that challenges us to understand our faith more personally and engage in it more practically. We aim to communicate the depth and riches of our ancient faith, in simple and understandable ways that are relatable to the modern world.

GROUPS
We believe church should be about much more than just attending Sunday services. We believe it is a family. So, we designed a variety of groups (Life, Leisure and Learning Groups) to provide community and meet the relational needs of members.

ANCIENT FAITH CLASSES
We believe that to passionately pursue God, one must continue to grow in the knowledge and understanding of who God is and the faith He passed down to us. Ancient Faith Classes are designed to help members grow in their depth and understanding of God and the Holy Orthodox faith.

VOLUNTEERING
We believe that every one of us is entrusted by God with specific talents and gifts and He has given them to us to further His mission on earth. Regardless of what those gifts or talents might be, we believe that there is a place for them in our church and we encourage every member to become spiritual contributors, not just spiritual consumers.

COMMUNITY IMPACT
We believe that we were sent to our community to be a blessing to it. Therefore, we make it our aim to serve the local D.C. Metro Area community, with “no strings attached.” We do not just care about spiritual needs, but physical, emotional, and social needs as well.

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Mission Journeys
Christ’s mission was to seek and save the lost. He entrusted that mission to the apostles on the day of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit ignited them to go beyond their inner circle and be lights to the entire world. Today at STSA Church, we continue the evangelism work that Christ and the apostles gave us by going beyond the walls and into our community and abroad to the world. God's word tells us, “For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord” Habakkuk 2:14

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Join Us
Each Sunday we hold two services, a liturgical worship service followed by The Well, a service with uplifting music and an inspiring, relevant message. Our children and youth programs are also held during this time.

Everyone is welcome to join us any Sunday in-person!