Meet your Clergy

Born to an Orthodox family in 1966, Fr. Meletios grew up in a suburb of Damascus, Syria called Sahnaya. After graduating high school, he studied two years at Damascus University before going on to graduate from Balamand-Lebanon where he received his Bachelor of Arts degree in Theology in 1993. He moved back to Damascus where he was assigned to help at St. George Al Homyrah Monastery Al Waddi until 1996. 

On May 19, 1996 he married his wife Kh. Rima El Chaim Zafaran (Bachelor of Arts in Theology 1994) of Lebanon Halba Akkar, whom he met at the Theological School of Balamand. They have four children: Mark (August 15, 1998), Maria (March 6, 2001), Marina (October 27, 2005) and Michael (July 7, 2008).

On August 15, 1996, Fr. Meletios was ordained to the holy diaconate by His Beatitude Patriarch IGNATIUS IV of blessed memory at St. Mary Cathedral in Damascus and to the Holy Priesthood on October 26, 1996 by His Eminence Metropolitan Gorge of Homs at the Holy Cross Church in Damascus.

Between 1996 and 2005, Fr. Meletios:
- Taught at Al Assyah Patriarchal School in Damascus (1996 – 2005)
- Served St. Mary Church Dir Attiah-Damascus suburbs (Oct 1996 – June 1997)
- Served as the pastor of Archangel Michael in Damascus (Oct 1997 – Aug 2005)
- Was appointed as the Clerk of the Appeal Family Church Court at the Patriarchate in Damascus (1997 – 2004)
- Was appointed as the Representative of the Antiochian Orthodoxy Patriarch at Middle East Council of Churches (1996 – 2005)

In September of 2005, Fr. Meletios and his family left Damascus and moved to the United States where he served as the pastor of St. George Church in Albany, NY from October 2005 to July 2010. He was then assigned as pastor of St. George Church of New Kensington, PA in August of 2010 before coming to St. George Church of Allentown, PA in August of 2020.