On Friday, August 9, following a lengthy illness, Archpriest Seraphim Stephens, retired cleric and former rector of St. Joseph of Optina Church in Virginia Beach, VA, reposed in the Lord. He was 83 years old.

Fr. Seraphim began his service in Christ’s Vineyard under the omophorion of the Antiochian Archdiocese, receiving diaconal and priestly ordination in 1992. He founded a mission in honor of the Holy Hieromartyr Ignatius of Antioch the God-bearer in 1989. The first church was located in Fr. Seraphim’s living room. As the parish grew too large for the living room, it rented a Filipino fish market. While there, the parish was accepted into the Russian Church Abroad. To begin saving money for our own church building, the parish moved the church into the priest’s garage.

After the unification of ROCOR and the Moscow Patriarchate in 2007, the parish was renamed for Venerable Joseph of Optina. A wooden church began to be built, but soon the fire department banned the use of the wooden building as a public assembly. The parish was then offered a Quonset hut that was on the property of a Protestant church. The parish was there for about a year and a half, and then moved into one of Norfolk’s DePaul Hospital’s conference rooms. Then Fr. Seraphim contacted the Greek Church in Norfolk about the possibility of our using their St. Theodore Chapel for Saturday Vigil and Sunday Liturgy.

In 2017, Fr. Seraphim officially retired as rector. He is survived by his Matushka Zenobia and their four daughters.

Memory Eternal to the newly reposed Archpriest Seraphim!

Schedule of Services for the Departed
Dormition of the Theotokos Church OCA – 736 Sheppard Avenue, Norfolk, VA 23518

Thursday, August 15 6-8:00 PM – Viewing.

Thursday, August 15 at 7:00 PM – Panihida.

Friday, August 16 at 10:00 AM – Funeral. Blue vestments.

Friday, August 16 at 1:00 PM – Burial at Colonial Grove Memorial Park:

Colonial Grove Memorial Park
3445 Princess Anne Road
Virginia Beach, VA 23456