A Summer Like No Other
“It didn’t take long to realize my summer internship would be more like a sprint than a stroll through the magnolias.”
So begins the account of a whirlwind internship that carried Deacon Seraphim Crossman, his wife, Mat. Kristin, and their four daughters across 9,000 miles, 14 states, and more than 60 days of service in the Orthodox Church in America’s Diocese of the South.
From the moment they left St. Tikhon’s Seminary—where he had just served the Divine Liturgy—there was no pause. Twenty minutes after arriving in Charleston, South Carolina, Deacon Seraphim was already serving Great Vespers with His Grace, Bishop Gerasim.
“It never really slowed down after that,” he recalls.
Service on the Move
Everywhere the Crossman family traveled, opportunities for ministry were waiting. Deacon Seraphim served liturgically, preached homilies, taught classes, and visited the sick and elderly. At one point, he even helped drive a 29-foot truck carrying an iconostasis and the relics of Sts. Herman, Tikhon of Zadonsk, and Olga of Kwethluk from Phoenix to Dallas.
“It was exhausting work, but unequivocally the best summer we can remember.”
By August, the family was weary, but instead of drained, they felt renewed. “Seminary prepared us for ministry, but this internship confirmed in the most practical way that we are on the right path,” he says.
Growth in the South
The Diocese of the South is both geographically sprawling and spiritually vibrant. It is one of the fastest-growing dioceses in the Orthodox Church in America.
- St. John of Damascus, Tyler, TX (the Crossmans’ home parish) has nearly doubled in size since they left for seminary two years ago.
- St. John of the Ladder, Greenville, SC is overflowing with faithful and seekers.
- Holy Nativity of the Lord, Shreveport, LA continues to welcome inquirers and catechumens.
But the growth is more than numbers. These parishes are alive with new ministries and outreach—from parish schools to food distribution programs, from expanded service schedules to creative events like Greenville’s Evening of Iconography, where iconographer Seraphim O’Keefe explained his work on the temple walls to curious visitors.
Moments of Grace
Some of the most moving encounters were unplanned.
In Greenville, after visiting an inquirer in hospice, Fr. Alexander Earl made her a catechumen on the spot. That Sunday, at sunrise, the community baptized her in a font set before the temple doors. Newly illumined Photini then received her first Communion, clothed in baptismal white.
Later that summer, at All Saints Camp in Point, TX, Deacon Seraphim found himself wrangling a group of teenage boys. “At first, I felt useless—decades older, speaking a different language almost. But once they realized I wasn’t just a grumpy old man, they opened up about their struggles.” Those conversations revealed the challenges young people face in remaining Orthodox in today’s world—and the necessity of walking alongside them in faith.
Challenges Ahead
Rapid growth brings its own obstacles. With more people, it becomes harder for single-priest parishes to offer personal care. Traditions can be lost or altered unintentionally. And the American tendency toward individualism makes it easy to slip into a “do-it-yourself” Orthodoxy, pieced together from books or online influencers.
“Passing on the fullness of the Faith requires not just clergy, but godparents, sponsors, and experienced lay leaders who can offer gentle correction when needed,” Deacon Seraphim reflects. “Sometimes our Southern courtesy holds us back—but true love requires us to safeguard what we have received.”
Geography also complicates community life. Some parishioners drive two or more hours each way to attend Liturgy, a testimony to their dedication but also a barrier for inquirers and families seeking organic parish life.
A Diocese Full of Hope
Despite these challenges, the summer internship left the Crossman family with profound encouragement.
“Everywhere we went, we saw people hungry for Christ, cared for by loving shepherds, and striving to live the Orthodox life with joy and seriousness.”
By the time they returned to Pennsylvania for the final year of seminary, the family was both tired and deeply at peace.
“What we witnessed across the Diocese of the South was nothing less than the living Body of Christ—growing, striving, and rejoicing in the Gospel. We cannot wait to return and take up whatever work God has prepared for us next.”
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