On Sunday, January 12, Assistant Professor of Pastoral Theology in the Doctor of Ministry program at St Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary (SVOTS), Subdeacon Dr Gregory Abdalah (M.Div. ‘08, D.Min. ‘18) was ordained to the holy diaconate by the hand of his own father, His Grace Bishop John (M.Div. ‘78), Auxiliary Bishop for the Diocese of Worcester and New England, Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America (AOCANA), and member of the SVOTS Board of Trustees. His Grace Bishop Anthony (M.Div. ‘82), Auxiliary Bishop for the Diocese of Los Angeles and the West (AOCANA) was a co-celebrant for the ordination, which took place at St George Antiochian Orthodox Church in Phoenix, AZ.
Dn Gregory teaching a class of D.Min. students at St Vladimir’s Seminary
In his homily, His Grace Bishop Anthony preached that the role of the New Testament deacon was prefigured in the Old Testament with the Levites, who helped the high priests administer the sacraments.
At the consecration of holy communion, "He takes his orarion and says, 'Bless, master,' right after the celebrant says, 'Send down Thy Holy Spirit.' So, he is motioning in his gesture the fact that heaven is coming down."
Bishop Anthony conveyed the love and congratulations of His Eminence Metropolitan Saba. Turning to the new deacon, His Grace said, "I know that you will serve with all your heart. The joy that you have now is the joy of your mother, Joanne, who is with us and present with Christ and the angels. She is proud of her son because he is presenting Christ. Her husband has been doing that now for 48 years as a priest and as a bishop.
"There cannot be a fuller joy than us being together in celebrating the holy mysteries with all of your family and with all of you in our faith family."
Dn Gregory with his son, Jonathan, his father, His Grace Bishop John, his wife, Diana, and his daughter, Eleanor
Among his ministries, Dn Gregory is the pastoral assistant at St George Church and an instructor at the Sacred Music Institute with the Antiochian Archdiocese's Department of Sacred Music.
Dn Gregory’s connection to and love for St Vladimir’s Seminary is personal and longstanding. His father, also a SVOTS graduate, instilled in him an appreciation and respect for the institution’s commitment to providing a formative spiritual and academic experience for students from all Orthodox jurisdictions.
Trustee Tatiana Hoff, who served alongside Dn Gregory as Trustee offers her remarks, “Noteworthy is the multi-faceted ways that Dn Gregory and his family have been connected with SVOTS over the years. Dn Gregory retains a deep connection with St Vladimir’s, first as student, then as trustee (2012 - 2018), representing the Alumni Board, followed by his D.Min. studies, and finally as faculty in the D.Min. program. He offered student-informed perspective and ideas in the board room and an energy and enthusiasm for ministry. I am overjoyed for him and for his family, and grateful for the Church as he takes an expanded role in his fruitful ministry!”
Dn Gregory during his time as a SVOTS Trustee, at the St Vladimir's Seminary 75th Anniversary Gala in 2013, alongside (from left), The Very Rev. Dr Chad Hatfield, former SVOTS President, Mr Alex Machaskee, Trustee Emeritus and former Executive Chair of the Board; Presvytera Sharon Rubis, a Trustee and Co-chair of the Anniversary Gala committee; Tatiana Hoff, a Trustee and Co-chair of the Anniversary Gala committee; Mr Tony Kasmer, of blessed memory, a longtime Trustee; Ted Bazil, longtime senior staff member at SVOTS; and the Very Rev. Dr John Behr, former SVOTS Dean and Professor of Patristics.
Members of the faculty expressed their congratulations to Dn Gregory and offered their prayers for his new ministry.
Director of the Doctor of Ministry Program, the Very Rev. Dr Sergius Halvorsen congratulated his colleague heartily, saying, “I've had the pleasure of knowing Dn Greg and counting him as a personal friend for almost twenty years. I worked with him when he was a student in our D.Min. program, and then was thrilled to welcome him as a faculty colleague. Dn Gregory has long embodied a spirit of service and diakonia, so it is with great joy that I join the chorus of all those saying, "Axios!" I pray that God would richly bless Dn Gregory and his family as he begins this new chapter of ministry and building up the Body of Christ.”
The Very Rev. Dr John Behr, former Dean and Professor of Patristics, also offered his congratulations and words of appreciation for Dn Gregory, remarking, “I am delighted to hear about Gregory’s ordination to the Holy Diaconate. It was clear that ordination would be in his future from his earliest days at St Vladimir’s, where I had the pleasure both to have him in class and also to work with him in the chapel, the two destinations that, as Fr Alexander Schmemann used to say, should be the places where seminarians are always headed. In the former, Dn Gregory could always be counted on to bring both insight and humor into our discussions, and in the latter, he fulfilled the role of ecclesiarch with diligence and grace. Dn Gregory has continued his ministry with love and energy over the years; it has been my great pleasure to keep in touch with him as a good friend, and also to visit with him and his community to lead retreats. I am sure that his ministry will bear ever more fruit. Axios!”
Interim President and Academic Dean, Dr Ionuț-Alexandru Tudorie, who offered his presence and prayers at St George Church in Phoenix for the ordination, added his words of appreciation for Dn Gregory, noting the “great joy that Dn Gregory, already a devoted servant of Christ and the church, and a beloved member of the D.Min. faculty, has now been ordained to Holy Orders. We pray for him and his family that God grants them many blessed years in continued ministry!”
Article adapted in part from antiochian.org. Photo credit: John Karadsheh and Issa Sweilem
