Luke Anderson
Home Parish: Holy Trinity Church, St. Paul, MN
Seminary: St. Vladimir’s Seminary
Year & Program: 2nd year M.Div.
Timothy Blinnikov
Home Parish: Holy Myrrhbearers Church, St. Cloud, MN
Seminary: St. Tikhon’s Seminary
Year & Program: 1st year M.Div.
Timothy Blinnikov was born into a Russian immigrant family and raised in the Orthodox faith. He grew up serving in the altar and singing in the choir at Holy Myrrhbearers Orthodox Church in St Cloud, MN. He graduated Saint Olaf College in 2018 with a degree in Political Science and Russian Area Studies.
Timothy was made a reader in 2016 by Archbishop Paul of blessed memory, continued to serve and read in church. After being encouraged to consider seminary studies, Timothy was ordained to the subdiaconate in 2023 by Archbishop Daniel. Serving as a sacristan for the next two years helped solidify his decision, which led him to begin his seminary studies at St Tikhon’s Seminary in the Fall of 2025.
Justin Brannon
Home Parish: Nativity of the Virgin Mary Church, Madison, IL
Seminary: St. Tikhon’s Seminary
Year & Program: 1st year M.Div.
Justin Brannon was born in Reno, Nevada, and raised in a Oneness Pentecostal group. He later pursued undergraduate studies at Christian Life College in Stockton, California, and completed a bachelor’s degree at Urshan University in St. Louis, Missouri. He and his wife Danielle met there and were married in 2011.
In 2013, Justin and Danielle were received into the Orthodox Church at All Saints of North America Antiochian Orthodox Church in St. Louis. After moving to Granite City, Illinois, they began attending Nativity of the Virgin Mary Orthodox Church in nearby Madison. At both parishes, Justin served both as an acolyte and as Sunday School teacher, and assisted in catechism instruction.
The Brannons have four children: Celeste (Hope), Eldon (Nicholas), Etta (Theodora), and Virginia (Evangeline). They relocated to St Tikhon’s Seminary in the Fall of 2025, where Justin began his first year in the M.Div. program.
Henry Brink
Home Parish: St Elizabeth Church, Chesterton, IN
Seminary: St. Vladimir’s Seminary
Year & Program: 1st year M.Div.
Henry Brink was raised in a Baptist family and spent most of his childhood in South Dakota and Minnesota. He and his family also lived in Moscow, Russia, where his parents were missionaries. Henry and his wife Marcy both graduated in 2020 from Hillsdale College with degrees in English. While attending Hillsdale, they encountered Orthodoxy and were received into the Orthodox Church in 2021. They now have a son, Elias, and they completed master’s degrees in theology at Notre Dame in 2025. Henry and Marcy share a love of liturgical arts, especially Georgian chant and iconography.
Henry began his first year as a seminarian at St. Vladimir’s in the Fall of 2025, while Marcy began a Ph.D. in theology at Fordham University, focusing on late antique Christian and Jewish liturgical art.
Joseph Goshorn-Maroney
Home Parish: St Stephen the First Martyr Church, Crawfordsville, IN
Seminary: St. Tikhon’s Seminary
Year & Program: 2nd year M.Div.
Joseph was raised on a family farm in west central Indiana near Crawfordsville. He and his home parish of St. Stephen the First Martyr were received into the OCA from the Evangelical Orthodox Church in 2001 by Archbishop Job of blessed memory.
After completing his Bachelor of Arts degree in Geology at Hanover College, Joseph pursued a Master of Science in the same subject at Western Washington University in Washington. After this, Joseph began attending St. Innocent Antiochian Orthodox Church in Everson, WA. There he met his wife Margaret, a teacher, and moved back to Indiana and his home parish of St. Stephen’s to run the family farm. He and Margaret married within the year and now have five children: Eleni, Macrina, Seraphima, Maria, and John.
They have been active members at St. Stephen the First Martyr, Crawfordsville, where Margaret has been involved in reading and singing, while Joseph has served on the parish council in various capacities, and in the Altar. Joseph was ordained to the subdiaconate in 2019 by Archbishop Paul of blessed memory. Joseph, Margaret and their children began the next chapter of their lives in the Fall of 2024 at St. Tikhon’s Seminary.
Priest Jarrod Huffman
Home Parish: Holy Trinity Church, Overland Park, KS
Seminary: St. Vladimir’s Seminary
Year & Program: 3rd year M.Div.
Fr Jarrod and Matushka Emily Huffman were brought into the Church in 2014 at St Paul Church in Las Vegas, Nevada, where they maintain a dear connection. A Midwesterner by birth, Fr Jarrod attended college in Colorado before a thirteen-year career in the United States Air Force. Matushka Emily has an MFA in Writing, and has transitioned into software engineering.
The Huffmans spent ten years of their marriage living in Nevada and Alabama, where they served actively in parish life, contributing their time and talents to the choir and church school. In June of 2023, Fr Jarrod left the military to pursue studies at St Vladimir’s Seminary. He was ordained to the presbyterate at Holy Trinity Cathedral on January 6, 2026, and is currently completing his last year at the seminary. Fr Jarrod and Matushka Emily have three bookish children, Ambrose, Theodora, and Elisabeth, and all are excited about the prospect of returning to serve in the Midwest, which they continue to consider home.
Michael Katalenich
Home Parish: St. John of Kronstadt Church, Lincoln, NE
Seminary: St. Tikhon’s Seminary
Year & Program: 1st year M.Div.
Michael was born at Offutt Air Force Base in Nebraska and raised in a largely non-religious household. He later entered the Roman Catholic Church and earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Nebraska–Lincoln in 2017, with studies in Greek, Latin, and Hebrew.
After college, he spent time as a novice with the Dominican Order, and it was then that he first became acquainted with the Christian East. He later served as cantor for the Ruthenian and Melkite Catholic Mission in Nebraska, while also teaching at Pius X High School in Lincoln.
In 2022, Michael was received into the Orthodox Church at St. John of Kronstadt Church in Lincoln, Nebraska, where he helped with catechesis, choir, and reading. He began his first year in the M.Div. program at St. Tikhon’s Seminary in the Fall of 2025.
Gabriel Krug
Home Parish: Holy Trinity Orthodox Church, Overland Park, KS
Seminary: St. Vladimir’s Seminary
Year & Program: 1st year M.Div.
Gabriel Krug was born in San Francisco, CA and raised in a mostly non-religious family. Having grown up a quarter-mile from Holy Virgin “Joy of All Who Sorrow” Cathedral, Gabriel converted to Orthodoxy in 2015 after being inspired by close family friends who were Orthodox Christians. Following high school, he served two tours in the Marine Corps. Trained as a technician for aircraft-borne weapon systems, he served the latter years of his career as an occupational instructor, providing technical and leadership training to both military and civilian personnel.
While serving on active duty, Gabriel met his wife, Bailey, who herself converted to Orthodoxy from Evangelical Christianity in 2016. In 2018 they were married, and now have three daughters – Emelia, Sophia, and Marie. Immediately following Gabriel’s discharge from the military, the Krug family moved to Saint Vladimir’s Seminary, where they are now settled in for their second year.
Christopher Mescher
Home Parish: St. Gregory of Nyssa Church, Columbus, OH
Seminary: St. Tikhon’s Seminary
Year & Program: 3rd year M.Div.
Christopher was raised Roman Catholic around Columbus, Ohio. He undertook his undergraduate studies in mathematics and linguistics at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, where he attended a traditional Roman Catholic parish. After completing his undergraduate studies, he returned to Columbus to attend the Pontifical College Josephinum, a Roman Catholic seminary.
While at the Josephinum, Christopher became more aware of Orthodoxy, and eventually began to attend St. Gregory of Nyssa Church in 2019. He ended his studies at the Josephinum after completing a B.Phil. degree, and began graduate study in computer science instead. He was received into the Orthodox Church on the Feast of the Transfiguration in 2020. He completed his M.S. in December of 2022, but never lost the desire to continue his seminary studies, which he began at St. Tikhon’s starting in the fall of 2023.
Samuel Miller
Home Parish: St. Mary Cathedral, Minneapolis, MN
Seminary: St. Vladimir’s Seminary
Year & Program: 1st year M.Div.
Samuel Miller is part of the fifth generation of an Orthodox family in America. He grew up attending St. Mary’s Cathedral in Minneapolis, and received his bachelor’s degree in history from the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities in 2025.
Raised by a family which endeavored to live the life of the Church, Samuel began to discern a call to ordained ministry towards the end of high school, largely through the inspiration and encouragement of the cathedral dean and other parish clergy. He has served in the altar since childhood, taught Sunday school, and participated in the pan-Orthodox community in the Twin Cities; he continues to act as a sacristan and lead altar server.
Priest Pedro Sarsama
Home Parish: St. Matthew Church, Green Bay, WI
Seminary: St. Tikhon’s Seminary
Year & Program: 3rd year M.Div.
Fr Pedro was baptized and raised at St Mary Romanian Orthodox Cathedral in Cleveland (OCA-ROEA), and began attending St Matthew Orthodox Church in 2018 after relocating to Green Bay, WI. There he was involved in youth/young adult ministry and altar service. He worked in non-profit community services and the finance sector before pursuing seminary admission. He began the MDiv program at St Tikhon’s in 2023, and together with his wife Matushka Keely (Raphaela), has benefitted greatly from the spiritual nourishment, liturgical life, and community encouragement of both the monastery and the seminary.
Fr Pedro was ordained to the presbyterate on December 20, 2025 at Holy Trinity Cathedral. In addition to balancing seminary obligations and family life, Fr Pedro finds great joy in his service assisting the monastery sacristan. God has blessed the Sarsamas with five delightful children: Milița, Julian, Anastasia, Sylvia, and Leon.
Priest Paul Schlafer
Home Parish: St. Nicholas Church, Mentor, OH
Seminary: St. Tikhon’s Seminary
Year & Program: 3rd year M. Div.
Deacon Eugene Schreder
Home Parish: Holy Myrrhbearers Church, St. Cloud, MN
Seminary: St. Tikhon’s Seminary
Year & Program: 3rd year M. Div.
Deacon Eugene was raised in the small town of Paynesville, Minnesota, and grew up in the Churches of Christ. He and his now wife Elizabeth were married after high school in 2014. During his subsequent studies at St Cloud State University, Eugene encountered the lives of several Orthodox saints who led him to Holy Myrrhbearers Orthodox Church, located just a few blocks from campus. He graduated with a bachelor’s degree in history from SCSU in 2020, and that same year, the Schreder family was received into the Orthodox Church.
Eugene was subsequently tonsured a reader by Archbishop Paul, and while serving the parish in this capacity, began to discern a calling to ordained ministry in the Church. This led Eugene, Elizabeth, and their three children to St. Tikhon’s Seminary in the Fall of 2023. Eugene was ordained to the diaconate at Holy Myrrhbearers Church on May 25, 2025, and is now completing his third year at seminary.
Benjamin Zack
Home Parish: St. Panteleimon Church, Summit Argo, IL
Seminary: St. Vladimir’s Seminary
Year & Program: 2nd year M.Div.
Benjamin Zack was raised in a largely non-practicing family in Philadelphia, PA, occasionally attending St. Nicholas Orthodox Church with his grandparents. At age 14, his family moved to the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church. While in high school, he received a four-year ROTC Scholarship, intending to become an infantry officer in the US Army. At this time, he and his spiritual father began a formal discernment process for the Catholic priesthood. As a result, Ben became a Chaplain Candidate upon his graduation from college and commissioning as an officer.
During an Army training course at Fort Jackson, while still a Ukrainian Catholic Seminarian, he regularly observed the Divine Liturgy at Holy Apostles Orthodox Church in Columbia, SC. Through this attendance, he felt a profound call to reconcile himself with the Church of his baptism. He and his fiancée, Abigail, were received into the Orthodox Church at St. Panteleimon Orthodox Church in Summit Argo, IL. He is now a US Army Chaplain Candidate endorsed by the OCA serving at the 450th Civil Affairs Battalion (Airborne) in White Plains, Maryland.
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