Retired Orthodox priest to serve at US military base in Germany during the Christmas season

The Very Rev. Basil Summer will serve the needs of military personnel during this Christmas season at Ramstein Air Force Base in Germany.

SYOSSET, NY [OCA Communications] — The Very Rev. Basil Summer, 79, a retired priest of the Orthodox Church in America, will be heading to Ramstein Air Force Base in Germany on Thursday, December 15, 2005 to serve the needs of military personnel there during the upcoming Christmas season.

Father Summer will be providing supply coverage while the regular Orthodox military chaplain, the Rev. Major Timothy Ullmann, ministers to the needs of Air Force personnel in Iraq. While at the Ramstein base in Germany, Father Summer will celebrate liturgical services for Christmas Eve and Christmas on December 24-25, 2005, New Year’s Day 2006, and the Great Feast of Theophany, which commemorates the Baptism of Christ, on January 6, 2006. He will return to the United States on January 16, 2006.

“Military chaplains often serve in multiple locations, causing them to be away from their families for extended periods of time,” according to the Very Rev. John Matusiak, communications director for the Orthodox Church in America. “With so many of our military chaplains currently serving elsewhere around the world, no other chaplains were available to provide the additional assistance needed to meet the spiritual needs of our military personnel in Germany. Luckily, Father Basil agreed to help.”

Father Summer, who previously had served as a captain in the US Navy during World War II and later as a parish priest, Father Summer is looking forward to the experience of returning to military life, albeit briefly.