2021 Conference Speakers
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Fr. Evan ArmatasKEYNOTE 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 over $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. 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. |
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Frederica Mathewes-GreenBREAKOUT 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. |
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Dr. Philip MamalakisBREAKOUT 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 currently collaborating with the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese Department of Marriage and Family in developing an Orthodox marriage preparation program. |
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Fr. Timothy HojnickiBREAKOUT 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). |
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Fr. Demetrios CarellasBREAKOUT SPEAKER
Father Demetrios was born in Savannah Georgia November 5, 1943. He has four children and 19 grandchildren. Father Demetrios received his Bachelors and Masters degrees in Civil Engineering from Georgia Tech, as well as a Master of Divinity from Holy Cross Greek Orthodox Theological School. He served as a Captain in the U.S. Air Force (Aerospace Facilities Engineer) from 1967-71, and as a Greek Orthodox priest in several parishes in the USA from 1974-1994. Father Demetrios was Chaplain at the Nativity of the Theotokos Monastery in Saxonburg, PA from 1994 – 2016. He has given spiritual talks 6-8 times a year in various U.S. cities, and Hamilton, Ontario for the past 20 years. Father Demetrios was elevated to Archmandrite in July 2010 by Metropolitan Maximos of Pittsburgh. |