Luke Anderson
Home Parish: Holy Trinity Church, St. Paul, MN
Seminary: St. Vladimir’s Seminary
Year & Program: 3rd year M.Div.
Alexander Baker
Home Parish: St. Mark Church, Rochester Hills, MI
Seminary: St. Tikhon’s Seminary
Year & Program: 1st year M.Div.
Growing up as the son of an Orthodox Priest, Mason Alexander Baker was raised next door to Christ the Savior Church in downtown Chicago. From an early age, he served in the altar, and for three years he traveled as kelenik to His Eminence, Archbishop Paul, of blessed memory.
While traveling with His Eminence and completing his undergraduate Bachelor of Science degree, Mason met his future wife, Elizabeth, at Archangel Michael Church in Broadview Heights, OH. He later relocated with his family to Michigan to complete his undergraduate studies. On December 26, 2021, he was ordained to the subdiaconate.
For the past several years, Elizabeth has served as an elementary school teacher while also ministering at their home parish, St. Mark Church in Michigan, as Sunday School Director and Church Administrator. At the same parish, Mason has helped develop the men’s fellowship, organized altar server practicums, and assisted with church school programs.
Mason and Elizabeth have one son, Brooks, and are expecting their second child.
Timothy Blinnikov
Home Parish: Holy Myrrhbearers Church, St. Cloud, MN
Seminary: St. Tikhon’s Seminary
Year & Program: 2nd 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.
Henry Brink
Home Parish: Holy Trinity Church, St. Paul, MN
Seminary: St. Vladimir’s Seminary
Year & Program: 2nd year M.Div.
Henry Brink was raised in a Baptist missionary family and spent his childhood in South Dakota, Minnesota, and Russia. He and his wife Marcella both encountered Orthodoxy in college and were received in 2021. Henry loves singing church music, and he sang for a year in a Russian Cathedral choir in Kazakhstan. He and his wife and friends have also travelled twice to Georgia to learn its folk music and chant. He also enjoys composing, and both he and his wife have a love for the liturgical arts in general.
Henry and Marcella both studied literature at Hillsdale College and completed Master’s degrees in theology at the University of Notre Dame. While Henry pursues his M.Div. at St. Vladimir’s Seminary, Marcella is pursuing a Ph.D. in theology at Fordham University, specializing in late antique liturgical art in Jewish and Christian communities in Palestine and Syria.
They have two sons, Elias and Benjamin, who keep them busy and teach them to pay attention to the world.
Elias Johns
Home Parish: St. Thomas the Apostle Church, Springfield, MO
Seminary: St. Tikhon’s Seminary
Year & Program: 1st year M.Div.
Deacon Joseph Goshorn-Maroney
Home Parish: St Stephen the First Martyr Church, Crawfordsville, IN
Seminary: St. Tikhon’s Seminary
Year & Program: 3rd year M.Div.
Deacon 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, Dn. Joseph pursued a Master of Science in the same subject at Western Washington University in Washington. After this, Dn. 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.
Michael Katalenich
Home Parish: St. John of Kronstadt Church, Lincoln, NE
Seminary: St. Tikhon’s Seminary
Year & Program: 2nd 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 Latin, Philosophy, and Theater 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 teach catechesis and sang in the choir and kliros. He studied in the St. Macrina Institute’s Diaconal Training Program before beginning 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: 3rd 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.
Samuel Miller
Home Parish: St. Mary Cathedral, Minneapolis, MN
Seminary: St. Vladimir’s Seminary
Year & Program: 2nd 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.
Mattew Stams
Home Parish:
Seminary: St. Tikhon’s Seminary
Year & Program: 1st year M.Div.
Mattew was born and raised in North East Ohio to a culturally Greek family where he inherited some of the traditions and customs of the Orthodox faith, although it was not an active part of daily life growing up until he re-discovered Orthodoxy in 2012.
In 2015, Matthew graduated with an Associates degree in Visual Communication & Design and worked both as an in-house and freelance graphic designer, web designer and photographer. Most recently, he has also been working as a professional dog trainer.
Matthew, his wife Megan and their son Frederick are active members of Saints Peter and Paul Orthodox Church where Matthew is a member of the parish council and altar server.
Reader Justinian Tatooles
Home Parish: Holy Trinity Cathedral, Chircago, IL
Seminary: St. Tikhon’s Seminary
Year & Program: 1st year M.Div.
Justinian Tatooles was born into a Greek-American family and raised in the Orthodox faith. He grew up serving in the altar at Saint Luke Orthodox Church in Palos Hills, IL. Regularly attending diocesan events, he often served at Holy Trinity Cathedral during high school and college before becoming a parishioner in 2022.
He was ordained a reader in 2021 by Archbishop Paul of blessed memory and served as his Keleinik the same year before pursuing undergraduate studies at Belmont University in Nashville, TN. He graduated with a B.A. in History and German in 2024. Feeling the call to ministry from a young age, with the blessing of Archbishop Daniel, he began his first year of the M.Div. program at St. Tikhon’s Seminary in the Fall of 2026.
Matthew Yeager
Home Parish: Annuncication Church, St. James, MO
Seminary: St. Tikhon’s Seminary
Year & Program: 1st year M.Div.
My name is Matt Yeager I grew up in Taos Missouri with my parents, brother, and sister. I became a Christian in 1998 at a Baptist church. Soon after I joined a Christian international missions organization where I met my future wife, Evangeline. We moved back to my hometown and married in 2001, our time in world missions caused us to seek out the original church, leading us into Orthodoxy in 2012, being received into the Church in 2014. We are members of Annunciation of the Virgin Mary Church in St. James Missouri.
Previously served at the altar for over 8 years as well as parish council president at another Orthodox parish and currently serving at the altar currently at Annunciation of the Virgin Mary.
I have a bachelor’s degree in liberal studies from Lincoln University of Missouri, and an AAS in Computer Networking from State Fair Community College. I am currently a project manager; my wife is a sales manager for a window manufacturer. We live on a small farm in our rural area, raising beef cattle and gardening are two hobbies I enjoy.
Looking forward to St. Tikhon’s Seminary this fall.
Benjamin Zack
Home Parish: St. Panteleimon Church, Summit Argo, IL
Seminary: St. Vladimir’s Seminary
Year & Program: 3rd 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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