His Beatitude John X Patriarch of Antioch and all the EastPersonal Data:
His Beatitude John X was born in the city of Latakia, Syria, in the year 1955. 
He was raised in a home known for education, virtue and faith. His father, Manah Yazigi, a Syrian, was a teacher of Arabic and a poet. His mother, Rozah Moussi, is of Lebanese origin. His Beatitude has three siblings, one of whom is a Metropolitan and another a nun.
Education:
His Beatitude attended the schools of Latakia. He enrolled in the Department of Civil Engineering at the University of Techrin, in Latakia. He has studied church music and excelled in it, forming choirs and training them in traditional church chants. He is a notable leader of young people and has worked with them in various social and spiritual programs.
He received the degree of Bachelor of Theology from the Saint John of Damascus Institute of Theology at Balamand in 1978. He then studied at the University of Thessaloniki in Greece
and received the degree of Doctor of Theology with Distinction in the year 1983.
His doctoral thesis, which was written in Greek and carried the title The Service of the Holy Baptism: A Historical, Theological, and Liturgical Study, was published. While in Greece, he also studied church music and received a Diploma from the Higher Institute of Byzantine Music in Thessaloniki.
Ecclesiastical Career:
His Beatitude was ordained deacon in 1979 and then priest in 1983 in the Archdiocese of Latakia by His Eminence Metropolitan Youhanna Mansour.
From 1981, His Beatitude taught courses on liturgy in the Saint John of Damascus Institute of Theology. He was in due course appointed Dean of the Institute of Theology in the University of Balamand, his first appointment being from 1988 to 1991 and second from 2001 to 2005. In addition, he served as Abbot in the Patriarchal Monastery of Our Lady of Balamand from the year 2001 to 2005. He served as Abbot of the Saint George Al Humayrah Patriarchal Monastery in Wadi Al-Nadarah, Syria, from 1993 to 2005. He founded a monastic community there and established a School of Ecclesiastical Studies that serves the Patriarchate as a whole. In addition, he participated in the founding of the Convent of Our Lady of Blemmena in Tartous, Syria.
His Beatitude was elected by the Holy Antiochian Synod Bishop of Al Husun, Wadi Al-Nadarah in the Archdiocese of Akkar in the year 1995. He served in this position until 2008, when the Holy Synod elected him Metropolitan of the Archdiocese of Europe. In addition to his work within the Orthodox Church, His Beatitude also played an important role outside the Church, not least through attending religious seminars and international conferences.
His Beatitude is famed for the clarity of his views and his strict adherence to all that is true and just in human relations. He has excelled in bringing people together, through dialogue and conciliatory approaches to people of differing views. He is known for his compassion, friendliness, generosity, social concern and, last but not least, readiness both to listen and to offer help.
Wherever His Beatitude has served, he has brought revival, awakening the youth and calling them to the service of both Church and society. He is particularly noted for his wisdom in managing institutions and conducting church affairs. He has played a crucial role in encouraging vocations to the ordained ministry, maintaining leadership in this regard.
His Eminence the Most Reverend Saba Metropolitan of All North America
His Eminence, the Most Reverend Saba Isper is the Archbishop of New York and Metropolitan of the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America. His Beatitude Patriarch John X of Antioch and All the East and the Holy Synod of Antioch elected His Eminence to lead the Archdiocese during its extraordinary session on Feb. 23, 2023, in Balamand, Lebanon.
His Eminence will lead and oversee the Archdiocese's parishes, missions, departments, institutions and organizations in the United States and Canada from the headquarters in Englewood, New Jersey. The auxiliary bishops aid him in his administration across the continent.
Metropolitan Saba was born in Latakia, Syria in 1959. He holds a bachelor's degree in civil engineering from the University of Tishreen in Latakia, and a bachelor's degree in theology from the St. John of Damascus Institute of Theology in Balamand. His Eminence is fluent in Arabic and English.
Prior to his election as Metropolitan of North America, His Eminence cofounded The Hauran Connection with the Diocese of Wichita and Mid-America. This charitable project enhances Orthodoxy in this ancient Christian land in the face of strife. More than $1 million has been raised since 2007.
Developmental projects and charitable endowments for the Bosra Archdiocese under Metropolitan Saba include a medical clinic in As-Suwayda, dormitories for 150 university students in As-Suwayda and Daraa; 48 studios for retirees in The House of Love; the Bethany Spiritual Retreat Center in Kharaba; Bread for All that distributes food to the poor regardless of religion; ongoing agricultural projects; and The Good Samaritan, a multifaceted charitable organization for parishioners displaced or affected by the recent Syrian war.
His Eminence was ordained on Nov. 29, 1984. He was ordained a priest in 1988 and elevated to the dignity of archimandrite in 1994. He pastored St. Michael the Archangel Church in the Archdiocese of Latakia until 1998. During that time, Metropolitan Saba edited and published the Orthodox Christian magazine Farah geared toward children and families.
In 1998, Metropolitan Saba was elected and consecrated as an auxiliary bishop to His Beatitude Patriarch Ignatius IV of thrice-blessed memory. In 1999, His Beatitude and the Holy Synod of Antioch elected him as metropolitan of the Archdiocese of Bosra, Hauran and Jabal Al-Arab in Syria.
Simultaneously with his pastoral and episcopal duties, from 1995-2006, His Eminence served as instructor of Pastoral Care and Introduction to the Old Testament at the St. John of Damascus Institute of Theology in Balamand.
His Eminence established a publishing house in the Bosra Archdiocese, the Al-Arabiya magazine for adults, and continued issuing Farah for children. An English version has been produced since 2010. Metropolitan Saba authors weekly articles on his Facebook page and has written on various topics in Al-Noor, Patriarchal and Al Arabiya magazines. He has authored a number of books in pastoral life and theology.
Metropolitan Saba has also translated a number of titles from English to Arabic, including works by Metropolitan Kallistos Ware, Metropolitan Anthony Bloom, Metropolitan Hilarion Alfeyev and Protopresbyter Thomas Hopko.
His Eminence's patron saint is St. Saba (Sabbas) the Sanctified, commemorated on Dec. 5.
His Grace the Right Reverend Thomas Diocese of the Mid-Atlantic
His Grace the Right Reverend Thomas (Joseph), Ed.D., is an auxiliary bishop of the Antiochian
Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America, serving in the Diocese of Oakland, Charleston
and the Mid-Atlantic.
Of Arab-American heritage, Thomas Joseph was born in Paterson, New Jersey in 1953. He
attended John F. Kennedy High School in Paterson, graduating in 1970. He went on to college at
William Paterson College, graduating in 1974. After college, he worked in the Department of
Community Improvements in Paterson, then served as a teacher for the Paterson Board of
Education. When the Antiochian Village camp opened in the late 1970s, he was recruited by Fr.
John Namie to serve as one of the original camp counselors from 1979 to 1982.
In the fall of 1979, Thomas began part-time study at St. Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary,
and was made a subdeacon by Metropolitan Philip (Saliba) of Blessed Memory in July of 1982. He
continued his studies until the spring of 1983, when he was assigned to Virgin Mary Church in
Yonkers, New York.In 1984, Metropolitan Philip assigned him to St. George Church in Houston, Texas, where he served
as Director of Christian Education and Youth Services. While in Texas, the Archdiocese also
assigned him to oversee Christian Education and then later teen activities for the churches in the
Southwest Region (now the Diocese of Wichita and Mid-America). In July of 1988 Thomas was
ordained to the diaconate by Archbishop Michael (Shaheen) of Toledo.
On August 28, 1994, Bishop Antoun (Khouri) ordained Dcn. Thomas to the priesthood, and Fr.
Thomas served as assistant pastor at his parish in Houston until August of 1996, when he was
appointed pastor of St. Nicholas Antiochian Orthodox Christian Church in Pinellas Park, Florida,
near St. Petersburg.
Between 1996 and his consecration to the episcopacy, Fr. Thomas served in multiple capacities
aside from his work as a pastor. He was an appointed member of the Archdiocese Youth
Department Board; Spiritual Advisor to the Teen SOYO (Society of Orthodox Youth Organization)
Southeastern Region; Chairperson of the Tampa Bay Orthodox Clergy Association; former Director
of Programs in Pastoral Bioethics for the International Academy of Bioethics and Philosophy of
Medicine in the United States; Speaker at Braunels, Germany, and at City University of Hong Kong
on Bioethics; author of published articles on Christian Bioethics; Speaker at Antiochian Village and
third session camp priest for many years; and past President and Vice President of the Tampa Bay
Council of Orthodox Churches. In July 2002, Fr. Thomas was granted a Master of Arts degree in
Applied Orthodox Theology jointly from the Antiochian House of Studies and the St. John of
Damascus School of Theology of the University of Balamand in Lebanon.
On February 15, 2004, Fr. Thomas was elevated to the rank of archimandrite by Bp. Antoun, and on
December 5, 2004, he was consecrated to the episcopacy by Patriarch Ignatius IV (Hazim) of
Antioch in Damascus, Syria.
Bishop Thomas was enthroned as Bishop of Oakland and the East at St. George Cathedral in
Pittsburgh (Borough of Oakland), Pennsylvania, on May 6, 2005. In August of 2006, he
graduated summa cum laude with a Doctorate in Education from California Coast University. His
Grace also sits on the editorial board of the journal Christian Bioethics, which is published by
Oxford University Press. In 2005 and 2017, Bishop Thomas gave the commencement address at
St. Tikhon's Orthodox Theological Seminary in South Canaan, Pennsylvania.
Very Reverend Father Samuel Haddad, Pastor
Father Samuel was assigned as pastor of St. Nicholas Orthodox Church in Beckley, WV on September 1, 2002, his first assignment as priest and pastor. Fr. Samuel received a Master of Arts in Applied Orthodox Theology from the University of Balamand/Antiochian House of Studies on July 18, 2002, the culmination of a number of years of study. He was Ordained to the Holy Deaconate on August 16, 2002, to the Holy Priesthood on August 17, 2002, and elevated to the dignity of Archpriest on April 29, 2012. His beloved wife is Loretta Jett Haddad, who serves St. Nicholas Church as chanter and co-director of the choir.