Speakers

2021 Conference Speakers

Fr. Evan Armatas

KEYNOTE SPEAKER

Father Evan received his Bachelor's Degree in Philosophy from Boston College with an emphasis in business management and Christian apologetics in 1991. He earned his Master of Divinity from Holy Cross in 2002 and served as an assistant priest for five years at Saint Catherine Greek Orthodox Church in Greenwood Village before being assigned as St. Spyridon’s first full-time priest in August of 2007.

Father Evan's current parish of Saint Spyridon began humbly, in its first year only six families called St. Spyridon home. Today it is a vibrant and growing parish of several hundred. The ministries and members of the parish represent a wide range of backgrounds and interests which make the parish a diverse place of worship, witness, and service. In August of 2018 the parish moved into a new 18,000 square foot sanctuary and facility.

In 2002, Father Evan founded the St. Nektarios Education Fund, a non-profit student education program. The fund, which he still manages along with its board, has established five schools in Africa, educated over 5,000 students and delivered nearly $1,000,000 in student aid through its network partners of IOCC and OCMC.

Father Evan has served as the Metropolis of Denver Program Director of Camp Emmanuel, its summer youth camp program, and as the Metropolis Clergy Syndesmos President. You will find podcasts by Father Evan at www.SaintSpyridon.church, and you can listen to his live call-in radio show called “Orthodoxy Live” on Ancient Faith Radio, which broadcasts every Sunday night at 5 pm Pacific/8 pm Eastern.

Most recently Father Evan, released his first book, "Toolkit for Spiritual Growth, A practical guide to prayer, fasting, and almsgiving," available through Ancient Faith. This engaging and straightforward book uses Scripture and pastoral experience to inspire those new to the faith and those already part of the Body shape and re-energize their relationship with Christ through these essential spiritual disciplines.

Father Evan his wife Presbytera Anastasia are the happy parents of three daughters, Alexia, Eleni, Maria, and a son Spyridon; they live in beautiful Fort Collins, Colorado where they ski, flyfish, and hike.

Frederica Mathewes-Green

BREAKOUT SPEAKER

Frederica Mathewes-Green is a wide-ranging author, whose work has appeared in such diverse publications as the Washington Post, Christianity Today, Smithsonian, the Los Angeles Times, First Things, Books & Culture, Sojourners, Touchstone, and the Wall Street Journal. She has been a regular commentator for National Public Radio (NPR), on Morning Edition and All Things Considered, a commentator on the Hallmark TV network, a columnist for the Religion News Service, Beliefnet.com, and Christianity Today, wrote regular book reviews for the Los Angeles Times, movie reviews for National Review Online and Christianity Today Movies, recorded a podcast for Ancient Faith Radio, and was a consultant for Veggie Tales.

She has published 10 books, including Welcome to the Orthodox Church (Paraclete Press, 2015), The Jesus Prayer (Paraclete, 2009), Facing East: A Pilgrim’s Journey into the Mysteries of Orthodoxy (HarperCollins, 1997) and The Illumined Heart: The Ancient Christian Path of Transformation (Paraclete, 2001). Her essays were selected for Best Christian Writing in 2000, 2002, 2004, and 2006, and Best Spiritual Writing in 1998 and 2007. She has published over 700 essays.

She has also appeared as a speaker over 500 times, at places like Yale, Harvard, Princeton, Wellesley, Cornell, Calvin, Baylor, and Westmont; at the Smithsonian Institute, the Aspen Institute, Washington National Cathedral, the Los Angeles Times Book Festival, the American Academy of Religion, the Veritas Forum, the Family Research Council, and the National Right to Life Committee. She received a Doctor of Letters (honorary) from King University.

She has been interviewed over 700 times, on venues including PrimeTime Live, the Diane Rehm Show, the 700 Club, NPR, PBS, CNN, NBC, Fox News, and by Time, Newsweek, the New Republic, USA Today, the Chicago Tribune, the Philadelphia Inquirer, and the New York Times.

She lives with her husband, the Rev. Gregory Mathewes-Green, in Johnson City, TN. Their three children are grown and married, and they have fourteen grandchildren.

Dr. Philip Mamalakis

BREAKOUT SPEAKER

Dr. Philip Mamalakis, with his wife Georgia and seven children, lives in Boston, Massachusetts, where he is the Assistant Professor of Pastoral Care at Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology. Dr. Mamalakis directs the field education program and teaches classes on pastoral care, marriage and family, grief, death and dying, and topics related to pastoral counseling. He has a private practice in Newton, Massachusetts, where he works with individuals, couples, and families. Dr. Mamalakis has an M.Div. from Holy Cross and a Ph.D. from Purdue University in child development and family studies, specializing in marriage and family therapy. He has been offering parenting courses and writing on parenting for 21 years. He enjoys leading seminars and retreats on intimacy, relationships, marriage, parenting, and family life as well as on Orthodoxy and psychology. He is the author of, “Parenting Toward the Kingdom,” (2016), Ancient Faith’s best selling Orthodox parenting book and co-author, with Fr. Charles Joanides, of, “The Journey of Marriage,” (2010) a resource for couples preparing for Marriage in the Orthodox Church. He is currently collaborating with the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese Department of Marriage and Family in developing an Orthodox marriage preparation program.

Fr. Timothy Hojnicki

BREAKOUT SPEAKER

Fr. Timothy Hojnicki is the pastor of Holy Apostles Orthodox Church (OCA) in Mechanicsburg, PA since June of 2005. He is a 2002 graduate from the University of Delaware with B.S. in Family & Community Services, and a 2005 graduate with an M.Div. from St. Tikhon’s Orthodox Theological Seminary in South Canaan, PA. He is married to his wife Anastasia, and they have 4 children Nicholas (14), Kyra (13), Elijah (10), and Joachim (4).

Archpriest James Coles, Pastor

BREAKOUT SPEAKER

Fr. James Coles was born in Dallas, Texas and grew up Roman Catholic. He was involved in Young Life in high school and college and met his wife, Kh. Karen, while they were both working at a youth camp in Colorado. He graduated from Texas Tech in 1989 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Family Studies and moved to Tucson, AZ to court Kh. Karen.

In Tucson, he worked as the youth director at an Episcopal Church and they were married that following year. They moved to Los Angeles for another youth director position at the Episcopal Church in Beverly Hills and a few years later moved to Santa Fe, New Mexico for Fr. to work for Young Life as the Area Director. It was while working for Young Life in Santa Fe that Fr. James and Kh. Karen joined the Orthodox Church. Their two oldest children, Emma and John, were born in Santa Fe.

In 2000 they packed up and moved to New York for seminary. In the Spring of 2003, Fr. James was ordained to the Holy Priesthood on Theophany, their son, Samuel, was born in April, and Fr. graduated from Saint Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary.

Fr. James was the assistant pastor at St. George in Houston from 2003-2005 and has been the pastor of Saint Ignatius in Mesa, AZ since 2005. He took a Doctorate in Eastern Christian Studies in 2016. His dissertation was on Confession.

He has served as the Youth Director for the Diocese of Los Angeles and the West and as the National Chaplain for the Orthodox College Fellowship. He is currently the Missions Coordinator for the Diocese and directs the biennial Clergy Symposium for the Antiochian Archdiocese.