 Rev. Father Christopher (Jeffrey) Abell was ordained to the Holy Priesthood on June 13, 2015 by His Eminence Metropolitan Nicholas of Detroit and is assigned to the Metropolis of Detroit as a priest with a lay vocation. Father Christopher was ordained to the Holy Diaconate on December 18, 2011 by His Eminence Metropolitan Nicholas of Detroit at the St. George Church in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. Father Jeff converted to the Orthodox faith in 1990 under the spiritual guidance of Fr. Tom George at the Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church (Flint, MI), where he led the altar boys and was a member of the parish council. Father Jeff married Alice Stelyn of Dayton, Ohio in 1991 at the Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church (Dayton, OH). They began attending St. George Greek Orthodox Church (Bloomfield Hills, MI) in 1995. He continued his service as the altar boy leader, parish council member, and high school Sunday School teacher at St. George under the spiritual guidance of Fr. Nicholas Pathenos. In 2008 he enrolled in the Special Program for the Diaconate at Holy Cross School of Theology and finished his studies in 2010.
Father Jeff was born in 1961 to Joseph and Lea Abell of Dayton, OH. He was raised in the Roman Catholic faith and attended parochial grade school and high school. He attended Kettering University graduating with a Bachelors of Mechanical Engineering, and later pursued graduate studies at Oakland University, earning both a Masters of Science and PhD in Systems Engineering. He is currently employed in the automotive industry. Father Jeff and Presvytera Alice are blessed with two active boys, Christopher and James. |