From The Pittsburgh Tribune Review-
Matthew Stagon, 26, said he was a teenager when he first felt the pull to become a priest.
No heavenly voices urged him to do it, as he recalls. And he had no pressure from ministers or other clergy.
Just a feeling.
"You just know," he said.
On Sunday, the sound of bells and aroma of incense at St. John the Baptist Orthodox Church in East Pittsburgh signaled Stagon's ordination as one of the religion's newest priests. It was the first such appointment for the church in nearly four decades.
Parishioners cheered "Axios!," the Greek word for "he is worthy," as other clergy adorned Stagon with each layer of his new priestly wardrobe -- a belt, a robe, a golden stole and a cross.
"When a man is ordained, he's continuing the same unbroken apostolic tradition of our church," said the Rev. Jonathan Tobias, a priest participating in the ordination. "He'll be a great addition to the tradition."
The Orthodox Christian faith is made up of about a dozen administratively independent local churches that trace their roots to Russia, Georgia, Ukraine and other parts of Eastern Europe. Those who follow its Scripture often pride themselves on their adherence to tradition and a history that dates to the Byzantine Empire and Constantinople.
http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/pittsburgh/s_702576.html
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