Fr John Vitko is currently the rector of St. Luke Orthodox Church in McLean, VA. This is a ‘second career’ for him, so he likes to describe himself as a older “new priest”. With a Ph.D in Physics, for the first 35 years of his career Fr. John worked as a researcher and manager for a Department of Energy laboratory—then he took “somewhat early retirement”, went to seminary and was ordained to the Holy Priesthood in 2009. In his words, he feels especially blessed to have been able to pursue both his childhood dreams—that of being a priest and that of being a physicist. He loves parish life and his parishioners.
Fr Benjamin Tucci resides in Minneapolis with his wife Lisa and their son Philip. An alumnus of St Tikhon’s Seminary, Fr Ben is currently the assistant priest and youth director of St Mary’s Cathedral in Minneapolis.
Ms Susan Lickwar Lukianov lives with her husband in Ansonia, CT and attends Three Saints Orthodox Church (OCA) and Presentation of Christ into the Temple, Stratford, CT (ROCOR). An elementary school educator by trade, Susan holds a BA from Connecticut College and a MA from Columbia University. She has taught all grades K-6 and also trains other teachers in the teaching of mathematics and writing/compiling the elementary curriculum. Says Susan, “In my free time she truly enjoy all aspects of choir and Liturgical Music. I also enjoy working with the youth in our extended church community-we all love to sing together!”
Ms Catherine (Catie) Golitzin studies Italian at Pepperdine University, where she helped start an OCF this year. She attends St. Innocent Orthodox Church in Tarzana, CA and is involved in the Youth Equipped to Serve Program of FOCUS North America (Fellowship of Orthodox Christian United to Serve). She hopes to study Comparative Literature after graduation, teach literature at a middle or high school, and engage in youth ministry or missions work.