Fifteen Years in the Holy Priesthood: A Jubilee of Grace
Celebrating the Fifteenth Anniversary of the Ordination of Rt. Rev. Archimandrite Dr. Fadi Rabbat
On August 21, 2026, the Antiochian House of Studies and the wider Antiochian Orthodox family rejoice with Rt. Rev. Archimandrite Dr. Fadi Rabbat, Dean of the Antiochian House of Studies and Pastor of St. George Antiochian Orthodox Church in El Paso, Texas, as he marks the fifteenth anniversary of his ordination to the holy priesthood with the rank of Archimandrite.
“You are a priest forever, according to the order of Melchizedek” (Psalm 110:4).
Fifteen years ago, on August 21, 2011, at the Patriarchal Monastery of St. Elias Chwaya in Lebanon, Fr. Fadi was elevated to the priesthood by the laying on of hands of His Eminence the late Metropolitan Antonio (Chedraoui) of Mexico and Dependencies, of thrice-blessed memory, who in that same Divine Liturgy also bestowed upon him the dignity of the Archimandrite.
It was the culmination of a journey that had begun two years earlier, on March 21, 2009, when he was ordained to the diaconate under the omophorion of His Eminence Metropolitan Elias (Kfoury) of Tyre and Sidon, Lebanon.
From that day at St. Elias Chwaya, Archimandrite Fadi’s ministry has borne fruit across two continents.
In Mexico, he served as Judge-Vice President of the Ecclesiastical Court and as Secretary and Chancellor of the Archdiocese of Mexico, Venezuela, Central America, and the Caribbean, before being appointed Rector of the Cathedral of St. George in Mexico City in 2012. There, he labored tirelessly to evangelize and receive many Latin Americans into the Orthodox faith, and became a beloved spiritual father and guide to a generation of Orthodox youth.
Following the repose of Metropolitan Antonio in 2017, he was entrusted by His Beatitude Patriarch John X with the office of Patriarchal Vicar of Mexico and Central America.
In 2018, Archimandrite Fadi came to the United States, where he served at the Archdiocesan Headquarters as assistant to the Archbishop of New York and Metropolitan of All North America, and as an episcopal visitor to the Regions of Los Angeles and the West, and of New York and Washington, D.C., before being appointed, on February 1, 2019, Pastor of St. George Antiochian Orthodox Church in El Paso, Texas — a flock he continues to shepherd with devotion to this day.
Alongside his pastoral labors, he has given himself to the Church’s academic mission as Tenure Professor, COO, and Academic Dean of the Antiochian House of Studies; as Professor of Canon Law and Christology at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary; as a faculty member of the international MSc program in Leadership: Ethics and Politics at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Greece; and as Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of the Orthodox Academic Society.
His academic career began early: having earned his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Public Law from Holy Spirit University (USEK) in Kaslik, Lebanon, he returned to his alma mater to teach law at the age of twenty-four, becoming the youngest law professor in the Middle East.
A prolific scholar in law, administrative litigation, canon law, and Eastern Orthodox theology, with numerous publications across these fields in Arabic, French, Spanish, and English, he holds three doctorates, each conferred with distinction: in Law from the University of Poitiers, in Canon Law from the University of Strasbourg, and in Orthodox Studies from the Antiochian House of Studies itself, where on December 15, 2022 he became its very first Ph.D. recipient.
In further recognition of his scholarship and years of ministry in Mexico, he was also awarded three Doctorates Honoris Causa by Mexican academic and professional institutions — the Instituto Americano Cultural, the Organización Mundial de los Abogados, and the Instituto Mexicano de Líderes de Excelencia.
In recognition of his scholarship in the canonical tradition, in 2026 he was appointed an ex officio member of the European Institute of Canon and Ecclesiastical Law (EICEL) in Greece, under the presidency of His Eminence Metropolitan Gregorios of Peristeri.
Archimandrite Fadi’s priesthood has never been confined to a single altar or nation. His scholarship and pastoral witness have carried him — and the voice of the Antiochian House of Studies — from Beirut to Mexico City, from Paris, Strasbourg, and Moscow to Athens, and back to the United States.
Fluent in Arabic, English, French, and Spanish, and published in all four languages, he has helped secure the Greek Ministry of Education’s recognition of AHOS and continues to build bridges between the Antiochian Archdiocese and Orthodox academic and ecclesiastical centers around the world.
St. John Chrysostom teaches that “the priestly office is discharged on earth, but it ranks amidst heavenly ordinances,” for it is Christ Himself who acts through the hands of His priests.
Fifteen years of Archimandrite Fadi’s priesthood have been fifteen years of that ministry made visible: at the holy altar, in the confessional, in the lecture hall, and in the quiet counsel offered to the many souls entrusted to his care in Lebanon, Mexico, and now the United States.
As the Antiochian House of Studies and St. George Church join in giving thanks to God for this jubilee, we ask the faithful to keep Archimandrite Fadi in their prayers, that the Lord who called him to this sacred ministry may grant him many more years of health, wisdom, and grace to continue serving His Holy Church.
Many years, Archimandrite Fadi!
