With faith in Christ and hope in the Resurrection, we share the news of the repose of the Very Rev. Michael Massouh (M.A. ‘00), who fell asleep in the Lord on Tuesday, February 18, 2025. He was preceded in death by his wife, Kh. Virginia Massouh, less than a year ago, and he is survived by his four children: Ben, Andrew, Thea, and Luke.
Born in Canton, Ohio in 1939, Fr Michael attended McKinley High School and Hiram College. He received a Master’s in Science and a PhD in Science and Technology from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland. He married Virginia Jacox in 1965, and they started their family in upstate New York before moving to Brookline, MA where he was the Associate VP of Academic Affairs at Boston University. From 1984 to 1999, he worked as the Dean of Graduate Studies and Research at Worcester Polytechnic Institute and later as the Dean of Graduate Studies at Worcester State College.
Fr Michael was admitted to St Vladimir’s Seminary as an M.A. student in Fall 1999 and graduated in May 2000. He took advanced courses in scripture and patristics, as well as pastoral and practical theology courses to prepare for ordination. He entered the priesthood in the Antiochian Orthodox Church at the age of 60. Fr Michael and Kh. Ginny then moved to Ligonier, PA where Fr Michael was the Executive Director of the Antiochian Village Conference and Retreat Center.
In 2004, at the invitation of former Seminary Dean, now the Very Rev. Dr John Erickson, he gave a presentation at the St Vladimir’s Seminary Faculty’s Good Pastor retreat, where the objective was to ensure alignment and involvement of faculty, trustees, and alumni in the pastoral formation process.
Fr Michael was the longest-serving pastor at St Nicholas Antiochian Orthodox Church in Pinellas Park, FL, from 2005 to 2020. He played a pivotal role in building up and adorning the church, and remained a faithful member of the community during his 5-year retirement, even helping to complete the new hall and plan for a new and improved parish library. He was also a regular contributor to the Antiochian Archdiocese website and The WORD magazine.
May the memory of Fr Michael Massouh be eternal!
Adapted from: memorialparkfuneralhome.com
