About Our Parish

Our Parish History

We started as a small group of families and individuals from the Snohomish–Monroe–Lake Stevens area who had been attending St. Paul Orthodox Church in Brier, near Lynnwood, and St. Andrew Orthodox Church in Arlington. For many years, our group prayerfully desired to bring Orthodoxy “home” to the Snohomish area. In early 2003, with Father Thomas Davis as our spiritual leader, we began weekly meetings and Vespers services at a parishioner’s home in the Cathcart area. In March 2004, we secured a warehouse space in Snohomish and painstakingly remodeled it into a holy place of worship.

Our small community struggled through many challenges, the most difficult being the death of our beloved founding priest, Fr. Thomas, on April 29, 2004. After a time of grieving and seeking guidance from God and our sponsoring clergy, we decided to continue the vision we had shared with Fr. Thomas. In the following year, Archbishop Joseph, then the presiding bishop of our Archdiocese, blessed us to take St. Thomas the Apostle as the patron saint of our community.

Founding members of St. Thomas with, then, Bishop Joseph (circa 2006)

Fr. David Sommer and his family came to the St. Thomas Mission in 2005 to shepherd our community as our priest. Since that time, numerous local families and individuals have discovered the riches of Orthodox Christianity and joined our parish. Today, our parish is made up primarily of converts to the Holy Orthodox faith.

In September 2021, we settled on our current and permanent property in a temporary building near Highway 2 and Bickford Avenue. After years of planning, paperwork, and prayer, demolition of the existing structure began in spring 2024. By God’s grace, construction of our beautiful church continues.

Our Archdiocese

St. Thomas is a parish of the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America, which has spiritual roots in the apostolic Church of Antioch, where “the disciples were first called Christians” (Acts 11:26). Patriarch John X of Antioch is the 164th successor to the Apostle Peter, who helped establish the Church in that biblical city and presided over it for seven years. We share unity of faith and practice with an estimated 250 million Orthodox Christians around the world—not only in Jerusalem, Syria, Lebanon, Greece, Romania, Russia, and Serbia, but also in Japan, Indonesia, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Congo, South America, Western Europe, Alaska, and throughout North America.

His Eminence Metropolitan Saba

The Archdiocese is under the faithful leadership of His Eminence Metropolitan Saba and has its headquarters in Englewood, New Jersey. The Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America includes eight dioceses, with seven diocesan bishops, and more than 275 cathedrals, churches, and missions throughout the United States and Canada. The Archdiocese is noted in particular for its missionary zeal. As Orthodox Christians, we share communion and unity of faith with the other canonical Orthodox Archdioceses throughout the world.

Saint Thomas the Apostle

Thomas was one of the Twelve Apostles. Through his doubt in the Resurrection of Christ the Lord, a new proof was given of that wonderful and saving event. The resurrected Lord appeared to His disciples a second time in order to convince Thomas. The Lord said to him: “Reach hither thy finger, and behold My hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into My side: and be not faithless, but believing.” Thomas replied: “My Lord and my God” (John 20:27–28).

After the descent of the Holy Spirit, when the apostles cast lots to see where each would go to preach, the lot fell to Thomas to go to India. He was saddened that he had to go so far away, but the Lord appeared to him and encouraged him. In India, St. Thomas converted many, both aristocrats and poor, to the Christian Faith. He established the Church there and appointed priests and bishops.

Among others, Thomas converted two sisters to the Faith—Tertiana and Migdonia, both wives of Indian princes. Because of their faith, both sisters were ill-treated by their husbands, with whom they no longer wished to live after their baptism. Eventually, they were allowed to go. Freed from marriage, they lived God-pleasing lives until their repose. Dionysius and Pelagia were betrothed, but when they heard the apostolic preaching, they did not marry and instead devoted themselves to the ascetic life. Pelagia ended her life as a martyr for the Faith, and Dionysius was ordained a bishop by the apostle.

Prince Mazdai, Tertiana’s husband, whose son Azan was also baptized by Thomas, condemned the apostle to death. Mazdai sent five soldiers to kill Thomas. They ran him through with their five spears, and thus the Holy Apostle Thomas rendered his soul into the hands of Christ (October 6 / October 19).

Before his death, Thomas and the other apostles were miraculously brought to Jerusalem for the burial of the Most-holy Theotokos. Arriving too late, he wept bitterly, and the tomb of the Holy Most-pure One was opened at his request. The Theotokos’ body was not found in the tomb: the Lord had taken His Mother to His heavenly habitation. Thus, in his tardiness St. Thomas revealed to us the wondrous glorification of the Mother of God, just as he had once confirmed faith in the Resurrection of the Lord by his unbelief.

“Doubting, thou didst come forth to touch His side, yet the Resurrection was confirmed by thine unbelief. Henceforth all have been taught by thee to serve Christ; O, Thomas who didst end thy course well by holy martyrdom.”

— Megalynaria of St. Thomas

Meet Our Priest

Father David Sommer and his wife, Khouria Heather, have five children, one daughter-in-law, and one granddaughter. They have served St. Thomas since 2005.

Building Project

Construction of our new building is underway! We need your help accomplishing this holy task. Please consider supporting us.

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Our Building Prayer

In the Name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Incline Thine ear, O Lord, and grant all our petitions that are for our unity, salvation, and eternal life. And we ask for all the funds and everything necessary to build a Church Temple for Thy glory and as an aid for the salvation of all who come to worship with us. Establish St. Thomas firmly upon Thy Divine Word and grant us grateful hearts. For holy art Thou always now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.