Help us, save us, have mercy on us, and keep us, O God, by Thy Grace.
Our History
The Diakonia blog first published on Squarespace Feb. 19, 2019. It has published 12 blog posts since then (as of 12/09/2020), as time has allowed. It seeks to publish more frequently, however, and has moved to a more affordable plan, as the monthly fee became excessive.
By God’s Grace, sinner and author of this site the deacon Ephraim was ordained to the Holy Diaconate on January 1/14 (St. Basil the Great/Circumcision of our Lord) 2018, the patronal feast of his parish St. Basil the Great in his hometown of St. Louis, Missouri, USA (although he is of Syrian/French/Tyrolian and Irish descent), where over a decade ago, after a year of research and attending services (2007-2008), he received a one-year catachumenate (2008-2009), Holy Baptism/Chrismation (on the Feast of Holy Protomartyr the Archdeacon Stephen, 12/27/09 o.s.), Holy Matrimony (05/03/2010 o.s.), and was ordained as Reader (01/01/11 o.s.) and then Subdeacon (01/01/13 o.s.), all the while alternating between reading and singing on kliros (bass/tenor) and serving in the Holy Altar (often in the same service). He is a seminary graduate in Pastoral Theology (St. John of Kronstadt, 12/20/2017 o.s.), of the Pastoral School of the Diocese of Chicago and Mid-America, Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia (attained while working full-time as either a college instructor or a kitchen manager/chef, or both), and an MA graduate and former doctoral student in Philosophy (classical and generative phenomenology), Southern Illinois University Carbondale (2007).
Since 2017, the deacon has worked secularly as a licensed insurance agent advising in the area of Property & Casualty both personal and commercial product lines. From an office persona attained along the way as simply “The Deacon,” he has begun his own independent insurance agency in 2025 under the name The Deacon is In+Surance, and places business with multiple carriers, writing policies for Churches, Building Projects, Businesses, Homes, Auto and Life/Financial. Please pray that God may help his family and us all and receive our eternal gratitude.
D I A K O N I A 