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In 1977, John was [[tonsure]]d a [[reader]] by Archbishop [[Sylvester (Haruns) of Montreal|Sylvester]] and then entered [[St. Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary (Crestwood, New York)|St. Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary]] in Crestwood, New York, graduating in 1980 with a Masters of Divinity degree. After graduating from the [[seminary]] John worked as administrator of [[Ss. Cosmas and Damian Adult Home (Staten Island, New York)|Ss. Cosmas and Damian Adult Home]] on Staten Island in New York City.
After marrying his wife, Denise Melligon, in 1979, John was [[ordination|ordained]] a [[deacon]] in 1981 and then a priest in 1984. Fr. John then received a [[missionary]] assignment of three years to Holy Annunciation Orthodox Church, Brisbane, Australia, a parish then under the [[jurisdiction]] of the Orthodox Church in America. After returning to the United States in 1987, Fr. John was assigned as priest at Holy Trinity Church in Rahway, New Jersey, a position he held until 1994. During his rectorate at Holy Trinity Church, he was simultaneously a USAF Reserve Chaplain (holding the rank of Captain) from 1990-1992, and was the pastoral fieldwork supervisor for seminarians at St Vladimir's Seminary.
In August 1994, he moved with his family of five to Greece where he attended the University of Thessalonica and began his studies toward a Doctor of Philosophy degree in the New Testament (which he would finish in 2002), while attached to St George Orthodox Church, [[Thessalonica]]. The following year, Fr. John and his family moved to Cambridge, England, to continue his research, where he was made rector of St Ephraim Orthodox Church (Diocese of Sourozh) there. While at Cambridge, Fr. John and his wife took part in the establishment of the Institute for Orthodox Christian Studies in 1997, of which Fr. John was a founding director and its first Principal from 1999 until 2002.