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Metr. Saba Visits Three Western Pennsylvania Parishes
Metr. Saba concluded a four-day western Pennsylvania tour with a deaconal ordination and visits emphasizing Christian freedom, parish community, and service.
PITTSBURGH — Metr. Saba of the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese concluded a four-day pastoral visit to three parishes in western Pennsylvania on August 30, including a patronal feast, a commemoration of the Beheading of St. John the Baptist and the ordination of a deacon.
The final stop was St. George Church in New Kensington, where Metr. Saba celebrated a Hierarchical Divine Liturgy and ordained Sbdn. David Quilici to the holy diaconate, giving him the name Nektarios. He instructed Dn. Nektarios to minister to shut-ins, serve the faithful diligently, and approach the holy altar with reverence. The new deacon serves at St. James Church in Modesto, CA, and is completing an M.Div. through the Antiochian House of Studies.
On August 29, Metr. Saba visited St. Michael Church in Greensburg for services commemorating the Beheading of St. John the Baptist. In his homily, he contrasted St. John’s spiritual freedom with King Herod’s enslavement to his passions, urging the faithful to believe, live, and proclaim the Gospel in love.
The visit began August 27 at St. Moses the Black Church in Pittsburgh, where Metr. Saba celebrated the parish’s patronal feast and its 10th anniversaries of founding and Fr. Paul Abernathy’s ordination. He encouraged parishioners to continue serving one another and their surrounding community.
Previously, the UOJ reported that Metr. Saba led the annual retreat for Antiochian seminarians.
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