Seminarian Matthew Brown, Wife Elizabeth

Home Parish:  Holy Ascension Orthodox Church, Albion MI

Seminary:  St. Tikhon's

Matthew was born and raised in Spring Arbor, a small town in Southern Michigan and grew up Methodist. He attended Spring Arbor University and earned a degree in Philosophy and Religion. In 2003, mid-way through college he married Elizabeth. Also, while in college, he was on track to become a Methodist minister and was first exposed to the Church.

In 2005, during his senior year of college I converted to the Orthodox Faith.  In 2008 Matthew was tonsured a Reader by Archbishop JOB, of Blessed Memory. At Holy Ascension church he served on the parish council as treasurer and vice-president, while also overseeomg the altar servers and read for services. Elizabeth and Matthew directed the church school and Matthew helped lead an OCF at the local college. The family regularly attended Holy Dormition Monastery which has been spiritually formative in their lives.

Seminarian Robert Gauvain, Wife: Elizabeth

Home Parish: St. Herman's, Minneapolis, MN

Seminary:  St. Tikhon's

Born in Minnesota, Robert grew up on a homestead in central Alaska--without electricity, running water, or the marvels of modern plumbing. While attending college in California, Robert met his wife, Elizabeth. After graduating, the couple was married in the Byzantine Catholic Church. Then, soon after the birth of their first son, the young family was received into the Orthodox Church.

A few years later, their first daughter was born, and the Gauvains moved to Minnesota, where Robert and his brother ran a computer shop, and where they began attending St. Herman's. While in Minnesota, their second daughter was born. Then, in the autumn of 2010, Robert and his family moved to Pennsylvania so he could attend St. Tikhon's Seminary, finally fulfilling a desire first expressed when he was a young boy.

During the summer after his first year, their third daughter was born. Robert is now in his second year of seminary, singing with the Mission Choir and working part-time with computers while pursuing his studies.

Robert chose St. Tikhon's because of the fact that the seminary is attached to the monastery which was especially appealing. A seminary's objective is not only to teach theology, but to form the character of future priests; the life of prayer, fasting, and liturgical practice is as important as anything taught in the classroom. Robert was attracted to the seminary's reputation for a particular and exemplary focus on pastoral formation.

 

Reader Moses Hibbard, Wife: Karmin

Home Parish:  St. Matthew Orthodox Church, Green Bay, WI

Seminary: St. Tikhon's

Moses was born and raised in Wisconsin in the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod. After graduating from high school he attended Concordia University in Mequon, WI with the thought of becoming a Lutheran pastor. However, in my one and a half years there, he became uncomfortable with certain aspects of the Lutheran faith. As a result of this discomfort, he returned home to work. Shortly after Moses and Karmin wed, they were introduced and entered the Orthodox Church. In the spring of 2011, Moses graduated with a B.A. in Classical Studies from St. Norbert College in De Pere, WI.

After having come into the Orthodox Church, Mose was nurtured by his spiritual father very closely which kept alive the flame to serve God in His Church very intimately.  Archbishop JOB+, of blessed memory, tonsured Moses a Reader, which further grabbed hold of his heart. Having sensed a call from God to attend seminary and coming to the point where he was graduating from college, he and his family sought the blessing to attend St. Tikhon's. Rdr. Moses is now in the middle of his first year at the seminary.

Reader Alexander Koranda

Home Parish:  St. Peter & St. Paul, Burr Ridge IL

Seminary: St. Tikhon's

Reader Alex was born in Chicago on July 13 and was baptized into the Orthodox Faith as an infant at St. Peter and St. Paul Church in Chicago, where his family helped found and build the parish.  At the age of six, Alexander started serving in the altar and faithfully attending services with his family.  As he grew in age, he became more involved and active in the church.  Always encouraged to travel with his grandfather to the different services and events, Alexander gained much experience in serving the Lord and His people. 

In his youth, Alexander would attend as many services as he could at his home parish.  Under the guidance of his parish priest, Archpriest Raphael Biernacki, he became more learned in the liturgical services and was encouraged to become a priest.  At the age of thirteen, he was blessed to be a Sub-Deacon by the late Archbishop JOB of Chicago.  It was then; at age thirteen that Alexander started serving with Archbishop JOB for local events around the Chicago Deanery.

In November of 2004, on the feast of the Entrance of the Mother of God into the Temple, Alexander took the first steps to the Holy Priesthood and was tonsured a Reader by Archbishop JOB of Chicago. 

After high school, Rdr. Alexander began studies at Northern Illinois University where he would begin his higher education.  In the spring of 2011, he graduated with a Bachelor’s of Arts in Corporate Communication and a minor in philosophy. 

Reader Alex was recruited by Bishop MICHAEL of New York to come to St. Tikhon’s at a very young age.  It was through his constant communication and love that drew his attention to the Seminary.

Seminarian Sandro Margheritino, Wife Anna

Home Parish:  St Gregory of Nyssa Orthodox Church, Columbus, OH

Seminary: St. Vladimir's

Sandro was born in Palermo, Italy where all of his family still lives. He attended a linguistic lyceum as high school where he studied literature, art, French and English for five years. He earned a BA in International Relations-Political Science from the University of Palermo.

He was raised in a Roman Catholic family. At the age of 12 years he was introduced to the Orthodox Church by a family friend. After a few years of reading, attending services and praying, he was Chrismated Orthodox right before the age of 18.

While still living in Italy, Sandro was blessed to travel to several countries and experience different traditions within the Orthodox world. He also started the St. Stephen's Theological Program.  Upon moving to the United States and holding down two jobs, he needed to end his participation in the program. Sandro met Anna in 2007 during a trip to Ohio visiting some friends. Anna was born in Moscow, Russia, moved to Ohio 11 years ago and completed her studies in Graphic Design. Anna is an artist and specializes in iconography. They married in 2008.

At St. Gregory of Nyssa they led the college student discussion group, were involved with the Outreach Program and the Screen-printing project.  In the summer of 2010 Sandro and Anna decided to finally fulfill Sandro's long desire to attend St Vladimir's Seminary. 

Deacon Marty Watt, Wife: Candy

Home Parish:  St. Paul the Apostle, Dayton, OH

Seminary: St. Tikhon's

Deacon Marty was born of Methodist and Baptist upbringing outside of Jackson, Tennessee (near Memphis).  He met his now-wife when they were in Junior High School. After graduating from Middle Tennessee State University with a Bachelor's Degree in Accounting, they were married in 1987.  He spent 25 years working primarily around healthcare facilities, and spent 12 years as a financial and administrative executive with a variety of healthcare organizations -psychiatric hospitals, medical hospitals, physician groups, nursing homes and hospice. 

Deacon Marty, Candy and Sarah were received by chrismation into the Orthodox Faith in 1995 after being catechumens for 18 months, at St. John the Evangelist (Antiochian) Church in Memphis, Tennessee.  After completing the Diaconal Vocations program offered by the Columbus Deanery in 2007, Deacon Marty was ordained to the Diaconate at St. Paul in Dayton by Archbishop Job of Blessed Memory in October of 2008.

In early 2010, Deacon Marty began to pursue the Masters of Divinity degree and possible priesthood at St. Tikhon's.  He chose St. Tikhon's because of the richness of the liturgical services as experienced in the monastery church.  He has always felt strongly that the Academic preparation can be attained in many locations, but the liturgical formation so necessary to the Christian life is found most fully in the monastic setting.  St. Tikhon's allows him to pursue both goals.

Deacon Joel Wilson, Wife: Theressa

Home Parish:  St. Stephen the First Martyr, Crawfordsville, IN

Seminary: St. Tikhon's

Dn. Joel was born and raised in Indiana as part of the Evangelical Orthodox Church (EOC).  He converted to Orthodoxy with his family in the summer of 2002 when Archbishop Job received their EOC parish into the OCA.  In the summer of 2004, Joel joined His Grace in Chicago to serve as subdeacon for the return trip of the Tikhvin Icon to Russia.  Dn. Joel then continued to serve with Archbishop Job for the remainder of 2004. 

In 2006 Dn. Joel met his wife-to-be, Tessi, who was a catechumen living in Texas at the time.  They got married the next Spring at St. Anthony the Great parish in San Antonio. They moved back to Indiana to be near family. In April of 2011  Joel was ordained to the Holy Diaconate by His Grace, Bp. Matthias on the Feast of St. Herman, Dec. 13, 2011.

Deacon Joel always somehow knew he would end up at seminary; not necessarily to be ordained, but just because it felt like the right thing to do.  After joining the OCA in 2004, having been raised in the EOC (being a mixture of Protestant / Catholic / Orthodox theology and worship), it felt like there had to be more to being Orthodox than just joining the canonical Church.  Though it was difficult at the time, he got to see and experience the Church at large when traveling to Russia and various parishes throughout the Midwest Diocese with Archbishop Job (of blessed memory).  He gave Deacon Joel the great gift of a broad experience of the Church — both the good and the bad.

Tessi knew I was hoping to go to seminary before we got married and she really shared the desire.  At one point it became clear to us both, independently of one another, that we should look at St. Tikhon's because of the unique relationship with the monastery right across the street.  I called the seminary one day in the spring of 2008, the Dean Fr. Michael (now Bp. Michael) Dahulich answered the phone.  There was a list of barriers that would keep Deacon Joel and his family from coming to St. Tikhon's, but one by one he assured them of God's provision and the door opened for them to be able to come.

Deacon Joel and his family found what they were looking for:  A place where they could just dive into and soak in the stream of God's grace, primarily by way of the Divine Liturgy that's served here every day.