Fr. Gregory Edwards, Ph.D

The Rev. Fr. Gregory Edwards, Ph.D., was raised in Virginia and eastern Pennsylvania, and became a member of the Orthodox Church while studying for his Bachelor's degree in Religious Studies at Brown University. After completing a Master's Degree in the New Testament and early Christianity at Florida State University, he conducted doctoral studies in Greece at Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, graduating summa cum laude in 2012. Ordained in 2007, he served parishes in Thessaloniki and Volos for 9 years. He and his wife Presvytera Pelagia lived in Greece from 2006-2016, where their four children were born. He has served as Assistant Professor of Missiology at St. Vladimir’s Orthodox Seminary in New York since 2014. Before coming to Birmingham in March 2019, Fr. Gregory served St. George Greek Orthodox Church in New Port Richey, FL from 2016-2019.

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Fr. Paul Costopoulos

Father Paul Costopoulos was born in and grew up in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. He is one of 6 siblings. A graduate of Gettysburg College (1967) and Holy Cross Greek Orthodox Theological School (1970), Father Paul has served as a priest of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America for over 41 years. He served as Dean of our Holy Trinity- Holy Cross Greek Orthodox Cathedral from September 1996 through February 2019, when he retired from the full time priesthood. He also served Greek Orthodox parishes in Huntsville, AL (1975-1978), Jacksonville, FL (1978-1991), and Denver, CO (1991-1996). In addition to his work as a Parish Priest, Father Paul has served and continues to serve our Church in various capacities both at the Archdiocesan and Metropolis levels. He worked 2 years at the Archdiocese in New York as Director of the Campus Commission, served for a number of years on the Archdiocesan Council and Metropolis Councils of Denver and Atlanta, for 13 years served as a member and former President of the Orthodox Christian Mission Center, and in 1987 led a mission team of 25 to Kenya to build a church. Since 1999, he has served as Vicar of the Central Conference of our Metropolis. Father Paul is married to the former Penny Clemson, also from Carlisle, Pennsylvania. They have 2 daughters (Nina and Niki) and 6 grandchildren, all of whom live in Birmingham, AL. Father loves to read, travel, workout, spend time with the family, and watch his grandkids play soccer.

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Fr. Micah Hirschy

Fr. Micah Hirschy grew up in St. Paul, MN and attended St. George Greek Orthodox Church. He graduated from Hellenic College in 2004 and continued his studies at Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology, where he graduated with an M. Div. in 2007. Upon graduating, he began working at the Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church in Memphis, TN as Pastoral Assistant. He was married in 2011 to Anastasia Hartzes of Mobile, AL and was ordained to the Deaconate and Priesthood by Metropolitan ALEXIOS of Atlanta in December of 2012. He currently serves as Ephemerios at the Holy Trinity Holy Cross Greek Orthodox Cathedral in Birmingham, AL.

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Fr. Ernesto Obregón

The Rev. Fr. Ernesto M. Obregón was born in Cuba, sent to the USA as a refugee child and grew up in north-central Ohio. He was drafted during the Viet Nam era and served in the Army as a Medical Laboratory Specialist. After discharge, he finished his Bachelor of Science in Medical Technology at Kent State University (KSU), a Master of Arts in New Testament and Theology at Ashland Theological Seminary (ATS), and a Master of Arts in Philosophy at Cleveland State University (CSU). He met his wife of over 40 years, Presvytera Denise, at KSU. They and their children served as missionaries in Bolivia and Perú for 10 years, 1990-2000, where Fr. Ernesto was ordained as an Anglican priest. Upon their return, Fr. Ernesto served as the Hispanic Missioner for the Episcopal Diocese of Alabama. In 2004, Fr. & Presvy. converted to Orthodoxy. Fr. Ernesto was ordained an Orthodox priest in 2007, and served a mission parish in Melbourne FL from 2007-2010. Fr. Ernesto returned to Birmingham in 2010, and worked at the VA hospitals in Birmingham and Tuscaloosa until his retirement. During this time period he finished a Master of Science in Management from the Florida Institute of Technology (FIT). During that time he was, and continues to be, attached to this parish.

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Fr. Dn. Tikhon Cobb

Brief biography...

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Lisa Heerten

Lisa Heerten began working for the parish in August 2021 as the bookkeeper. She has an accounting degree from UAB and has had her own business, where she taught QuickBooks classes throughout Alabama and Tennessee. She and her husband, Glenn, enjoy entertaining, cooking, playing with their cats, and working in the yard. Lisa makes her own salsa, salad dressings, and BBQ sauces.

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Katherine Sissa Staursky

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Denise Obregon

Denise Obregón is the oldest of 6 children, raised in a military family. With her family, she lived in Massachusetts, Alaska, Maryland, Ohio, Florida, as well as Okinawa and Germany. She met Fr Ernesto while they were both college students. She has been actively involved in church life since her teen years, (from Protestant Army chapel through Alliance, Presbyterian, Methodist, Baptist, Jesus people home churches, Episcopal/Anglican, and Orthodox since 2004). She has a BS in Medical Technology (hospital lab) with post graduate work in Theology, English as a Second Language, and Spanish. Denise has worked as a lifeguard, medical technologist, missionary, regional supervisor for fast food restaurants, receptionist, customer support, administrative assistant, bilingual case manager, instructor for Spanish and English. With her husband, as missionaries in Bolivia and Peru for 10 years (1990- 2000), she led the children's and women's ministry, Bible study courses, planned retreats, supervised short term volunteers, participated in the choir, and taught (British!) English. She has 3 daughters and 10 grandkids, ‘who are jewels in my crown and I love them to pieces. I like to read, walk, crochet, and play with grandchildren.

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Michelle Kolettis

Michelle was born and raised in Clearwater, Florida and was baptized as an infant at Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church . She graduated from Notre Dame College with a degree in Education. She and her husband, Peter, have been blessed with 3 children and have been members of Holy Trinity Holy Cross for 25 years. She began working at the Cathedral in April 2023.

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Matthew Dorning

Matt is an experienced graphic designer

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Fr. Stephen Freeman

Brief biography.Fr. Stephen Freeman is an archpriest in the Orthodox Church in America and is the former pastor of St. Anne Orthodox Church in Oak Ridge, TN. He was educated at Furman University, Seabury-Western Theological Seminary, and Duke University. He is author of the popular blog, Glory to God for All Things, and of the weekly podcast, Glory to God, on Ancient Faith Radio. His work has been widely translated and published in Europe and Russia...

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Bishop Neophytos Kongai

His Grace Bishop Neophytos was born in 1970 in Kesengei village, Nandi district, Kenya. He holds a degree from the “Archbishop Makarios III” Patriarchal Academy in Kenya. His Grace was ordained to the Holy Diaconate on September 13, 1998, and to the Holy Priesthood two weeks later, on September 27, 1998, by then-Metropolitan Seraphim of Kenya, now of Zimbabwe and Angola. He served as the Deputy principal at the patriarchal academy and served many parishes in Nairobi. In the year 2005 he was awarded a Master of Theological Studies and a Master of Theology from Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology in Brookline, Massachusetts. On 27th of February 2005 he was consecrated Archimandrite by His Eminence Makarios of Kenya. In 2007 he was tonsured a monk at the Holy Monastery of the Transfiguration in Veroia. He is a candidate for a Doctorate in Pastoral Theology, with a scholarship from the Aristotelian University of Thessaloniki. On 26 November 2014, proposed by His Beatitude, he was elected by the Holy Synod as Auxiliary Bishop of the once brilliant Diocese of Nitria. In 2015, His Grace was unanimously elected as the first bishop of the Diocese of Nyeri and Mount Kenya.

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