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.