2023 Conference Speakers
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Dan Christopulos
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Dan is a native of Cheyenne, Wyoming and received a BS in Sociology from the University of Wyoming in 1979, where he was All-Conference place kicker in football.
After receiving his Master of Divinity from Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology in 1983, he participated in parish ministry for 15 years. During that time, he spent almost 3 years in the mission field in East Africa, as the first missionary priest sent overseas by what is now the Orthodox Christian Mission Center (OCMC). Subsequently he served in various communities in the United States and assisted in establishing the Archdiocesan Office in Hong Kong in 1997.
He has also received a Masters Degree in Social Work and managed several federal grants in the health field. Dan worked for International Orthodox Christian Charities (IOCC) from 2001-2020 as Development Officer, Development Director, and the final eight years as US Country Representative. He served as the Vice Chairman of National Voluntary Organizations Active in Disasters (NVOAD) and President of the Minnesota Chapter of Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster (VOAD). Dan also serves as a volunteer Police Chaplain in Edina, Minnesota.
Dan was appointed the Director of Development at OCMC in August 2020 and oversees all Fundraising and Communication staff and efforts at OCMC. Thirty-five years after being sent to Africa as the first missionary, he has now returned to OCMC to help engage others in the critical work of financially supporting the efforts of the Mission Center to make disciples of all nations by bringing people to Christ and His Church.
Dan has taught at the high school, junior college and University level, along with being a consultant for governmental and non-governmental organizations. He and his wife Patty reside in Minneapolis, Minnesota where she manages Light and Life Publishing Company.
After receiving his Master of Divinity from Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology in 1983, he participated in parish ministry for 15 years. During that time, he spent almost 3 years in the mission field in East Africa, as the first missionary priest sent overseas by what is now the Orthodox Christian Mission Center (OCMC). Subsequently he served in various communities in the United States and assisted in establishing the Archdiocesan Office in Hong Kong in 1997.
He has also received a Masters Degree in Social Work and managed several federal grants in the health field. Dan worked for International Orthodox Christian Charities (IOCC) from 2001-2020 as Development Officer, Development Director, and the final eight years as US Country Representative. He served as the Vice Chairman of National Voluntary Organizations Active in Disasters (NVOAD) and President of the Minnesota Chapter of Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster (VOAD). Dan also serves as a volunteer Police Chaplain in Edina, Minnesota.
Dan was appointed the Director of Development at OCMC in August 2020 and oversees all Fundraising and Communication staff and efforts at OCMC. Thirty-five years after being sent to Africa as the first missionary, he has now returned to OCMC to help engage others in the critical work of financially supporting the efforts of the Mission Center to make disciples of all nations by bringing people to Christ and His Church.
Dan has taught at the high school, junior college and University level, along with being a consultant for governmental and non-governmental organizations. He and his wife Patty reside in Minneapolis, Minnesota where she manages Light and Life Publishing Company.
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Mother Macrina
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Mother Macrina is a professed nun with 27 years of monastic experience. She holds a B. S. degree from St. Cloud University in Minnesota. She taught school for five years and was a realtor for 18 years. As a member of St. Mary's Greek Orthodox Church in Minneapolis, she served on the Board of Trustees, The Philoptohos, and the choir, was youth director for 5 years and a mission team member to Kenya in 1988. She joined the Dormition Monastery in 1996 and has been a member of the monastic community ever since. Her obedience is to mount icons for the gift shop. On numerous occasions she has given talks at the monastery, as well as at various parishes, women's groups, youth and young adults retreats.
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Father Seraphim Majmudar
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Fr Seraphim grew up in the San Francisco Bay area with parents who immigrated from India. Raised as a Hindu, he was touched from an early age by the poverty which he saw on trips to India and other countries he visited in his youth. The question of pain & suffering led him to study religion at UC Santa Barbara, where, by the mercy of God, he found Jesus Christ, the creator of the world, who suffered for the world in order to save the world. Fr Seraphim was baptized into Christ at St Athanasius Orthodox Church in Santa Barbara in 1993.
After grad school, he moved to the Santa Cruz area in 1995 to be a teacher at Ss Peter & Paul Academy in Ben Lomond, CA, where he met and married his amazing wife, Presbytera Sophie, in 1997. He was then ordained to the holy priesthood in Jerusalem in 2000, after which he was assigned to the parish of St Lawrence in Felton. He later graduated from St Tikhon's seminary in PA, and subsequently served as a monastery chaplain on the island of Cyprus until 2010.
The family came back to the United States, where he was assigned as proistamenos of St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church in Tacoma, WA until January, 2023. He then returned to the Santa Cruz area where he currently serves as the proistamenos of St Lawrence Orthodox Church.
He and Pres Sophie have five children, and reside in Felton, CA, where Father roots rambunctiously for the San Francisco 49ers, who will be winning this year's Super Bowl for sure!
After grad school, he moved to the Santa Cruz area in 1995 to be a teacher at Ss Peter & Paul Academy in Ben Lomond, CA, where he met and married his amazing wife, Presbytera Sophie, in 1997. He was then ordained to the holy priesthood in Jerusalem in 2000, after which he was assigned to the parish of St Lawrence in Felton. He later graduated from St Tikhon's seminary in PA, and subsequently served as a monastery chaplain on the island of Cyprus until 2010.
The family came back to the United States, where he was assigned as proistamenos of St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church in Tacoma, WA until January, 2023. He then returned to the Santa Cruz area where he currently serves as the proistamenos of St Lawrence Orthodox Church.
He and Pres Sophie have five children, and reside in Felton, CA, where Father roots rambunctiously for the San Francisco 49ers, who will be winning this year's Super Bowl for sure!
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Paul & Cindy Karos
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Paul and Cindy are an example of a pan-Orthodox couple using their gifts to serve the Orthodox Church across jurisdictions on national, regional and local levels. Together they speak around the country on Orthodox topics to people of all ages.
Paul had a successful 35+ year career on Wall Street where he, as president of an Investment Banking and Equity Division, led the firm to be a national player, has run profitable hedge fund portfolios, and was ranked the number one airline analyst in the world for five years. After retiring from Wall Street, Paul earned a master's degree in Orthodox Theology and founded Matrona Ministries, an Orthodox Christian ministry, which includes one-on-one coaching, parish retreats, and Orthodox Christian life inventories. He facilitates premarital counseling and coaches individuals through suffering and life issues, guiding them toward Christ. Paul was active with the Minnesota Prison Ministry Team for over a decade and has a podcast on Ancient Faith Radio called Person to Person. He has been blind since his teen years.
Cindy has been active in Orthodox ministry for the better part of 5 decades, serving the Church in a multitude of capacities. Some of her favorite ministry work has included serving as the Antiochian Youth Director for the Midwest Region for over a decade, leading the effort to merge two Antiochian parishes in one city, developing and running family ministries including a Pan-Orthodox Family Camp, as well as serving as the Vice-Chair of Bishop Anthony's Diocesan Council in the Midwest Diocese. Cindy uses her past professional background in International and Domestic Sales Management as board chair of Faithtree Resources, a non profit ministry that creates Orthodox small group studies.
They have three adult children and are active members at St. George Antiochian and St. Mary's Greek Orthodox Churches in Minnesota.
Paul had a successful 35+ year career on Wall Street where he, as president of an Investment Banking and Equity Division, led the firm to be a national player, has run profitable hedge fund portfolios, and was ranked the number one airline analyst in the world for five years. After retiring from Wall Street, Paul earned a master's degree in Orthodox Theology and founded Matrona Ministries, an Orthodox Christian ministry, which includes one-on-one coaching, parish retreats, and Orthodox Christian life inventories. He facilitates premarital counseling and coaches individuals through suffering and life issues, guiding them toward Christ. Paul was active with the Minnesota Prison Ministry Team for over a decade and has a podcast on Ancient Faith Radio called Person to Person. He has been blind since his teen years.
Cindy has been active in Orthodox ministry for the better part of 5 decades, serving the Church in a multitude of capacities. Some of her favorite ministry work has included serving as the Antiochian Youth Director for the Midwest Region for over a decade, leading the effort to merge two Antiochian parishes in one city, developing and running family ministries including a Pan-Orthodox Family Camp, as well as serving as the Vice-Chair of Bishop Anthony's Diocesan Council in the Midwest Diocese. Cindy uses her past professional background in International and Domestic Sales Management as board chair of Faithtree Resources, a non profit ministry that creates Orthodox small group studies.
They have three adult children and are active members at St. George Antiochian and St. Mary's Greek Orthodox Churches in Minnesota.