Loudoun County VA to have first Orthodox Church
January 6, 2006
Loudoun County, Virginia will soon have its first Orthodox church. Holy Trinity Orthodox Church purchased land in Sterling, Virginia, a number of years ago with plans to build a church to serve its congregation. Holy Trinity has been temporarily worshiping in a community center while it prepares to build a proper, Byzantine-style church, a vital part of Orthodox worship. Loudoun County originally granted it a permit to do so, but while Holy Trinity worked to raise construction funds, its first permit expired. When Holy Trinity re-applied, the Board, emboldened by the NIMBYism complaints of a few church neighbors, suddenly sang a different tune and threatened to deny the application. The neighbors complained that a domed church would be out of place in their Virginia neighborhood – nevermind that a Protestant congregation recently built its church nearby. At the church’s request, The Becket Fund intervened in the case and wrote a letter to the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors, explaining that RLUIPA protects Holy Trinity’s religious exercise, and a denial of that permit would raise serious concerns under federal law. The Board relented, voting 7-0-2 to grant Holy Trinity’s application.
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