Pastoral Retreat Provides Time for Prayer, Reflection, and Renewal

For four days, clergy from across the Orthodox Church in America set aside the ordinary demands of parish life to pray, listen, learn, and be renewed in fellowship with one another.

The 2026 Pastoral Retreat of the Orthodox Church in America’s Office of Pastoral Life was held September 29–October 2 at the University of Saint Mary of the Lake in Mundelein, IL. About 100 bishops, priests, and deacons participated in this year’s retreat. Clergy gathered around the theme “The Fields Are Ripe for the Harvest,” sharing in a dedicated time of prayer, reflection, conversation, and brotherhood.

His Beatitude Metropolitan Tikhon noted in his opening remarks: “Setting aside a time for prayer, reflection, and pastoral renewal is not an escape from our responsibilities as pastors. Rather, these moments of rest and renewal are necessary so that we might be strengthened and re-energized to return to our sacred ministries by nourishing our own souls and strengthening the spiritual brotherhood of the priesthood.”

The retreat featured presentations by Archpriest John Parker, Dean of Saint Tikhon’s Orthodox Theological Seminary in South Canaan, PA, and Mother Christophora, Abbess of Holy…