Fr. Gregory Rogers currently serves as pastor of both St. Barnabas Antiochian Orthodox Church in Lexington, SC and St. Catherine Antiochian Orthodox Church in Aiken, SC.  A native of Northwest Indiana, he has served as a priest for over 30 years. He also has over twenty years of teaching and administrative experience at the college level, teaching sociology and religion at Aiken Technical College in Aiken, SC, where he currently serves as Dean of General Education and University Transfer.
 

Fr. Gregory’s wife, Pamela, was an elementary school teacher for 25 years, and currently is developing the Christian Education program at the parishes Fr. Gregory serves. They are parents of three children: Fr. John Rogers, who serves as an assistant priest at St. John Cathedral in Eagle River, Alaska, who has four children with his wife, Christine; Fr. Philip Rogers, who is pastor of St. John Orthodox Church in Memphis, Tennesee, and who has an adopted daughter with his wife, Kathryn; Sarah Elwell, who is a clinical social worker in Aiken, SC, and who has two children with her husband, Jacob.
 

Fr. Gregory was ordained to the diaconate and the priesthood by Bishop ANTOUN, of blessed memory.

 

Educational Background

• B.A., Christian Ministries, Lincoln Christian University, Lincoln, IL

• M.A.L.S., concentration in Sociology, Valparaiso University, Valparaiso, IN

• M.A. in Divinity, University of Chicago Divinity School

• Ph.D. Candidate, History of Christianity (completed all but dissertation), University of Chicago Divinity School

• Additional graduate courses in U.S. History and Sociology, University of South Carolina and University of Alabama Birmingham.

 

Teaching Interests

• Theology

• Comparative Religion

• Church History

• Sociology

• Biblical Studies

 

Current Projects and Research Interests

• A Journey Remembered: A History of the Evangelical Orthodox Church

• Orthodox Perspectives on the Second Coming of Christ

• Developing a Podcast Series on “Orthodoxy 101”

• Apologetics

 

Selected Publications

• A Soul Unplugged from the Energy of God.” Conversations: A Forum for Authentic Transformation. Volume 3:2, Fall 2005, pp. 30-34

• “Spiritual Direction in the Orthodox Christian Tradition,” in Moon and Benner, eds., Spiritual Direction and the Care of Souls. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press. 2004

• Contributed to Encyclopedia of American Religion, edited by Robert Webber, ed., Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press. 1995

• Contributed to the Orthodox Study Bible Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1992; 2007

• Apostolic Succession. Ben Lomond, CA: Conciliar Press. 1989

• “From Protestant Evangelical to Orthodox”, in Gillquist, Peter, ed. Coming Home. Ben Lomond, CA: Conciliar Press. 1994

 

Recent Conference Presentations and Activities

• The Orthodox Church in Twentieth Century America. Four two hour sessions at St. John Orthodox Cathedral, Eagle River, AK. August 1-5, 1999

• Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. as Religious Leader. Presentation at joint Aiken Technical College/University of South Carolina Aiken Martin Luther King Day Observance, Aiken, SC. January 2004

• Another Look at the Second Coming.  Five sessions at the national convention of the Antiochian Orthodox Archdiocese of North America, Detroit, MI. July 2005;  Four sessions at St. George Antiochian Orthodox Church, Charleston, WV. February 25-26, 2006.

• A Journey Remembered: The Story of the Evangelical Orthodox Church. Four two hour lectures. St. John Orthodox Cathedral, Eagle River, Alaska. August 1-5, 2007

• What is Islam? Aiken Sunrise Rotary Club, Aiken, SC.  September 10, 2008

• Reflections on the Priesthood in St. Gregory the Theologian’s Oration 2: In Defense of His Flight to Pontus; presented to the Diocesan Clergy conference, Diocese of Miami, Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America, in Pensacola, FL. January 23, 2009

• Spiritual Transformation: The Vision of Isaiah and the Desert Experience. Three lecture series at St. Andrew Orthodox Church, Pensacola, FL, March 29, 2009; and at Holy Resurrection Orthodox Church, Hobart, IN, October 2009

• The Religious Roots of the Middle East Conflict. Aiken Sunrise Rotary Club, Aiken, SC.  September 2009.

• Christmas Customs: Origins and Development, Parts 1, 2, and 3. Aiken Kiwanis Club, December 2009, December 2010, December 2011.

• The Lenten Prayer of St. Ephraim the Syrian: Spirituality, Men and the World. Three two-hour sessions; St. John Orthodox Cathedral, Eagle River, AK, April 9-10, 2011.
  And He Shall Come Again: Orthodox Christian Perspectives on the Second Coming of Christ. Three 1.5 hour sessions; Archangel Gabriel Orthodox Church, Lafayette, LA; April 13, 2013
  The Legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.  Aiken Technical College observance of Martin Luther King Day, Aiken, SC; January 20, 2015.

• Reflections on the Cross of Christ. Three 1.5 hour session; St. John Orthodox Cathedral, Eagle River, AK; March 31 – April 1, 2017

• Ethics: Right and Wrong as a Clue to the Meaning of Life. Aiken High School Interact Club, Aiken, SC. April 18, 2019.

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Awards

• Nominee, Educator of the Year-Administrator/Manager, South Carolina Technical Education Association (SCTEA), 2012-2013

• Nominee, Educator of the Year - Administrator, SCTEA, 2009-2010

• Finalist, South Carolina Governor’s Professor of the Year Award, 2006

• NISOD Teaching Excellence Award, 2006

• Faculty Member of the Year, Aiken Technical College, Aiken, SC, 2005

• Who’s Who among America’s Teachers, 2004 and 2005

• Nominee, Educator of the Year- Teaching, SCTEA, 2001-2002