Our Patriarch
John 10th, Patriarch of Antioch and all the East
Our Archbishop
Joseph, Archbishop of New York and Metropolitan of all North America
Our Bishop
Basil, Bishop of Wichita
He oversees the archdiocese of Damascus, Orthodox parishes in the Middle East and Arabic parishes throughout the world. His primary residence is in Damascus, Syria.
He oversees the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America. His primary residence is in Englewood, NJ.
He oversees the Diocese of Wichita and Mid-America. It includes more than 50 churches and missions. His primary residence is in Wichita, KS.
Our Pastor
The V. Rev. Seraphim Gisetti
Fr. Seraphim was born in Munich, Germany after WWII. He immigrated to the US in January of 1950 with his parents, Fr. Dimitri and Matushka Margarita Gisetti, and grandparents, Catherine and Roman Bang. They lived in New York while his father graduated from St. Vladimir’s Seminary.
In 1953 they moved to Portland, Oregon, and in 1957 to Los Angeles, California where Fr. Seraphim attended UCLA, graduating in 1970 with a B.A. in Psychology with studies in Russian, Sociology, and Mathematics. He then studied at St. Vladimir’s Seminary (SVS), graduating with a Bachelor of Divinity (B.D.) (later changed to a Master of Divinity, M.Div.) in 1973. He married Maria Shmatoff in 1972. They have three children and three grandchildren (as of 2019).
After ordination to the Diaconate on February 18, 1972, Fr. Seraphim served as 2nd Deacon for Metropolitan Ireney of the OCA and Bishop Dmitri of New England. He was ordained to the Priesthood on May 19, 1973 (graduation day from SVS). His 1st assignment was to St. Nicholas Church in Richmond, Maine. At St. Nicholas Church, he received a loaf of bread, a dozen eggs, a gallon of milk, and a pound of butter each week and $50 a month as salary plus one room as living quarters.
In November, 1973, he was assigned to St. Nicholas Church in Portland, Oregon. As part of his assignment, he helped transition the Parish from Church Slavonic to English, and Old calendar to New as well as help the Parish find a better, more accessible location and start building new facilities in 1977. In June of 1981, he was transferred to be Dean of Holy Trinity Cathedral, San Francisco, CA (1981-1987), where he was elevated to the rank of Archpriest in 1982 and given the blessing to serve Hierarchical style. He, again, helped transition the Cathedral Parish from part Church Slavonic / part English to English, and from Old calendar to New. This was followed by assignments at Holy Ghost Church, Bridgeport CT (1987-1990) and SS. Cyril & Methodius Church, Terryville CT (1990-1995).
In July of 1995, the Gisettis moved to Colorado (finishing the “C” states), where Fr. Seraphim served as a supply priest for St. Herman Church of Littleton in early 1996. In the Summer of 1996, Fr. Seraphim was loaned to the Antiochian Archdiocese and Metropolitan Philip, in which capacity he serves to this day. Fr. Seraphim was asked to assist at St. Luke Church, then in Lafayette, CO, and St. Elias Church, then in Denver, CO. In 1998, he was assigned to St. Elias Church, which he helped to move to permanent facilities in Arvada, CO in 2001. As a Mission priest in Colorado, Fr. Seraphim worked at/for IBM (1996-2009) and HP (2009-2012) as a Programmer and Systems Architect, retiring from both companies after his service there.
In 2007, with 13 other individuals he began the Mission of St. John Chrysostom in Lakewood, CO.