Undeterred, I continued my studies in college, further exploring traditional Christianity. The very first church I attended was an Armenian Orthodox Church, as I had read that the Armenians were the first nation to embrace Christianity as a state religion. I was fascinated, but it didn’t fully feel like home to me.

Eventually, I began to investigate Catholicism. I emailed multiple parishes, but only one of them responded. I attended a very beautiful Mass there, and then went to an RCIA class. What I found there floored both my wife and I:  helping with the program was a woman who had been my Mormon Sunday school teacher when I was growing up in Idaho! She had gone through her own conversion, joined the Catholic Church, moved to the Southern U.S., and “happened to be” helping with the program that, out of all of the parishes I tried to contact, was the one that reached back out to me. I immediately understood that this was no coincidence, but truly God’s hand guiding me to the Catholic Church. Within a year, my wife and I attended RCIA, were baptized, confirmed, and married in the Church.

A couple of years later, I received news that a Byzantine Catholic mission was opening up in my town. While entering the Catholic Church, I’d been enamored with Eastern Christian spirituality, but hadn’t been able to come to terms with Eastern Orthodox ecclesiology. I’d had no access to an Eastern Catholic parish, so entered the Church through the Latin Rite. When I heard about an Eastern Catholic mission parish opening, I jumped at the opportunity to attend! I began cantoring there, and the more engaged I became with the Divine Liturgy, the more I felt called to the altar and to the priesthood.

After about five years of being involved at the mission parish, my wife and I decided that I should pursue my vocation and move to Pittsburgh for seminary studies. This was not an easy endeavor. We left behind everything and everyone. I can certainly say that it has been completely worth the sacrifices that we’ve made, though.

Within my Byzantine parish, we bring Christ to people through our celebration of the sacraments and through community fellowship. Being a chaplain has helped me to see that the Lord has gifted me in several areas, one of which is spiritual direction. I look forward to serving the Church by caring for the people who have become my family and made our parish my home.