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. We do accept donations and also seek sponsors and freelancing/cross-publishing opportunities.
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). Fr. serves mostly in English with some Slavonic. He works as an insurance agent in property and casualty insurance sales in personal and commercial lines for home, auto, personal umbrella, business owners, cycle, boat, landlord dwelling, event, and life. His wife, Sophia, teaches 1st Grade while they raise Gabriel their seven-year-old son, and she directed the parish school until 2018. Please pray that God may help us all and receive our eternal gratitude.
D I A K O N I A 