Ann Marie Mecera, Board Certified Chaplain & Spiritual Care Practitioner, CSCPF

CHAIR, FOUNDER

Ann Marie became passionate about the woman’s role in Orthodoxy after research conducted for a paper she presented at the University of Leeds, and years of involvement in the Orthodox Church. She was convinced that the time was right to build awareness for the historical female diaconate and the potential that existed in restoration of this ordained role.

With a degree in journalism from Ohio University, Ann Marie has worked in the marketing field for 40 years. She has been an independent marketing strategist for over three decades. Ann Marie wrote the religious education manual for pre-schoolers titled “A Way of Life: Introducing Your Children to the Orthodox Faith”, which has been called ‘by far the best resource for introducing pre-schoolers and younger children to the faith.’ She served for nearly 20 years as her parish Lay Vice-Chair, was a member of various OCA task forces, a Pre-Conciliar Commission, the OCA Diocesan Council for the Midwest Diocese, and the OCA Pension Board. Ann Marie also assisted Project Mexico with its Public Relations for several years. She is a Member of the Orthodox Christian Association of Medicine, Psychology, and Religion (OCAMPR). Ann Marie currently lives outside of Orlando, Florida, and attends St. Stephen the Protomartyr Church where she founded and heads the Pastoral Care Ministry.

Carrie Frederick Frost, Ph.D.

Carrie is a lifelong Orthodox Christian and a scholar of Orthodox theology. She received her doctorate in Theology, Ethics, and Culture from the University of Virginia. She works on motherhood, family, children, theological anthropology, iconography, theology in literature, and contemplative prayer. Her recent book Church of Our Granddaughters (Cascade 2023) addresses matters of women in the church today and constructively imagines a more welcoming Church for our grandchildren.

In her book Maternal Body: A Theology of Incarnation from the Christian East (Paulist Press) she reflects on motherhood and embodied theology for wide audience. She edited a volume of women writing about the Holy and Great Council of 2016, The Reception of the Holy and Great Council: Reflections of Orthodox Christian Women (GOARCH), and she has also written many articles on the topic of deaconesses, including “A Flourishing Diaconate Will Ground—Not Predetermine—Conversation about the Women in the Priesthood” published in Women and Ordination in the Orthodox Church – Explorations in Theology and Practice edited by Gabrielle Thomas and Elena Narinskaya.

In addition to her work with the St. Phoebe Center, she is Co-chair of the Women in the Orthodox Church Group of  the International Orthodox Theological Association (IOTA), as well as a founding board member of IOTA. She is Assistant Professor of Religion and Culture at Western Washington University and she occasionally teaches at Orthodox seminaries. She is married with five children, and she resides in Bellingham, Washington.

Gust Mecera

B.S., TREASURER

Prior to retirement, Gust was a construction manager with the McDonald’s Corporation for 30 years. In that position, he was responsible for capital improvements with budgets between $5 and $40 million dollars. Prior to joining McDonald’s, Gus was a civil engineer with Franklin County in Columbus, Ohio.

He served on Parish Council as Building Committee Chair at St. Gregory of Nyssa Orthodox Church in Columbus, Ohio for over 25 years. He oversaw the $325,000 conversion of a former office building into the current church building; the $70,000 fellowship hall renovation; the $50,000 sanctuary beautification project, and currently, a potential one million dollar expansion project.

Gust was a Church School teacher for the high school class at St. Gregory’s for eight years. He currently attends St. Stephen the Protomartyr Church in Orlando, Florida, where he serves as Treasurer on Parish Council. He and his wife Ann Marie have been married since 1979, and have two daughters and a grandchild.

Kristina Baktis, MPS, LCAT, ATR-BC, ATCS

Kristina is a board-certified art therapist and credentialed art therapy supervisor. She received her MPS in Art Therapy and Creativity Development from Pratt Institute in 2011. She has worked in a variety of mental health settings providing therapy for adults and children with Autism Spectrum Disorder, PTSD, addictions, and chronic mental illness.  Kristina is dedicated to strengthening the field of art therapy by providing clinical supervision, leading community workshops and supporting her local and national art therapy associations.

Kristina has grown up in the Orthodox Church, as the daughter of a priest/army chaplain. From early childhood, she was encouraged to read, sing, and serve as an acolyte. As an adult, she has been inspired by the example set by her grandmothers, mother, and godmother. She has served on parish councils, taught church school, worked in the church office, and helped organize parish fundraisers and community events.

In 2015, Kristina cofounded the handmaiden ministry at the OCA Cathedral of the Holy Virgin Protection in NYC with Juliana (Mecera) Federoff so that the girls of their parish could actively participate in the divine services. Kristina has advised other OCA parishes on how to start this ministry for their girls.

In addition to working with the St. Phoebe Center, Kristina is a member of the Orthodox Association for Medicine, Psychology, and Religion (OCAMPR).

Teva Regule, Ph.D.


Teva was raised in the Orthodox Church and has been an active member for all of her life.  For many years she was involved in the work of youth ministries in the Church, working on the national level of the American Romanian Orthodox Youth (AROY) and serving two years as the national president.  During much of this time, she also worked in campus ministry, organizing and coordinating various Orthodox Christian Fellowships.  For the past twenty years, her worked has focused on the ministry of women in the Church.  For over fifteen years, she served as Managing Editor of the St. Nina Quarterly, a publication dedicated to exploring the ministry of women in the Orthodox Church and one which aims to cultivate a deeper understanding of ministry in the lives of all Orthodox Christian women and men.  In addition, Teva served as an Orthodox consultant for a number of consultations on women and men in the church sponsored by the World Council of Churches.

A life-long student of theology, Teva completed her Master of Divinity degree at Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology in 2007, graduating with highest distinction.  In addition to the ministry of young people and women, she is very interested in the Church’s liturgical life.  For the past few years, she has focused her studies on liturgical theology and history.  She received her PhD in liturgical theology from Boston College.

Helen Creticos Theodoropoulos, Ph.D.

Helen has been active in the Orthodox Church and in theological education in various ways for many years. She received a Master’s Degree in Theological Studies from Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology in Brookline, MA, and both the Master’s and PhD degrees in Theology from the University of Chicago Divinity School.

Helen is currently adjunct professor at St. Sava Serbian Orthodox School of Theology in Libertyville, IL, teaching the study of the Church Fathers, and Christianity in America. She has also been a Lecturer at Loyola University Chicago and at the University of St. Mary of the Lake/ Mundelein Seminary in Mundelein. She is a founding and current board member of the St. Catherine Institute for Orthodox Christian Studies.

In her home parish, Helen taught the high school Church school class for many years, and currently teaches the weekly adult Bible Study group and a bi-monthly adult religious education program. In addition, she has lectured to Orthodox and ecumenical religious groups on the local, diocesan, and national levels, and has presented papers at multiple conferences. Helen and her husband Evan are the parents of three daughters.

Metropolitan KALLISTOS of Diokleia

Metropolitan Kallistos (Timothy Ware) is widely known for his writings on the history and worship of the Orthodox Church, and for his work in inter-Christian dialogue.  Born in 1934, he joined the Orthodox Church in 1958, and he was ordained priest in 1966 and bishop in 1982.  He is a member of the monastic brotherhood of St John the Theologian on the island of Patmos, Greece.  For thirty-five years (1966-2001) he taught Orthodox theology in the University of Oxford, and in 1966 he founded the Greek Parish of the Holy Trinity in Oxford.  He is Orthodox Co-Chairman of the International Anglican-Orthodox Theological Dialogue, and he is also a member of the International Commission for Theological Dialogue between the Orthodox Church and the Roman Catholic Church.  He holds six honorary doctorates, and is a corresponding member of the Academy of Athens.  His best-known publications are The Orthodox Church (Penguin Books) and The Orthodox Way (St Vladimir’s Seminary Press).  He is a co-translator of three volumes of material from the Orthodox service books, and of four volumes of The Philokalia.

Archpriest Very Reverend Father Daniel Rentel

CO-FOUNDER

Prior to entering semi-retirement in 2011, Fr. Daniel Rentel was rector of St. Gregory of Nyssa Orthodox Church in Columbus, Ohio. He is most noted for two distinct contributions to 21st century Orthodoxy: Fr. Dan built his parish into a model of urban existence and outreach. Today, the parish experiences a unique relationship with its neighbors by providing hot meals several times a week, a food pantry, opportunities for learning basic work skills, and building self-confidence. In return, the neighbors have provided construction, landscaping, building, security, and cooking services to the parish. He also did away with the notion of an elected council served by a president and returned to the more historically authentic model of a council that was appointed, served by a lay vice-chair, and operating by consensus rather than voting.

Fr. Dan graduated from St. Tikhon’s Seminary, and earned a Masters in History from Penn State. He also received a fellowship to study Byzantine History at The Ohio State University (OSU), where he completed doctoral studies (ABD). He became certified in education and spent 25 years as a teacher in the Columbus Public School System.

While serving his first parish, St. John the Baptist Church in Philipsburg, PA, he became involved with the OCF at nearby Penn State University. His experience there helped him when he arrived in Columbus, Ohio, in 1983, to build an Orthodox presence for students attending OSU, as well as nearby private colleges. He also established a mission in Cincinnati before arriving in Columbus. His position as a teacher, however, enabled him to serve St. Gregory’s with little financial compensation for many years, an agreement he agreed to and endorsed. As a result, St. Gregory of Nyssa continues to serve as a example of true Christian love for its neighbors, a refuge for college students, and a place of worship for Orthodox Christians throughout Central Ohio.

Deacon Perry T. Hamalis, Ph.D.

Rev. Dr. Perry Hamalis is Cecelia Schneller Mueller Professor of Religion at North Central College (Naperville, IL). In 2015-16, he was a Fulbright Senior Fellow and Underwood Visiting Professor at Yonsei University (Seoul). A deacon of the Orthodox Metropolis of Korea, he teaches, writes, and lectures on Christian Ethics, and is the co-editor, with Valerie Karras, of the book, Orthodox Christian Perspectives on War (University of Notre Dame Press).

V. Revd. Professor John Anthony McGuckin

Advisor, Early Church History

Fr. McGuckin has served as Professor of Byzantine Christianity at Union Theological Seminary (UTS), Department of Religion, Columbia University, New York since 2002, where he also holds the title of Endowed Senior Chair. Fr. McGuckin has also been the Nielsen Professor of Late Antique and Byzantine Christian History, at UTS since 2006. Prior to coming to UTS, Fr. McGuckin was Senior Lecturer in New Testament & Early Christian Theology at the University of Leeds, Leeds, England, where he also served as Dean for Undergraduate Studies. Fr. McGuckin also held several positions at LSU College of Higher Education, in Southampton, England, including Principal Lecturer & Head of Department.

Fr. McGuckin completed Doctoral Studies in Patristics at Durham University, England. He holds a Certificate in Education (PGCE) from Newcastle University, where he was winner of the Armstrong Prize. He has served on numerous committees and in noted positions at the University of Leeds, UTS, and Columbia University, including Faculty Representative, Burke Library Fellows, Scholarship Committee at UTS ; and Presidential Search Committee. At Columbus University, Fr. McGuckin has been part of the Executive Committee of the Harriman Center (Eastern European Studies) since 2000; and a committee member for the Certificate in Medieval Studies since 2007.

Fr. McGuckin has been a Visiting Professor at The University of Kiev – Mohyla Academy; The Orthodox Theological Faculty of Sibiu, Romania; Baia Mare University,  Theology Dept,   Faculty of Humanities,  Romania; The Royal Academy of Norway: Institute for Advanced Research. Oslo; Sergei Posad – Moscow Patriarchal Theological Academy; and Bucharest Faculty of Theology.

Demetra Jaquet, D.Min

Dr. Demetra (Dee) Velisarios Jaquet, D.Min.,  is retired from 25 years of professional life as a Pastoral Counselor, CPE Supervisor, Spiritual Director, and Adjunct Professor.  She taught Religious Studies at Regis University, Denver and was a Pastoral Counselor/Spiritual Director at Pastoral Counseling for Denver (PCD).   She was a Board Certified Chaplain in the Association of Pastoral Counselors (APC) and a Supervisor of Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) in the College of Pastoral Supervision (CPSP) and in the Center for Spiritual Caregivers and Pastoral Formation (CSCPF).  She was also a Fellow in the American Association of Pastoral Counselors (AAPC).

In 1988 she founded Orthodox People Together (OPT) which published the first directory of American Orthodox parishes in all (SCOBA) jurisdictions, and sponsored four conferences on Orthodox unity.  She also founded the Women’s Orthodox Ministries and Education Network (WOMEN) in 1994, which publishes the St. Nina Quarterly, and she serves on its Editorial Board. WOMEN also sponsored several conferences throughout the U.S. about the ministries of women in the Orthodox Church,  plus one international conference with Bishop KALLISTOS Ware in England.

For many years Dr. Jaquet was an Orthodox representative to the Colorado Council of Churches and the Women’s Interfaith Alliance in Denver.  She was an Orthodox representative at three European World Council of Churches (WCC) conferences and at several interfaith conferences of women theologians in America.  In 1993 she received a blessing from His Eminence Metropolitan Isaiah of Denver for her ministry as a Pastoral Counselor and Interfaith Chaplain.  She served as a Chaplain at Central Presbyterian Men’s Homeless Shelter, the Hospice of St. John, the Centura Health Hospice Facilities, Swedish Hospital, Porter Adventist Hospital, Presbyterian-St. Luke’s Hospital, and North Suburban Hospital, all in Denver.

Dr. Jaquet is a past president of the Orthodox Christian Association of Medicine, Psychology and Religion (OCAMPR), Boston.  She began as a chanter and choir member when a teenager with her dad, John C. Velon, of blessed memory, who was a Byzantine Music scholar, Protopsaltis and choir master at St. George Greek Orthodox Church in Rock Island, Ill.  She continued in other parishes, finally at St. Catherine Greek Orthodox Church, Denver.  She currently is a member of St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church, Grand Junction, Colorado.

Dr. Jaquet holds a B.A. in Philosophy from Augustana College, Rock Island, Ill. (Lutheran), an M.Div. from Iliff School of Theology, Denver (Methodist), a D.Min. from Pittsburgh Theological School (Presbyterian) and Antiochian House of Studies (Antiochian Orthodox), and a Certificate of Orthodox Studies from Holy Cross School of Theology (Greek Orthodox).   She also holds a Certificate in Spiritual Direction from St. Thomas Roman Catholic Seminary in Denver.  She has published numerous articles on Orthodoxy Christianity and women’s ministries.

In addition to serving on the St. Phoebe Advisory Board, Dr. Jaquet currently volunteers teaching Spiritual Direction classes and providing Supervision and Spiritual Direction for the Benedictine Spiritual Formation Program in Grand Junction, Colorado. She also serves on the Board of the Rocky Mountain Center for Spiritual Caregivers (RMCSC), Grand Junction, and on national committees for the Center for Spiritual Care and Pastoral Formation (CSCPF), headquartered in California.  She is active in the Orchard Mesa Centering Prayer Group, the God and Earth Women’s Study Group, and the Community-Building Coalition, all in Grand Junction.

She and her husband of 42 years, Neil Jaquet (also retired), own and operate Ambelos Vineyards in Grand Junction where they are commercial growers of wine grapes, peaches, apricots and hay.  They bicycle, hike, and hunt for petroglyphs throughout the Southwest for fun.  Their daughter Anastasia McCune, husband and three grandchildren live in the Denver area, and their son Christopher Jaquet, wife and two granddaughters live in Telluride, Colorado.

Valerie A. Karras, Th.D., Ph.D.


Valerie is an adjunct instructor of religion at Lindenwood University.  From 2005 to 2012, she was assistant professor of church history at the Perkins School of Theology at Southern Methodist University.  From 2003 to 2004, Valerie served as research associate at the Thesaurus Linguae Graecae, an online digital Greek library based at the University of California, Irvine, and from 1998 to 2003 she was assistant professor of Greek Patristics in the Department of Theological Studies at Saint Louis University.  In 1993, Valerie came to Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology as a fellow-in-residence, then continued as assistant professor at both Holy Cross and Hellenic College from 1994 to 1996.  From 1996 to 1997, she served Hellenic College and Holy Cross as Assistant Director for Institutional Planning and Special Projects.  She has also been an adjunct lecturer in the Departments of Classics and Religious Studies at Washington University in St. Louis.

Valerie has earned doctorates in patristic theology from the Aristotelian University of Thessaloniki and in church history from The Catholic University of America in Washington, DC.  She also holds a Master of Theological Studies degree from Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology.

Valerie’s areas of research interest include women in early and Byzantine Christianity, gender in early church theology; and Orthodox Christianity in ecumenical, interreligious, and feminist conversation.  She has published articles, translations, and book reviews in scholarly journals such as Church History, the Journal of Early Christian Studies, Studia Patristica, and Theological Studies; and in books such as the Cambridge Companion to Feminist Theology (Cambridge University Press), Holy Women of Byzantium (Dumbarton Oaks), Justification and the Future of the Ecumenical Movement (Liturgical Press), and Thinking through Faith (St. Vladimir’s Seminary Press).  Valerie is completing revisions to her first book, Women in the Byzantine Liturgy, which will be published by Oxford University Press; she is also co-editing a volume on Orthodox perspectives on war with Perry Hamalis.

Dr. Karras has been widely invited to lecture, also presenting papers at numerous academic conferences throughout the U.S. and abroad.  She is a member of the editorial board of The St. Nina Quarterly, an international journal for Orthodox women, and has served on the boards of directors of the North American Academy of Ecumenists, the Society for Buddhist-Christian Studies, and the Collegeville Institute for Ecumenical and Cultural Research at St. John’s University in Minnesota.  Dr. Karras has also been a member of the steering committees of the Eastern Orthodox Studies Group and the History of Christianity Section for the American Academy of Religion.  She is a member of several academic and professional organizations, and has been awarded fellowships, grants, and other recognition.  Dr. Karras’ avocation is music:  she plays piano, has sung in numerous symphonic and other choruses, and holds a diploma in Byzantine music from Greece.  Her church music experience includes having served as chanter, choir director, and organist at various Orthodox parishes.

Board Members

Carrie Frederick Frost, Ph.D.

CHAIR

Carrie is a lifelong Orthodox Christian and a scholar of Orthodox theology. She received her doctorate in Theology, Ethics, and Culture from the University of Virginia.

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Barbara K. Harris, M.A., M.A.

Barbara lives and volunteers in St. Louis. She is a graduate of Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology, has earned an MA in Nonprofit Management from Washington University, and holds a BA in music education.

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Ann Marie Mecera, Board Certified Chaplain & Spiritual Care Practitioner, CSCPF

FOUNDER & CO-CHAIR

Ann Marie became passionate about the woman’s role in Orthodoxy after research conducted for a paper she presented at the University of Leeds, and years of involvement in the Orthodox Church.

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Gust Mecera, B.S.,

TREASURER

Prior to retirement, Gust was a construction manager with the McDonald’s Corporation for 30 years. In that position, he was responsible for capital improvements with budgets between $5 and $40 million dollars.

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V. Rev. Dr. Stelyios Muksuris, Ph.D.

Fr. Stel was born in Constantinople (Istanbul), Turkey, and is Full Professor and Chair of Liturgy, Sacramental Theology, and Languages at the Byzantine Catholic Seminary in Pittsburgh, PA. He is the author of several books, including Economia and Eschatology: Liturgical Mystagogy in the Byzantine Prothesis Rite (Boston: Holy Cross Orthodox Press, 2013), and the only English translation of the Archieratikon of the Ecumenical Patriarchate (forthcoming from Cherubim Press, spring 2026).

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Andrew Nosal, Ph.D.

Andy was raised in the Orthodox Church and is an Associate Professor of Biology at Point Loma Nazarene University in San Diego. As a marine biologist, he conducts research on the behavior, ecology, and conservation of sharks and rays.

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Mardi Kring Perry

After a 2003 lecture by and conversations with Elisabeth Behr-Sigel, of blessed memory, Mardi began her journey in exploring the valued role of deaconesses in the Orthodox Church and its historic tradition. Having been raised by missionary parents and seeing firsthand the practical- and essential – role of women in the Church, she followed the model of her parents to become actively involved in Orthodox Christian ministries such as helping found an Orthodox Chaplaincy in NYC with Fr. Dr. John McGuckin…

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Teva Regule, Ph.D.

Teva was raised in the Orthodox Church and has been an active member for all of her life.  For many years she was involved in the work of youth ministries in the Church, working on the national level of the American Romanian Orthodox Youth (AROY) and serving two years as the national president.

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Helen Creticos Theodoropoulos, Ph.D.

SECRETARY

Helen has been active in the Orthodox Church and in theological education in various ways for many years. She received a Master’s Degree in Theological Studies from Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology in Brookline, MA, and both the Master’s and PhD degrees in Theology from the University of Chicago Divinity School.

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