St. Matthew Orthodox Christian Church
Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese
Torrance, CA

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Rev. Fr. John Mahfouz
Parish Priest
frjohn@saint-matthew.net

Fr John Mahfouz is the Priest and pastor of St. Matthew Orthodox Christian Church. He was born and raised in Los Angeles, California into an Eastern Orthodox Christian family of Palestinian and Egyptian decent. Baptized at St. Nicholas Orthodox Christian Cathedral in Los Angeles, Fr. John grew up serving there as an Altar Server, Sunday School Teacher, Summer Camp Counselor and Administration, and other ministries. After finishing his undergraduate degree in Chemistry at the University of California in Riverside, and working for 3 years as a Sleep Disorder Technician, Fr John was sent by the Church to attended Holy Cross Greek Orthodox Seminary in Boston, Massachusetts, where he received his Master of Divinity. Following seminary Fr John was sent to Lebanon to study at the Patriarchal School of Theology: Institute of St. John of Damascus. It was then that he met his dear wife Khouria Lina in Latakia, Syria. They were married and moved to San Diego where Fr. John worked as the Director of Student Life and Housing at the newly established St. Katherine College. In 2013 Fr. John was ordained to the Holy Diaconate at St. Anthony the Great Orthodox Church in San Diego. In 2014 he was assigned as the Assistant to the Priest of Saints Peter & Paul Orthodox Christian Church in Salt Lake City,  Utah, and in 2015 he was ordained to the Holy Priesthood at Ss. Peter and Paul. In 2017 he was assigned and sent to be the Priest of St. Matthew Orthodox Christian Church in Torrance, California. Fr. John and Kh. Lina have 5 beautiful children and are expecting their 6th. Fr John especially has a heart for youth ministry and serves on the Deanery committee of Youth Ministry.


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Dn. Barsoum Barsoum
Deacon
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Today's Commemorations
5th Wednesday after Pascha, The Holy Martyr Glyceria, Sergios the Confessor, Alexandros the Martyr, Pausikakos, Bishop of Synnada
Today's Scripture Readings
ACTS OF THE APOSTLES 13:13-24
IN THOSE DAYS, Paul and his company set sail from Paphos, and came to Perga in Pamphylia. And John left them and returned to Jerusalem; but they passed on from Perga and came to Antioch of Pisidia. And on the sabbath day they went into the synagogue and sat down. After the reading of the law and the prophets, the rulers of the synagogue sent to them, saying, 'Brethren, if you have any word of exhortation for the people, say it.' So Paul stood up, and motioning with his hand said: 'Men of Israel, and you that fear God, listen. The God of this people Israel chose our fathers and made the people great during their stay in the land of Egypt, and with uplifted arm he led them out of it. And for about forty years he bore with them in the wilderness. And when he had destroyed seven nations in the land of Canaan, he gave them their land as an inheritance, for about four hundred and fifty years. And after that he gave them judges until Samuel the prophet. Then they asked for a king; and God gave them Saul the son of Kish, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, for forty years. And when he had removed him, he raised up David to be their king; of whom he testified and said, 'I have found in David the son of Jesse a man after my heart, who will do all my will.' Of this man's posterity God has brought to Israel a Savior, Jesus, as he promised. Before his coming John had preached a baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel.'
JOHN 6:5-14
At that time, Jesus, lifting up his eyes and seeing that a multitude was coming to him, said to Philip, "How are we to buy bread, so that these people may eat?" This he said to test him, for he himself knew what he would do. Philip answered him, "Two hundred denarii would not buy enough bread for each of them to get a little." One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, said to him, "There is a lad here who has five barley loaves and two fish; but what are they among so many?" Jesus said, "Make the people sit down." Now there was much grass in the place; so the men sat down, in number about five thousand. Jesus then took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, he distributed them to those who were seated; so also the fish, as much as they wanted. And when they had eaten their fill, he told his disciples, "Gather up the fragments left over, that nothing may be lost." So they gathered them up and filled twelve baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves, left by those who had eaten. When the people saw the sign which he had done, they said, "This is indeed the prophet who is to come into the world!
Today's Thought

But when the goodness and kindness of God our Savior appeared, not by the works of justice, which we have done, but according to his mercy, he saved us, by the laver of regeneration, and renovation of the Holy Ghost, whom he hath poured forth upon us abundantly, through Jesus Christ our Savior that, being justified by his grace, we may be heirs, according to hope of life everlasting. - St. Paul the Apostle (Titus 3:4-7)