Dear brothers, sisters, family and friends,

2025 has come to a close, and with it the penultimate semester of our time at St Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary. This year was full of blessings, challenges and changes. In April, Fr John was ordained to the priesthood in the Orthodox Church by Bishop Gerasim of Dallas and Forth Worth at the seminary chapel. It was such a blessing for us to be joined by family and friends for the occasion, including Hieromonk Alexii, abbot of Holy Archangel Michael and All Angels Skete, where Fr John served as a deacon for three years before entering seminary.

Photos from Fr John’s Ordination

Following the Spring semester, the family headed to the southern United States for Fr John to complete an internship with the Orthodox Church in America Diocese of the South. Over the course of three months, we served at three different parishes in Louisiana, Arkansas, and Texas. You can read Fr John’s reflection on the summer internship on the DOS website here.

Photos from the summer– we visited a lot of museums.

Once we returned to New York following our summer adventures, we jumped right into the school year. This fall, Basil started preschool at a public Montessori school here in Yonkers. Basil loves his school and he is apparently a well-loved student by his peers and teachers. This opportunity for him to learn outside the home has provided him with focused and useful stimulation as well as some much-needed uninterrupted learning time for Fayna as she continues homeschooling.

Fayna began third grade this fall and especially enjoys studying history and art. In her free time, when she’s not reading, she is spending time playing with our seminarian family neighbors. Thanks to a scholarship, Fayna has been able to take both piano and choral lessons through the Westchester Music Conservatory. This month, she performed a piano piece in the winter recital and sang an arrangement with the children’s chorale. Fayna also once again performed in the Christmas play at Holy Trinity Orthodox Church in Yonkers. She performed her roles as shopkeeper and shepherd with seriousness and joy.

Christina continues to homeschool Fayna and work remotely from home. She audited an Old Testament survey class this semester and continued to assist with the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd, both at Holy Trinity Orthodox Church in Yonkers and with the small atrium now housed on campus for seminary families. Thankfully, Fr John was assigned to serve at Holy Trinity on Sundays for his third year parish assignment, so the whole family has been able to worship and learn together.

Pictures from this fall.

Fr John will complete his final semester in May and the plan is to move to the southern United States to serve in a parish in the Diocese of the South. We’re both humbled and excited by all that God has brought us through and for what is ahead. We cannot thank you all enough for all the kindness, prayers, and financial support that you’ve offered during our time at seminary. It’s hard to believe our time is nearly over, but we look forward to putting all that we’ve received to good work. May God bless you in this new year and fill your life with grace and love.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

To read Fr John’s Christmas reflection, click here.