The St. Phoebe Award

The St. Phoebe Award is an occasional honor bestowed on those who have offered exceptional energy and talent towards the reinstitution of deaconesses in the Orthodox Church.

The award was first presented to Founding President Ann Marie Mecera for her valiant efforts in establishing and leading the St. Phoebe Center. At the tenth anniversary symposium of the St. Phoebe Center held in 2023, Marilyn Rouvelas was recognized as the second recipient of the award. The board of the St. Phoebe Center enthusiastically supported recognizing the courageous actions of Metropolitan Serafim in ordaining Archdeaconess Angelic-Phoebe to serve the unique needs of parishioners in her community. The board considered Archdeaconess Angelic-Phoebe also worthy of the St. Phoebe Award for the responsibilities she has undertaken and the example she sets in her ordained role as the first deaconess in this era.

The St. Phoebe Center is pleased to announce that the St. Phoebe Award was recently presented to Metropolitan Serafim of Zimbabwe and Archdeaconess Angelic-Phoebe.

His Eminence Metropolitan Serafim and newly-ordained Deaconess Angelic Molen at St. Nektarios in Harare, Zimbabwe.

The board of the St. Phoebe Center enthusiastically supported the recognition of the courageous actions of Metropolitan Serafim in ordaining Archdeaconess Angelic-Phoebe to serve the unique needs of parishioners in her community. The board considered Archdeaconess Angelic-Phoebe also worthy of the St. Phoebe Award for the responsibilities she has undertaken and the example she sets in her ordained role as the first deaconess in this era.

In the announcement Metropolitan Serafim made about the ordination last year, His Eminence stated that “From the first century to the twentieth century, many things have changed in the world. The Apostles call the slaves to be faithful to their masters, but at the same time, they emphasize the Gospel of Jesus Christ that we are all equal because we are created in the image of God. Nowadays, in modern society, no one can justify the institution of slavery. That is why Saint Nektarios, when he decided to revive the institution of the ordination of deaconesses for pastoral reasons [in the early twentieth century], he proceeded to ordain them as is done with the ordination of deacons and to bestow them with all pastoral and catechetical responsibilities that deacons have.” Metropolitan Serafim also stated that, “The revival of the Apostolic Tradition in the missionary ministry of our Church—no one can stop it because it has as its source the Holy Spirit itself who healed the sick and found the missing.” The board of the St. Phoebe Center recognizes the understanding His Eminence possesses of our doctrine and theology in order to have made this courageous decision, but also the dire need of the Orthodox Church in Africa to have ordained women meeting the unique needs of its communities. May God bless His Eminence Metropolitan Serafim and grant him many years!

Deaconess Angelic is a respected and beloved member of the Orthodox community of St.
Nektarios Mission Parish, and she has been doing diaconal ministry for over a decade prior to this ordination. She first came to the Orthodox Church with a friend when she was eleven, and shortly thereafter her entire family converted. From that early age, Deaconess Angelic has been deeply involved in the pastoral care of the people of St. Nektarios. She oversees many initiatives, including organizing and maintaining a chicken-raising program that provides chickens and eggs for members of the community in need, overseeing and teaching catechesis, organizing mother’s groups, and representing the Zimbabwean Orthodox Church at ecological and ecumenical events, including the World Council of Churches and Faith Leaders Environmental Advocacy Training. She is working towards a degree in Geography and Environmental Studies at the University of Zimbabwe. Prior to the ordination, she went through a training and preparation process with formal prayers and instruction from Metropolitan Serafim.

Because Deaconess Angelic is the first deaconess of our own time, Metropolitan Serafim elevated her to the rank of “Archdeaconess” on May 4 at the Temporal Parish of Panagia of Kykkos on the outskirts of Harare, using the relevant prayers in the Service Book of the Holy Orthodox-Catholic Apostolic Church. She was given the name “Phoebe” in honor of the first-century saint, and thus has the title of “Archdeaconess Angelic-Phoebe.” May God grant her many years!