As many already know, Fr. John made a special announcement at the end of The Divine Liturgy last Sunday 6/13. Fr. John shared that his request for retirement, which he submitted in the spring of last year, has been granted by Metropolitan JOSEPH. Additionally, His Eminence sent a letter to our Parish Council last Friday to inform us of the assignment of Fr. Paul Fuller as the new pastor of St. Nicholas Church effective 8/1/21.
The Rev. Fr. Paul Fuller is originally from Louisville, Kentucky. Fr. Paul was baptized and raised in the Orthodox Faith at St. Michael the Archangel Orthodox Church under the pastorate of the late V. Rev. Fr. Alexander D. Atty, of blessed memory. Fr. Paul grew up extremely active in the Life of the Church, especially serving as an Altar Server as a youth and participating in the Antiochian Village summer camp and Teen SOYO on a local, regional, and national level. As a teenager, he served as Midwest SOYO Vice President and NAC SOYO Vice President. After high school, he attended the University of Kentucky and received a B.A. in History with a Minor in Classical Civilizations in 2007. While in college, he was active in OCF (Orthodox Christian Fellowship), a campus ministry for college students, serving as local chapter President and National Student Advisory Board member.
Fr. Paul moved to Houston, Texas in the Summer of 2008 to work as the Youth and Young Adult Director of St. George Orthodox Church. He worked for five years ministering and organizing youth and young adult outreach programs for the parish of St. George Houston. While in Houston, Fr. Paul met his future beautiful bride, Ramia Foteh. Khouria Ramia’s family immigrated to the United States from Ramallah, Palestine. Ramia graduated from the University of Houston in 2005 with a B.S. in Interdisciplinary Studies.
Fr. Paul moved to Yonkers, NY to attend St. Vladimir Orthodox Theological Seminary as an Antiochian seminarian in the Fall of 2013. Fr. Paul and Kh. Ramia were married in Houston on January 11, 2015, at which time Kh. Ramia joined Fr. Paul at Seminary. He was ordained to the Holy Diaconate by His Grace, Bishop ANTHONY of Toledo on November 8, 2015 at his home parish of St Michael the Archangel Orthodox Church in Louisville. He was ordained to the Holy Priesthood by His Grace, Bishop NICHOLAS of Brooklyn (now the Bishop of our Diocese) on February 7, 2016 at his parish assignment of St George Orthodox Church in Danbury, Connecticut.
After graduating from (May 2016) St. Vladimir Orthodox Theological Seminary with a Master of Divinity (M.Div.), Fr. Paul Fuller was appointed as the Pastor/Parish Priest of St. George Orthodox Church in Terre Haute, Indiana on July 1, 2016. Fr. Paul was appointed as the Spiritual Advisor for the Young Adult Ministry (YAM) of the Diocese of Toledo and the Midwest by His Grace, Bishop ANTHONY in the summer of 2017. Fr. Paul and Kh. Ramia were blessed with the birth of their daughter, Rebekah, on November 4, 2018. His Eminence Metropolitan JOSEPH informed our parish of the transfer of Fr. Paul Fuller to be the new Pastor of St. Nicholas Orthodox Church in Springdale, AR on Friday June 11, 2021. He will be effective as our new pastor on August 1st and will be moving to Northwest Arkansas between now and then! May God Grant Fr. Paul and his family many years in the service of our Parish as our new pastor!
Fr. Paul Fuller and his family were in town the week of June 24th to learn the area and to look for a place to live. They attended Great Vespers at St. Nicholas Church on Wednesday June 23, 2021. If you weren’t able to attend in person, please take the time to watch the 4-minute video below where he introduces himself to our parish! Fr. Paul and his family will be moving to Northwest Arkansas at the end of July and will officially be assigned as the Pastor of St. Nicholas Church effective on August 1st of this year.
We would like to help make Fr. Paul Fuller’s move as painless as possible. To that end, we are asking for donations from our parish to a fund that will be used to pay for the expenses associated with moving Fr. Paul and his family from Terre Haute, IN to Northwest Arkansas. If you would like to contribute to this fund, please click HERE to donate or click the donate button below.
You can also mail a check to:
St. Nicholas Orthodox Church
P.O. Box 6522, Springdale, AR 72766
Thanks in advance for your generosity and in helping to ensure that Fr. Paul’s move and transition goes smoothly!
