May God give us Strength

"For the priestly office is indeed discharged on earth,but it ranks amongst heavenly ordinances; and very naturally so:for neither man, nor angel, nor archangel, nor any other created power, but the Paraclete Himself, instituted this vocation, and persuaded men while still abiding in the flesh to represent the ministry of angels. Wherefore the consecrated priest ought to be as pure as if he were standing in the heavens themselves in the midst of those powers."

"On the Priesthood." St John Chrysostom,
N&PNF, First Series, Volume IX. p. 46.

By the grace of God and the laying on of hands by His Grace Bishop ALEXANDER, Fr. Deacon Raphael, my beloved husband, will be elevated to the Holy Priesthood June 28th, at our hometown parish, St. George Antiochian Orthodox Church in Niagara Falls, New York during the 2009 Parish Life Conference.

While trusting in God's timing, we did not have plans nor any expectations once here at St. Vladimir's. However, it came upon us peacefully, in a quiet still voice, knocking at our door.

We have enjoyed 8 years of my husband's diaconal ministry in the Church. FDR often refers to the order of the Diaconate as "the best of both worlds". Undoubtedly, his elevation brings us, our family, to a whole different level and much is to change...a struggle and a blessing, indeed!

Please keep us, as we keep you, in your prayers.

"I know my own soul, how feeble and puny it is: I know the magnitude of this ministry, and the great difficulty of the work; for more stormy billows vex the soul of the priest than the gales which disturb the sea." (p.49).