Fr. Milad Selim was born in Baghdad, Iraq. He lived there until the age of 10 and then moved to Jordan until the age of 13. In 1998, Fr. Milad along with his family moved to Michigan and there, he attended high school where he met Khouria Nichole, and graduated from Oakland University in Michigan with a degree in General Management. Prior to attending Holy Cross School of Theology, he worked for a telecommunications company as a project manager. Fr. Milad was ordained into the Deaconate on September 26, 2009 and into the Holy Priesthood on September 26th 2010 by His Eminence Metropolitan PHILIP.
The Reverend Deacon Anthony Payne was born in Kidderminster, England, but spent his childhood and early married years in Southern Africa. He is married, to Ruth, the daughter of Australian missionaries to Africa. Since moving from Africa during the “bush war” they have lived extensively in Europe and Asia settling in the US in 1984, and becoming US citizens in 1996.He obtained his B.Sc from the University of London, England, graduating with 1st class honors, and an M.Sc degree from the University of Essex, England, under a Commonwealth Scholarship.
Deacon Anthony was an elder in the Presbyterian Church for almost twenty years. He and Ruth were chrismated at St. Mary Church in Cambridge, MA in 1998, on the Feast of the Nativity. He was ordained to the Holy Diaconate, on his name day, in January, 2004, by His Grace, Bishop Joseph of the Diocese of Los Angeles and the West, at St. Anthony’s Orthodox Church in San Diego. Father Deacon Anthony has completed the majority of the requirements of the St. Steven’s program and will be continuing his studies towards the Masters degree in Applied Theology from Balamand.
He and Ruth are the parents of two sons: Simon, and David, and live in North East Connecticut where they run a small Inn in their spare time!
