Fr. Gregory Parker to serve in Old Harbor
Last updated: 2009-04-08 15:34:48

The choir sang softly in the loft and cameras flashed from every direction as Deacon Gregory Parker, escorted by two deacons, faced an altar full of priests at Holy Resurrection Cathedral. In moments, he would breach the gap, leaving the post of those at his side and joining the ranks of the men who awaited him in the altar.

What was in his mind at this sobering moment?

“Could these cameras get out of the way?” Parker confessed.

But on a deeper level, the process was pretty emotional.

“It was the beginning of something new. I was leaving the old self behind, taking on a new identity.”

As Parker talked about his office, he invoked St. Paul who said that he once thought as a child, but now as a man.

Now that he’s a priest he has “put away childish things,” Parker said.

It's certainly no childish thing to be called Father Gregory. Parker said he is getting more comfortable with his title as the days go by, but at first it was "pretty unreal."

"The idea that I'm now a priest is pretty intimidating. I suppose I will stand in awe the rest of my life in terms of the priesthood and who I am."

Parker, a fourth-year student at St. Herman's Seminary, said his decision to become a priest was an act of obedience. "I'm being obedient regardless of my unworthiness. I'm going to shepherd a flock, and I'm going to have to lay down my life for those people."

But before one is willing to lay down his life for his flock, it’s important that he know them.

“Once I get to know them, I can learn what their needs are and how I can help meet them. That’s going to be the big challenge.”

The flock Parker will serve is the parish of Old Harbor. He, his wife, Marlene, and their sons Gabriel, 13, Roger, 8, and Leo, 3, plan to go down there shortly after graduation May 31.

He hopes to revitalize the church school program and activate the youth.

“That’s one of the first things that has to be developed and picked up,” said Parker, who has helped Fr. Innocent Dresdow with the youth group at Holy Resurrection.

He grew up on the Northern Cheyenne reservation in southeastern Montana and was raised a Catholic.

Because of her interest in history, Parker’s mother, Sue Parker, talked about Orthodoxy a lot when he was a child.

“I always figured at some point I would see what Orthodoxy was. I envisioned that it was like Roman Catholicism.”

Parker learned more about Orthodoxy when he attended Salish-Kootenai College, a tribal college in Montana. There he met his future wife, Marlene Gust, an Alaska Native (Yup’ik) from New Stuyahok and a member of the Orthodox Church.

“There was a connection between us. We both believed in Christ.”

Even though they came from two distinct Native American cultures, they observed striking similarities between them. When Gregory visited his wife’s community in Bristol Bay, he saw those similarities more clearly.

“What I saw most fascinating was that the world that my grandparents had lived in was still there in New Stuyahok,” Parker said. “It was a subsistence culture.”

Parker said that the buffalo economy was taken away from his people, but the subsistence economy remains in Alaska.

The Yup’ik stories, such as the prophecies of the coming of the white man, had a familiar ring to him.

“These were the same kinds of stories that I heard from where I’m from. That was amazing to find out.”

Gregory’s mother and brother, Ryan Parker, came from Montana to attend his ordination.

“It was an awe-inspiring process for them,” Parker said. “They’d never seen an ordination before. This was something new. I was answering my calling. For my mom it was pretty emotional.”

Parker faces another milestone when he graduates from St. Herman’s Seminary.

During these past four years, Parker has taken theological, patristic, history, Scripture, and counseling courses that will help him in his vocation.

Life experiences can also prepare him for pastoral work. Two years ago, the Alaska diocese went through turmoil with a bishop whom many in the clergy felt compelled to protest. Students, who were told to respect and obey their hierarchs, had to determine church teaching in a situation like this.

Ultimately, leaders within the Orthodox Church in America asked the bishop to resign from his episcopate. Currently His Grace the Right Reverend BENJAMIN (Peterson), Bishop of San Francisco and the West and former dean of St. Herman's Seminary, is acting bishop until one can be found.

When asked what he learned from that crisis, Parker replied. “In those times of crisis and struggle God won’t leave us destitute. He’s going to see us through it.

“I hope the next bishop will be a father to us. I’m hoping that he is somebody I can go to as a spiritual son and learn from him. I hope that he gives us spiritual meat. That’s what I crave.”

Father John Dunlop, dean of St. Herman's Seminary, says OCA leaders have candidates in mind for the Alaska episcopate.

"They are concerned to make a good decision. We hope the process will be quick, but they don't want to rush either."

Dunlop, who has taught at St. Herman's for 13 years, was named seminary dean last fall. Parker's ordination was the first under his watch.

"I'm thankful to God for blessing us with this ordination." Dunlop said. "We need clergy. Particularly in Old Harbor they need a resident shepherd." 

By sending Parker there, a need is being filled, with the youth in particular, Dunlop said.

"Raising a new generation of Orthodox children is an incredible responsibility. I'm confident that Fr. Gregory will do the ministry that is necessary. He's really put in a lot of effort. He's a serious student; I'm thankful for that. I have confidence in him."

In addition to Parker's ordination into the priesthood, seminarians Ishmael Andrew and Methodius Nicori were ordained as deacons.


This edited article was written by Mike Rostad and published in the Kodiak Daily Mirror on April 3, 2009.

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Mission of St. Herman Seminary

St. Herman Orthodox Theological Seminary is a school of theology of the Orthodox Church in America permanently located within the Diocese of Sitka and Alaska, under the canonical jurisdiction of the Orthodox Church in America. Its primary purpose is to provide adequate education for clergy candidates, lay church leaders, and educators in the Diocese. The program emphasizes particularly Orthodox theology, general education on the undergraduate level, and those particular skills (e.g., music, reading, etc.) that are necessary for Church work in the Diocese of Alaska.

The seminary fulfills its most basic purpose, remaining true to its historic missionary heritage. In particular, the seminary seeks to continue the heroic educational and evangelistic work begun by Ss. Herman, Innocent, Yakov, and the host of dedicated clergy and laity who struggled to increase the presence of Holy Orthodoxy in Alaska.

Objectives
The primary objective of the seminary remains the education and, as God wills, the ordination of spiritually mature Orthodox Christian men to the Holy Diaconate and Priesthood. The seminary also provides the necessary theological, liturgical, and moral foundations nurturing various vocations. The Church in Alaska seeks to retain a full complement of indigenous clergy and laity to fulfill Her purpose. Therefore, the seminary curriculum is arranged to prepare readers, catechists, religious educators, and counselors, as well as deacons and priests.

These objectives are met through 2-year and 4-year diploma programs in which a theological education is provided in residence. Graduates will be equipped to enhance the quality of spiritual, moral, educational, and social values in their communities.

Objectives specific to St. Herman Seminary are outlined as follows:

  • To prepare worthy candidates for the Holy Priesthood and Diaconate within the Orthodox Christian Church.
  • To train students to assume responsibilities of a Church Reader, who can lead services in the absence of clergy.
  • To prepare worthy candidates for positions of leadership and as religious educators in their worship communities.
  • To prepare substance abuse counselors for service to their communities.

Formational Philosophy
Preparation for service to the Church, as clergy or laity, requires students to live as Orthodox Christians. The Church affirms mankind’s creation by God and therefore the fullness of humanity is achieved through communion with God. Knowledge of God is revealed in prayerful study of the Faith and a life of active virtue. Students must demonstrate godly attributes: love, patience, goodness, faithfulness, and self control. Seminary life provides ample opportunity to develop these virtues, so that the vision and values of Orthodox Christianity are not only the subject matter of coursework, but increasingly a way of life. The seminary trains its students in this practical theology.

St. Herman Seminary is committed to an understanding of theological education, which includes all aspects of the person. The person, according to the Orthodox Christian Faith, possesses infinite value, being created in the image and likeness of God. Worship is at the very heart of an Orthodox Christian’s being and life, especially those called to teach and preach. Active participation in daily worship is integral to the Orthodox Christian worldview. True education is fulfilled in worship. Worship is indeed instructive. Students should not only understand but delight in the liturgical life of the Church. Students preparing for service to the Church are held to the same ecclesiastical regulations, moral standards, and models of behavior as are expected of those ordained in the Church.

As a missionary institution of the Diocese of Alaska, the seminary is intensely interested and committed to enhancing and strengthening Native Alaskan languages and cultures, particularly as these have merged with the expression and propagation of Holy Orthodoxy. The seminary fulfills the commission of the Church to be incarnational, bearing the Gospel of Jesus Christ to all people. The Seminary faculty encourages research projects and programs in the field of Alaskan Native culture embracing the Church.

The seminary is committed to combating the various social problems that plague society, and Alaskan communities in particular. Valuing personhood as a unity of soul and body, the Church is concerned with the health and eternal salvation of the whole person. Courses in counseling disciplines, together with discussion, lectures, and seminars relating to public health and social policy, constitute another element of the seminary curriculum.

Not only does the seminary provide an education in preparation for ministry, it also nurtures the students’ entire families in residence. While students receive their education, their families must be supported. By fostering the families’ wellness and wholeness, the Seminary improves the quality of student life and of the students’ future ministry. The seminary is aware of the place family holds. Familial themes pervade the letters of St. Paul; Christians are bound together as members of one Body. The seminary strives to fulfill this calling.