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Current Seminarians & Their Sponsors
Subdeacon Elia White
Spouse: Rebecca Immediately after graduating high school in 1994, Elia both joined the Army National Guard and came to St. Herman's Seminary for the first time. While he very much enjoyed his two years here, he was too restless and wanted to see the rest of the world before moving on with life. In 2005, he settled down when he met and married Rebecca, who already had two children. They did not return to seminary immediately since he wanted time to mature as a family before taking on the added responsibilities of seminary life, but at the same time, it was very important to Elia to return while his children were young and impressionable. He came here so that both he and Rebecca could grow spiritually, specifically by gaining knowledge about the Orthodox faith and learning how to answer difficult questions. The decision to return was cinched last year when Elia spent a year without a parish priest --- he realized how important it is to have priests in villages and how useful it would be to have the schooling to properly lead the services. Elia and Rebecca find that the biggest challenge of seminary is doing it while one is married and has a family. They are both hoping to learn more patience with each other and with their kids. It is slightly more different than they had expected; when Elia was here previously, there were fewer services and younger students as compared with today. Rebecca also says she was expecting more familial support for them. Despite the challenges, Elia is excited about seminary, and would encourage young men who are interested to talk to their priests and fill out an application. He also encourages people to pray to St. Herman and the Theotokos, and to make sure they are healthy spiritually and physically before attending seminary. "Oh," he added in closing, "And bring lots of black clothes for under your cassock!"
2421 Perry St. • Wichita, KS
67204 |
Birth Date: 6-14-74