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# Metr. Saba Makes Historic Visit to Eastern Iowa Parishes
- URL: https://uoj.news/news/86605-metr-saba-makes-historic-visit-to-eastern-iowa-parishes/
- Published: 2026-03-04T07:30:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-09-25T16:11:22.000Z
- Description: Metr. Saba’s historic visit to eastern Iowa united clergy and faithful in a renewed commitment to Lenten repentance and the future of the Church.
- Author: Tobias Straney
- Tags: #Category: News, Archpastoral Visit, Antiochian Orthodox Church, Metropolitan Saba (Isper)

**IOWA CITY, IA —** His Eminence Metr. Saba visited eastern Iowa from Feb. 27 to March 1, celebrating divine services at St. Raphael Church in Iowa City and St. George Church in Cedar Rapids. The visit marked the [first time](https://www.antiochian.org/regulararticle/2745) in its 25-year history that a Metropolitan had visited St. Raphael, where His Eminence was welcomed by Fr. Symeon Kees and a full church of the faithful.

On the first Saturday of Lent, he celebrated the Hierarchal Divine Liturgy, commemorating St. Theodore the Soldier’s miracle of the koliva. In his homily, he emphasized fasting and confession as paths to self-knowledge and transformation in Christ. “Then Christ is risen — in us,” he said. He later met with parishioners, noting that while the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America has seen 3,000 baptisms in the past year, more than 60% of its priests are over 55.

[![](https://uoj.news/content/images/2026/02/86584-metr-saba-explores-the-spiritual-depth-of-the-orthodox-liturgy-66e54d198528.jpg)On this topicMetr. Saba Explores the Spiritual Depth of the Orthodox Liturgy](https://uoj.news/news/86584-metr-saba-explores-the-spiritual-depth-of-the-orthodox-liturgy/)

In Cedar Rapids, he presided at services for the Sunday of Orthodoxy, inducted five members into the Order of St. Ignatius of Antioch, and encouraged deeper devotion to Christ and His Church.

Previously, the [UOJ reported](https://uoj.news/news/86156-metr-saba-visits-texas-parishes-elevates-clergy/) that Metr. Saba visited Texas parishes and elevated clergy.