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Bishop Thomas Attends ROCOR Western Rite Ordination

Bishop Thomas with Bishop Jerome, Fr. James, Fr. Mark, and Fr. Nathan(Wappingers Falls, NY) On Thursday, October 25, 2012, His Grace Bishop Thomas was invited to attend a ROCOR Western Rite ordination at the Mount Alvernia Franciscan Retreat Center in Wappingers Falls, New York. His Grace Bishop Jerome, the ROCOR bishop of Manhattan and Vicar of the Diocese of Eastern America, presided over the ordination of Dn. Mark Rowe to the Holy Priesthood, and served as the principal celebrant at the Divine Liturgy. Bishop Jerome, who is bi-ritual and fluent in Latin, adorned western vestments and conducted the ordination service in the Western Rite, and said the Divine Liturgy (Mass) almost exclusively in Latin.

Father James Hamrick, an Antiochian Western Rite priest serving as pastor of St. John the Baptist Mission in Lewistown, Maryland, accompanied Bishop Thomas to the ordination. Bishop Jerome invited Fr. James to participate in the laying-on of hands during the ordination, and to concelebrate at the Mass which followed Fr. Mark’s ordination to the priesthood. Other ROCOR clergy who assisted in the service included Subdn. Anthony Bondi and Fr. Nathan Monk.

Father Mark Rowe was originally ordained an Anglican clergyman in 1997, and in 1998 was assigned as the rector of St. Mary the Virgin in Tampa, FL. Father Mark originally met Bishop Thomas in about 1998, prior to Bishop Thomas’ elevation to the episcopate, while (then Fr. Thomas) was still serving as a priest at St. Nicholas in Pinellas Park, Florida. It was in the years following that Fr. Thomas was instrumental in introducing Fr. Mark and his parishioners to Holy Orthodoxy.

As a culmination of his 14-year journey, the newly ordained Fr. Mark was able to commune Bishop Thomas and to bless Bishop Thomas with a priestly blessing. Father Mark is currently assigned as pastor of St. Joseph’s Church in Sarasota, Florida.

Following the Mass, Bishop Jerome invited Bishop Thomas and Fr. James to join him with his clergymen and their family members for a hearty breakfast in the refectory of the retreat center in celebration of Fr. Mark’s ordination.

Fr. Mark blesses Bishop ThomasFr. Mark blesses Bishop Thomas
Fr. Mark Rowe