User:Gerasimos

My name is Douglas Gerasimos Brandow. My parish is St. Elias Orthodox Church, Battle Creek, Michigan, of the Moscow Patriarchate. I am a convert from non-denominational Protestantism. I was born in Pune, Maharashtra, India, where my parents were Protestant missionaries. My undergraduate education was in English Literature and Religion and I have an M.S. in Speech Language Pathology. Currently I work for the public schools in northern Indiana.

My initial exposure to Othodoxy was a visit to a Serbian Orthodox Church in Chicago in response to a comment by my then Episcopal priest about how some Serbian Orthodox monks have been so caught up in the Spirit of God as to start speaking in tongues. Later, I was priviledged to spend a year as a catechumen at Holy Trinity Orthodox Cathedral (OCA) in Chicago. I was chrismated into Holy Orthodoxy at St. Nicholas Antiochian Orthodox Church in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

My wife, Abigail, is a teacher and artist. I have two teenage sons and one exchange student from South Korea. Two grey cats and a golden dog round out our family.