Copy of Clergy & Staff 2

Fr. James, originally from Oklahoma City, OK, was reared in an Orthodox Christian home. (His grandfather, Economos Nayemtallah Shadid, served as a priest in the village of Marjeyoun, Lebanon). Fr. James studied Journalism and Public Relations at the University of Oklahoma and continued his studies in Boston at Holy Cross Seminary, where he received a Master of Divinity degree. He also spent a year studying Arabic at the Balamand Theological Seminary in Lebanon.

On October 5, 2002 he married Gigi (Gizelle) Baba here at St. George. Fr. James possesses significant experience ministering to the youth of our Diocese of Wichita and Mid-America and our Archdiocese of North America, including service to youth at our Antiochian Village Camp. He worked as a counselor at the Antiochian Village (Bolivar, PA) for nine years and served as Camp Director of Camp St. Raphael.

Fr. James was ordained to the Holy Diaconate September 19, 2004 at St. George Cathedral in Wichita, KS and was ordained to the Holy Priesthood on October 17, 2004 at St. Elijah Orthodox Church in Oklahoma City, OK. He formerly served as the Assistant Priest and Youth Director at our Cathedral in Wichita, KS. Fr. James was assigned as the pastor of our parish in August 2011.

Fr. James was elevated to the rank and dignity of Archpriest on November 1, 2015 by His Grace Bishop Basil.

Fr. George Katrib

Fr. Joseph, a native of Pennsylvania, married Anita Sam at St. George Antiochian Orthodox Church in Bridgeville, PA. He was ordained to the Holy Priesthood in Philadelphia, PA on July 4, 1976.

Before moving to Houston, he served as a deacon and then pastor of St. Mary Antiochian Orthodox Church in Johnstown, PA from 1976-1983.

Fr. Joseph holds a B.S. in Education from Millersville University (Millersville, PA) in addition to a Bachelor of Theology degree from Christ the Savior Carpatho-Russian Seminary (Johnstown, PA) and a Master of Education degree from Lehigh University (Bethlehem, PA).

Fr. Joseph served as the pastor of our parish from 1983 to 1999.

Chris was born in Oklahoma City and lived there until he was about 10 years old. His father became a priest, and They moved to El Paso Texas where he would be the head priest at St. George. When in El Paso, Chris was an active altar server, member of Teen SOYO, and camper at Camp St. Raphael (YABOY). Chris graduated from the University of Oklahoma in 2018 with a degree in Mechanical Engineering. He has been active in the church community growing up not only because of his dad being a priest, but because of his love for the church and his passion for serving. Chris served as a Teen SOYO officer and have been volunteering at Camp St. Raphael since 2013.

Operations Manager