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Our Community

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Our Shepherd

Our Lord, God and Savior Jesus Christ

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Our Ecclesiarch ​

The Most Reverend Metropolitan JOHN GREGORY, DD, CHS, obf –  In June of 2014, His Beatitude, the Most Reverend Metropolitan JOHN GREGORY, in collaboration with Saint Thomas the Advocate for Christ to the Forgotten, co-founded the Convergent Catholic Communion. This progressive network brings together ministers, ministries, and churches, and in October 2016, His Beatitude was elected as its Presiding Minister.

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The year 2018 saw His Beatitude elevated to the esteemed position of the first Presiding Bishop of the Convergent Catholic Communion. In 2021, through the overwhelming consent and vote of the people, he was further honored by being elevated to the positions of Metropolitan and Primus, a testament to his dedicated service and spiritual leadership.

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His Beatitude, the Most Reverend Metropolitan JOHN GREGORY, concurrently serves as the Eparch of the Connexion of Saint Maria of Paris. Additionally, he holds the role of Rector of the Cathedral Parish of Solomon's Porch PHX, and serves as the Ecclesiarch for the Orthodox Community of Saint Brigid.

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Experience the spiritual journey led by His Beatitude within the Convergent Catholic Communion, where faith, unity, and the teachings of Christ are upheld with reverence and dedication.

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Our Protos

The Reverend Hierodeacon Father Uriel Patrick-Joan, obf – Originally from the southern charm of Georgia State to the serene landscapes of the Pacific Northwest in 2013, his profound spiritual journey led him to embrace different traditions along the way.

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In 2015, he found a spiritual home in the Anglican Communion, where he was baptized and confirmed at Saint Mark's Cathedral in Seattle, WA. Before his transition to the Eastern traditions of the Church, Father Uriel Patrick-Joan lived a devout life as a habited Religious Brother within a Franciscan in the Order of Saint Francis within the Anglican Communion.

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A significant turning point occurred on the Feast of Saint Patrick in 2019 when Father Uriel Patrick-Joan was chrismated into the Holy Orthodox Church in Toledo, OH, embracing the richness of Eastern Orthodoxy. Partnering with Father Matthew Christopher, he established the Orthodox Community of Saint Brigid on the Synaxis of the Seventy Apostles. Their shared vision was to continue their monastic callings and Religious Professions within the Eastern Christian Tradition. In a memorable ceremony at The Falls Retreat Center of Saint Miriam in May 2021, Deacon Father Uriel Patrick-Joan was commissioned to the Minor Orders of Cleric, Doorkeeper, Reader, and Exorcist.

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A moment of great honor came in October of 2021, during the Hierarchical Visit of Metropolitan John Gregory. Both Father Uriel Patrick-Joan, obf and Father Matthew, obf were tonsured as Stavrophore and Protos of the Orthodox Community of Saint Brigid. 

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The Commissioning to the Subdiaconate followed on March 20th, 2022, presided over by The Reverend Father Iakovos Athanasios in The Colony, Texas, reaffirming his dedication to his sacred duties and seminary studies with the Convergent Catholic Communion. Father Uriel Patrick-Joan was ordained to the Holy Diaconate on the Sunday the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, 2023.

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Fr. Uriel currently serves as Hierodeacon of Saint Dymphna Eastern Catholic Chapel, Protos of the Orthodox Community of Saint Brigid, Associate Curate of the Cathedral Parish of Solomon's Porch PHX.

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When not immersed in his spiritual pursuits, Father Uriel finds solace near water, indulges in the study of photography, eastern mysticism, and relishes in all things music.

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Our Oikonomos

The Very Reverend Hieromonk Seraphim Titus, PM, obf - Of South Carolina, and raised in a small town in the Pee Dee region, Fr. Seraphim grew up in the Church of God in Cleveland, TN but always felt a calling to more sacramental life. After serving as pastor in several protestant churches, Fr. Seraphim visited a Roman Catholic Parish in Summerville, SC and knew that he was at home. While there, he served as a Cathecist, Youth Minister, and Altar Server but felt led to find a place that allows for the fullness of Christ Church to be expressed.

 

In 2022, he embarked on his journey within the Convergent Catholic Communion. March 2023 marked his ordination to the Diaconate, and in November of the same year, he received ordination to the Holy Priesthood during the General Assembly of the Convergent Catholic Communion. On the Afterfeast of the Theophany of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and the Synaxis of John the Holy Glorious Prophet, Baptist, & Forerunner 2024, The Reverend Hieromonk Father Seraphim Titus, obf underwent Monastic Tonsure in the Orthodox Community of Saint Brigid as a professed novice.

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Fr. Seraphim, as co-founder of the Orthodox Community of Saint Brigid, fulfills the roles of Oikonomos-Administrator and Ecumenical Relations Liaison, as well as serves as the monastically-attached Senior Pastor of Saint Bonaventure Parish and Chaplain for Port City Ambulance Service in the South Carolina Lowcountry. Fr. Seraphim also holds the position of Secretary - Treasurer of the General Council and  the Director of Ecumenical Affairs for the Convergent Catholic Communion.

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Our Abbot

The Reverend Abbot Hieromonk Matthew Christopher, OCR, obf - Originally from Washington State, Fr.  Matthew Christopher is devoted to the teachings of Jesus Christ in the Gospels, emphasizing the universal love that calls us to love God and our neighbors above all else.

 

During his youth he discovered God's grace and love in his local Eastern Christian Church. This experience led him to be baptized and chrismated in the Antiochian Orthodox Church, marking moments when he first felt a monastic and clerical calling. Unfortunately, due to his sexuality, Christopher faced rejection from the canonical Orthodox Church, which caused him to take a 10-year hiatus from organized religion.

 

Finding solace and acceptance in a local Episcopal parish known for its inclusiveness, Fr. Matthew embraced the Anglican Communion, and during a private moment of prayer at his Episcopal parish, he made a vow to dedicate his life to the service of the Church if the compulsion to drink was lifted not knowing the path that would take him on. Fr. Matthew and his husband both were Franciscans with the Order of Saint Francis within the Anglican Communion.

 

In pursuit of theological education, Fr. Matthew Christopher and his family were received into an autonomous Eastern Orthodox jurisdiction, and with training under his Hierarch, he was ordained to the Diaconate on the Feast of Saint Patrick the Enlightener of Ireland in 2019. Seeking further theological education, Father Deacon Matthew, his husband, and their family relocated from Seattle to Toledo, Ohio, where they also established the Orthodox Community of Saint Brigid in the winter of 2020. On October 2nd, 2021, during the Hierarchical Visit of His Beatitude, the Most Reverend Metropolitan John Gregory, Father Matthew Christopher, obf was tonsured to the degree of Stavrophore/Life Professed and Abbot of the Orthodox Community of Saint Brigid. Fr. Matthew currently serves as Proistamenos Rector of Saint Dymphna Eastern Catholic Chapel as well as accepted the position as Pastoral Associate of the Cathedral Parish of Solomon's Porch PHX in July 2023. On the Afterfeast of the Theophany of Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ and the Synaxis of John the Holy Glorious Prophet, Baptist, & Forerunner 2024, The Reverend Father Matthew Christopher, obf was ordained to the holy priesthood by the hand of His Beatitude, the Most Blessed and Reverend Metropolitan JOHN GREGORY at the Cathedral Parish of Solomon's Porch in Phoenix, Arizona.

 

Fr. Matthew has sat on the Board of Directors for the Boy Scouts of America Order of the Arrow - Local Lodge, the Imperial Sovereign Court of Snohomish County (Member, Secretary, Vice President), The Episcopal Church – Local Parish (Junior Warden/Vice President), as well as gained additional ecclesiastical experience through his tenure at the Episcopal Cathedral in Seattle, Washington.

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Fr. Matthew has been living one day at a time by the Grace of God since October 23, 2012.

Our Diaspora

 

As a dispersed Religious Community, we are blessed to to initiate and establish local hermitages organized into Diaspora Houses, all interconnected through our vows to the Orthodox Community of Saint Brigid.

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Diaspora House of the Dormition of the Theotokos:

  • Mother of God, Our Lady of Wildflowers Monastery - Mother House, Peoria, AZ​

  • Saint Dymphna Orthodox Catholic Church - Katholikon of the Orthodox Community of Saint Brigid, Phoenix, AZ

  • Saint Mary Magdalene Conventual House, Snohomish County, WA

  • The Orthodox Hermitage of Divine Wisdom, Multnomah County, OR

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Saint Mary of Egypt Diasporal House:

  • Protecting Veil of Our Most Holy Lady Theotokos and Ever-Blessed Mary Orthodox Hermitage, Lowcountry, SC

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