Guide | Washington DC area | 11 November 2026
For many Ethiopian families in the Washington DC area, the week is built around church. Sunday liturgies start before dawn, feast days fill the streets around the larger parishes, and church halls double as places for Sunday school, weddings, memorials and community meetings. The oldest Ethiopian Orthodox parish in the region traces its roots to the 1970s, and today there are congregations across the District, the Maryland suburbs and Northern Virginia.
This guide covers nine Ethiopian churches and places of worship from our Washington DC metro city page, grouped by area. Before adding each one, we checked that it is active at the address shown, using the congregation’s own website and, where needed, current map listings. Service times can change, especially around fasts and feast days, so please check the church’s own website or call the office before you go.
Washington, DC
Six of the congregations in this guide are in the District, most of them in Northwest and Northeast Washington.
Debre Selam Kidist Mariam Church, Buchanan Street NW
1350 Buchanan Street NW, Washington, DC 20011. Re’ese Adbarat Debre Selam Kidist Mariam was founded in 1987, the church says, and after ten years in a rented hall it moved to its present home in 1997. With more than 1,500 registered members, it describes itself as the largest Ethiopian Orthodox parish in the Washington metropolitan area, and its grounds now take up almost the whole block bounded by Arkansas Avenue, Buchanan Street, Allison Street and 14th Street. Holy Communion is celebrated every Sunday morning and on the major feast days, and many services are streamed online and on Facebook and YouTube. The church runs an adult Sunday school and religious classes that it says reach more than 500 children each weekend. Its website lists the phone numbers 202 726 4115 and 202 352 7508.
Debre Haile Kidus Gebriel and Kidus Yohannes Metimik Church, Illinois Avenue NW
4100 Illinois Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20011. This Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo parish was established on 18 April 1997, according to its website, by followers of the church who wanted to serve the Ethiopian community in the DC area. Its website names Komos Abba Meaza Beyene as the priest who founded the church in 1997. The congregation bought its own building in April 2008 and held its first liturgy there on 1 June 2008. The church says attendance swells into the thousands on the annual feasts of Saint Gabriel and Saint John the Baptist, and it streams the Sunday Divine Liturgy and sermons online every week. Its home page currently shows a placeholder while the site is rebuilt, but the About page and contact details are live. Phone: 202 722 7140.
Debre Hail Kedus Gabriel Cathedral, Evarts Street NE
2601 Evarts Street NE, Washington, DC 20018. Debre Hail Kedus Gabriel Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Cathedral was founded in the 1980s by an immigrant community looking for a spiritual home away from home, its website says, and it welcomes both people raised in the tradition and newcomers. The cathedral offers christenings on Sunday mornings, weddings on Sundays and memorial services, and asks families to contact the clergy and office ahead of time. Its website lists office hours from Monday to Friday, 9 AM to 5 PM. Phone: (202) 269 0146.
Debre Mihret Kidus Mikael Cathedral, Earl Place NE
3010 Earl Place NE, Washington, DC 20018. Debre Mihret Kidus Mikael says its mission is to uphold the traditions and values of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, to teach the community about the history, cultures, languages and traditions of Ethiopia, and to provide social services. Its website lists a weekly program of Kidan prayers and liturgy, followed by preaching and a Sunday school program, and it runs children’s education and charity work. In 2025 members approved new bylaws, with more than 95 percent of the 368 members who voted in favor. The church also says it has bought half an acre of land with three old houses to expand parking and plans to build a multipurpose hall for children’s classes. Phone: 202 529 7077.
International Ethiopian Evangelical Church, Eastern Avenue NW
7930 Eastern Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20012. The International Ethiopian Evangelical Church (IEEC) began, it says, as a weekly Bible study of fewer than five Ethiopian migrants nearly 44 years ago, and today serves thousands of Ethiopian and Eritrean nationals in the DC area and beyond. Pastor Hanfere Aligaz leads the church. Its website lists services on Sundays at 9 AM and 11:30 AM and on Wednesday and Friday evenings at 7 PM, along with programs for children, youth and young adults, small groups and Bible studies, and a live stream. The church also lists a second location in Alexandria. Phone: 202 726 8529.
First Hijrah Foundation Masjid, Georgia Avenue NW
4324 Georgia Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20011. First Hijrah Foundation runs its DC center here, alongside its headquarters at 3215 Powder Mill Road in Adelphi, Maryland, and a center in Springfield, Virginia. Its prayer schedule for the DC center lists two Friday Jummah prayers, the first in Amharic and the second in English. The foundation offers daily prayers, a weekend school, youth and sisters’ programs, marriage services and hall rentals, and says it is governed by bylaws and boards elected by its members. Its president, Jemal Yasin, thanked the community on the website. The masjid has secured more than $910,000 in pledges toward paying off its debt. Phone: (202) 569 1763.
Maryland suburbs
Debre Genet Medhane Alem Church, Temple Hills
4401 Old Branch Avenue, Temple Hills, MD 20748. Debre Genet Medhanealem says it has served the Washington DC metropolitan area since 1976 and was incorporated in 1979. Construction of its church on Old Branch Avenue was completed in November 2003. The church invites visitors to Sunday morning worship, which it streams live from 6 AM, and to Bible study on Friday evenings, and it lists a nightly program on Zoom at 7:30 PM. Phone: (301) 899 6090.
Debre Tsion Kidist Mariam we Kidus Gebriel Church, Brookeville
22222 Georgia Avenue, Brookeville, MD 20833. This Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo parish held its first service in June 2014 and began regular Saturday services a few days later in a rented space on Old Columbia Pike in Silver Spring, according to its website. After the pandemic forced it to close for a year and a half, the congregation bought its own church building in Brookeville. It describes the church as sitting on a hilltop in the countryside, with ample parking and a multipurpose hall, and it hosts baptisms, weddings and religious celebrations. Its head priest is Kesis Kefelenge. Phone: 240 991 7139.
Northern Virginia
Debre Haile Kidus Raguael Cathedral, Sterling
1001 Ruritan Circle, Sterling, VA 20164. Debre Haile Kidus Raguael was established in April 2010 under the Washington DC archdiocese of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, the cathedral says, growing out of a small prayer group that began meeting in 2005. It holds weekly Kidan prayers, an evening Serk Gubae service and the liturgy, and each Ethiopian month it celebrates liturgies on the 1st for Saint Raguel, the 19th for Saint Gabriel and the 21st for Saint Mary. Its events calendar lists an evening service with children’s classes on 13 November and the Sunday service on 15 November. The cathedral welcomes children at all services and streams services online. Phone: (703) 938 4880.
A few tips for first time visitors
- Ethiopian Orthodox Sunday liturgies start early and can last several hours. Several of the churches above list start times at or before 6 AM, so plan to arrive early or join later in the morning.
- Worshippers usually dress modestly, and many wear white, often with a netela, a light traditional shawl.
- Most churches stream their services, which is a good way to get a feel for a parish before visiting.
- For a baptism, wedding or memorial service, call the church office well ahead of time.
- In January, the Timket celebration of Epiphany brings large processions, like the one from Debre Selam Kidist Mariam in the photo above, taken on the eve of Timket in 2020.
Find more Ethiopian businesses and organizations in the DC area
Our Washington DC metro city page lists Ethiopian restaurants, groceries, churches and community organizations across the region, and we are adding more as we verify them. Know a church, mosque or congregation we have missed, or spotted a change at one of the places above? Tell us and we will update the guide. Run an Ethiopian church or community organization in the area? Add it to the directory for free.
More guides: Best Ethiopian restaurants in Washington DC, Where to buy injera and Ethiopian groceries in the DC area, Ethiopian restaurants in Toronto, Ethiopian restaurants in Denver, Ethiopian restaurants in Los Angeles and Ethiopian restaurants in London.
Sources
- Debre Selam Kidist Mariam website, home, About and Contact pages (founding, move in 1997, membership, services, Sunday school, phone numbers): dskmariamdc.org
- Debre Haile Kidus Gebriel and Kidus Yohannes Metimik website, About page (founding, building, clergy, live streaming, phone): kedusgabriel.org
- Debre Hail Kedus Gabriel Cathedral website (founding, services, office hours, address, phone): dcgabriel.org
- Debre Mihret Kidus Mikael Cathedral website (mission, weekly program, bylaws vote, land purchase, address, phone): kidusmichaeldc.org
- International Ethiopian Evangelical Church website, home and Visit Us pages (history, service times, ministries, locations, phone): eecdc.org
- First Hijrah Foundation website, home, About and Location pages (locations, Jummah languages, services, fundraising, phone): firsthijrah.com
- Debre Genet Medhanealem website, home and Church Organization pages (founding, building, services, phone): dgmedhanealem.org
- Debre Tsion Kidist Mariam we Kidus Gebriel website, About and Contact pages (history, building, clergy, address, phone): debretsion.org
- Debre Haile Kidus Raguael Cathedral website, home and About pages (founding, services, events, address, phone): dhkidusraguel.org
Last updated: 11 November 2026. Listings and websites were checked on 11 November 2026. Ethiopialist has no commercial relationship with any of the congregations in this guide.
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Featured image: Ethiopian Orthodox priests carry covered tabots in a procession from Debre Selam Kidist Mariam Church in Washington, DC, on 19 January 2020, the eve of Timket. Photo: Joe Castleman, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons, resized.