Bishop François appointed Father John Mefrige is the pastor of Three Hierarchs Byzantine Melkite Mission in San Antonio, Texas, as the new Director of Vocations for the Eparchy of Newton.
Father Mefrige succeeds Archimandrite John Azar who recently retired from active ministry and has served as a vocation director since 2011. We are grateful to Father John.
Father John writes of himself:
Fr. John is Canadian born of Syrian and Lebanese descent, a naturalized American and a permanent resident of San Antonio, TX. Originally from Montreal, Québec, he was raised in the Eastern Orthodox Church and is an active priest in the Melkite Greek Catholic Eparchy of Newton.
Fr. John has both Theological and Psychological education, holding both a Master of Divinity degree (M.Div) from Holy Cross Orthodox School of Theology (‘98) and a Master of Science degree in Marriage and Family Therapy (MS MFT) from Fuller Theological Seminary (’01) and is pursuing his doctorate. Fr. John has served various parishes in a priestly capacity and also has practiced as a professional Marriage and Family Therapist in California.
Fr. John has extensive intercultural experience having worked in a number of Latin American countries in both the development and educational fields. He is fluent in English, Spanish and French and has a working knowledge of Arabic and Greek.
The vocation’s page on website for the Eparchy of Newton is under construction. For now, please email vocations@melkite.org for more information.