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[[Image:BG2.JPG|right|thumb|His Grace on the ambon of this cathedral church of St John the Baptist in Mayfield, PA.]]{{orthodoxyinaustralasia}}His Grace The Right Reverend '''Schemabishop George (Schaefer)''' is [[Bishop]] of Mayfield, Pennsylvania, and [[vicar ]] bishop of the Eastern-American diocese Diocese of the [[Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia]]. In October 2014, he was appointed to be the [[Bishop]] of Canberra, [[vicar]] bishop of [[ROCOR]]. Upon relocation to Australia (scheduled to be after Pascha 2015), he will take up this title.

The future bishop George Paul Schaefer was born on [[May 25]], 1950, in Belleville, Illinois, to Francis and Claire Schaefer, a devout Roman Catholic family. He graduated from Catholic High School in 1968 and then attended Southern Illinois University from 1968 to 1972. After graduating, he saw problems in the Roman Catholic Church; he stopped attending services and began to search for the truth, including in Buddhist and other eastern sources. In 1974 , he moved to San Jose, California, and found out about Orthodox Christianity through a Greek man, discovering the Church, the lives of saints, and the true faith. He was received into baptised that year at the Greek Orthodox Church in Modesto, California, and given the name Makarios in honor of Saint Makarios the Great. He joined started attending St Nicholas Church, San Jose, before attending the Russian Church Abroad Greek Cathedral in San Francisco and, in May 1975 , a Russian church in San Francisco. In January 1975, Makarios visited Mt Athos, where he decided to become a monk. He later visited the St Herman of Alaska Monastery (Platina, California)|St Herman of Alaska Monastery]], Platina, where he met Monks [[Seraphim (Rose)]] and entered [[Herman (Podmoshensky)]] and was immersed in the monastic life. They suggested he enrol in seminary, which he did, entering [[Holy Trinity Orthodox Seminary (Jordanville, New York)|Holy Trinity Seminary]] in September 1975.

===Monastic life===On Christmas, [[January 7]], 19751976, Makarios was made a [[novice ]] by Archbishop [[Averkiy Averky (Taushev) of Syracuse|Averkiy Averky (Taushev)]], then Dean of Holy Trinity Seminary. As a novice his obediences in the [[monastery]] were cleaning, cooking, working the tractor in the farm and digging graves in the cemetery. After a few years in the monastery he was made a riassophor [[monk]] on Friday of the First Week of Lent, 1979 and [[tonsure]]d to the small schema on Friday of the First Week of Lent, 1980, and given the name Mitrophan in honor of Saint [[Mitrophan of Voronezh]]. He was [[ordination|ordained]] a [[subdeacon]] on Palm Sunday of the same year. In 1980 he graduated , before graduating from Holy Trinity Seminary that year.

Fr Mitrophan was sent to [[Mount Athos]] by , with the blessing of [[Laurus (Skurla) of New York|Archbishop Laurus]], moved to [[Mount Athos]] in June of 1981. Initially, he lived in St Elias Skete for several months, a strict skete which was then connected with ROCOR. On the advise of Elder Nicodemos of Karoulia, he then moved to an English-speaking cell (within [[Koutloumousiou Monastery (Athos)|Koutloumousiou Monastery]]) with four other ROCOR monks (including a hieromonk ordained by then-Bp [[Mark of Berlin|Mark (Arndt)]]), which was one that other monasteries would often send American visitors to them. He became acquainted with St [[Paisios (Eznepidis)|Paisios the Athonite]] while there. He was tonsured to the great schema by [[Hieromonk]] Chrysostomos of Koutloumousiou Monastery, Mt. Athos and given the name George in honor of Saint George the Great-Martyr.

In February, 1986, Fr George returned to [[Holy Trinity Monastery (Jordanville, New York)|Holy Trinity Monastery]] and started working on the Printshop of Saint Job of Pochaev in 1986, where he worked until 19982008. He assumed editorial duties on Orthodox Life from 1992 to his consecration as bishop in 2008, including writing & translating many articles for ''Orthodox Life'' magazine and translating several sayings of the Optina Elders found in 1992''Living Without Hypocrisy'' ([[Holy Trinity Monastery (Jordanville, New York)|HTM Press]], 2006). He also began helping at [[Hermitage of the Holy Cross (Wayne, which he fulfills to West Virginia)|Hermitage of the Holy Cross]] during this daytime, serving as confessor and spiritual father.

Fr George was [[ordination|ordained ]] a [[hierodeacon]] on the feast of St. Michael, 1986 and a hieromonk on Palm Sunday, 1987. In September 1998 1994, he was appointed Economos of Holy Trinity Monastery, was elevated to the rank of [[hegumen]] and in September 1998, was elevated to [[archimandrite]] on Labor Day, 2005, and was made dean of Holy Trinity Monastery in 2007.

===Episcopal service===In 1994 he was appointed May 2008, the [[Synod]] of Bishops of the ROCOR elected Archimandrite George as economos Bishop of Mayfield, Vicar of the Eastern American Diocese. The [[Holy Trinity Monastery and made dean Synod]] of Holy Trinity Monastery the Russian Orthodox Church confirmed the election in 2007. He is June 2008; though Bp George, having no internet, found out about his appointment from the author congratulations of several articles and translations published in Orthodox Lifefriends. Translated several sayings On [[December 7]], 2008, Archimandrite George was [[consecration of a bishop|consecrated]] to the Optina Elders published episcopal office at Holy Trinity Monastery in the book “Living Without Hypocrisy”Jordanville, New York, published by HTM Press in 2006Bishop [[Gabriel (Chemodakov) of Manhattan|Gabriel of Montreal and Canada]], Bishop [[Peter (Loukianoff) of Cleveland|Peter of Cleveland]] and Bishop [[John (Berzins) of Caracas|John of Caracas]]. He also served as confessor and spiritual father Bishop George's place of residence was at the [[Holy Cross Skete (Wayne, West Virginia)|Hermitage of the Holy Cross in Wayne]], West Virginia. In 2009, when the largest English-language monastery Hermitage became independent of the ROCORHoly Trinity Monastery, he was appointed Abbot.

In May 2008On behalf of Metropolitan Hilarion (who, before being elected First Hierarch, the [[Synod]] had been diocesan bishop of Bishops of the ROCOR elected Archimandrite Australia and New Zealand), Bp George as Bishop of Mayfieldvisited Australia for two months in 2013, Vicar of the Eastern American Diocese. The [[Holy Synod]] of the Russian Orthodox Church confirmed the election and repeated this trip in June 20082014. On [[December 7October 10]], 20082014, Archimandrite George he was [[consecration appointed by the Holy Synod to be 'Bishop of Canberra' and a vicar bishop|consecrated]] within the Diocese of Australia and New Zealand. It was later announced that Bp George would moved to the episcopal office at Holy Trinity Monastery in JordanvilleAustralian Diocesan Chancery after Pascha 2015, New York, by and would remain Bishop of Mayfield until his relocation.[[Gabriel (Chemodakov) of Manhattanhttp://eadiocese.org/News/2014/oct/bg.en.htm] {{start box}}{{succession|before= ''see created''|Gabriel title=Bishop of Montreal and CanadaMayfield<br>([[ROCOR]], Bishop )|years=2008-present|after=&mdash;}}{{succession|before=[[Peter Seraphim (LoukianoffVoepel) of Cleveland|Peter of Cleveland]] and Bishop [[John (Berzins) <br>'''''as Superior of Caracas|John a dependency of Caracas]]. Bishop GeorgeHoly Trinity Monastery''s place |title=Abbot of residence is at the [[Hermitage of the Holy Cross Skete (Wayne, West Virginia)|Hermitage of the Holy Cross ]]|years=2009-present|after=&mdash;<br>'''''scheduled to be Igumen [[Seraphim (Voepel)]]''}}{{succession|before= ''see created''|title=Bishop of Canberra<br>([[ROCOR]])|years=''scheduled to be taken up in WayneApril 2015''|after=&mdash;}}{{end box}} == References ==* [http://www.jordanville.org/news_081207_2.html Biography of Bishop George]* [http://www.synod.com/synod/eng2009/5enholycrosshermitage.html Holy Cross Monastery Elects a New Abbot]* [http://eadiocese.org/Administration/vicarbishops.en.htm Vicar Bishops], West Virginia* [http://synod.com/synod/engdocuments/enart_bpgeorgeinterview.html “Church Life Isn’t Black and White” - an interview of Bp George (Schaefer)]