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Image by Dimitry B

Our Community

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Our Chief Shepherd

Our Lord, God and Savior Jesus Christ

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Our Iconostasis Christ is the Icon of the Pearl of Great Price

by Saint Anthony's Monastery (20th c.)

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Our Shepherd

His Beatitude,

the Most Reverend GREGORY of the Holy Veil,

Metropolitan Archbishop of the Orthodox Apostolic Vicariate of the Holy Protection

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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.

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A moment of great honor came in October of 2021, both Father Uriel Patrick-Joan, obf and Father Matthew Christopher, obf were tonsured as Stavrophore-monks, and Father Uriel as the Protos of the Orthodox Community of Saint Brigid. Father Uriel Patrick-Joan was ordained to the Holy Diaconate on the Sunday the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, 2023.

 

Fr. Uriel currently serves as Hierodeacon of Saint Dymphna Orthodox Church, and Protos of the Orthodox Community of Saint Brigid. 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 Reverend Hieromonk ELIJAH Seraphim, obf, PM - Of South Carolina, and raised in a small town in the Pee Dee region, Fr. Elijah 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. Elijah 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.

 

March 2023 marked his ordination to the Diaconate, and in November of the same year, he received ordination to the Holy Priesthood. On the feast of Saint Johanna the Myrrhbearer 2024 in Tuckahoe, Virginia, the Reverend Hieromonk Seraphim underwent the Little Schema tonsure receiving the name Elijah surrounded by his parish, national church and monastic family.

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Fr. Elijah, 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, Chaplain for Port City Ambulance Service in the South Carolina Lowcountry.

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Our Abbot

The Very Reverend Father Matthew Christopher, obf, OCR - 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 discrimination, he faced rejection from the canonical 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.

 

Driven by a profound sense of calling, Fr. Matthew pursued theological education and ministry, culminating in his ordination to the Diaconate in 2019. Together with his family, he founded the Orthodox Community of Saint Brigid in Toledo, Ohio, fostering a vibrant spiritual community. ​In recognition of his dedication and leadership, Fr. Matthew was honored as Abbot of Mother of God, Our Lady of Unfading Wildflowers Monastery and the Community of Saint Brigid, in 2021. His journey reached another milestone in 2024 when on the feast of Saint Johanna the Myrrhbearer 2024, Abbot Matthew was installed and consecrated as Abbot of Mother of God, Our Lady of Unfading Wildflowers Monastery and the Community of Saint Brigid, surrounded by his parish, national church and monastic family in Tuckahoe, Virginia.

 

Fr. Matthew has sat on the Board of Directors for the Boy Scouts of America, Order of the Arrow Lodge, The Episcopal Church – Junior Warden, as well as gained additional ecclesiastical experience through his tenure at the Episcopal Cathedral in Seattle, WA.

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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 Magdalene Diaspora House:

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

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