St. Gregorios' doors are open six days a week
By Mary Stamp
The doors of St. Gregorios Malankara Orthodox Church are open six days a week for prayers, holy confession, pastoral guidance, in person and online Bible studies, Christian education classes and serving the needs of people coming for food, clothing, gas money and assistance with bills or finding a job. That's along with being open for Sunday liturgies and Sunday school.
"Ministering here, we serve the soul and body needs for members, people passing through and people wanting to join holy orthodoxy," said Father George Hatcher, who serves the parish where he grew up with his father, Father Michael Hatcher, who started the church.
Fr. George noted that his mother, Gita, is a descendant of Pakalomattam, one of the first four converts of St. Thomas the Apostle, when he came to India in 52 A.D.
To build connection with a young woman at the church seeking help with a bill, Fr. George introduced himself: "My mother is from India, and my father is Irish American from Idaho," he said. As he asked about her children, he added that his children are 10 and 17.
Fr. George emphasizes the church's readiness to meet with people in need who phone, email or just show up.
"Some are homeless or just out of jail. Some come to repent or for morning prayer. Some wind up joining the church. Some come to give two dollars, because they need to give something," he said. "Whatever their need, we serve them body and soul."
Rajiv, which was Fr. George's name before he was ordained, grew up in Spokane. His family attended Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church until St. Gregorios Malankara Syrian Orthodox Church started in 1984.
For the first 14 years, they rented: first on Saturdays at the Anglican Church of the Resurrection in Hillyard, then in space at Fort Wright College, and the basement chapel St. Andrew's Episcopal. The Anglican priest, Fr. George Morse, later became Orthodox. Because of him and other important Georges in his life, including his grandfather, Rajiv chose to take George as his name when he was ordained.
In 2002, St. Gregorios bought a former Church of God building at 2803 N. Lincoln and were there 14 years.
Eight years ago, St. Gregorios bought the former Trinity United Methodist Church at 1725 E. Bridgeport.
"Over the years, we gave birth to the St. Mary's Ethiopian Orthodox Church, which worshiped in our building until it rented the basement of Messiah Lutheran Church. When that church closed, St. Mary's bought the building," he said. "Ethiopian immigrants needed to give holy confession and receive pastoral advice in their mother tongue. An Ethiopian Orthodox priest came, and half of the congregation, including Eritreans, are now at the new church, which is growing."
Fr. George said St. Gregorios is "a young community with more than 50 families and few over the age of 60. If everyone came on a Sunday, not all would fit. Usually 100 to 150 come."
He added that several Ethiopians and many Eritreans, wanting their children to attend the liturgy in English, have stayed at St. Gregorios Church, which is also growing.
"Our services are 99 percent in English, with a bit of Syriac—an Aramaic language—and a few Greek Kyrie responses," Fr. George said. "We say the Lord's prayer in eight or nine languages, one after the other—English, Malayalam (South India), Tigrinya (Eritrea), Amharic (Ethiopia), Arabic (Middle East), Urdu (Pakistan), Spanish, and Greek, Slavonic, Armenian or Syriac."
"It's a way to realize how diverse this body is," he said.
Most of the liturgy is sung, because "he who sings prays twice," Fr. George said.
The liturgy is from the tradition of St. James, Jesus' brother, who gathered the apostles in Jerusalem for the first Lord's Supper without the Lord.
"Our Syriac liturgy developed during persecution when churches met secretly in caves and houses and could not afford iconography," he said. "To add beauty, we have movement and touch.
"To participate in liturgy is to study faith and scripture with heavenly visions from Isaiah, elders in white robes, smoke and tambourines," he described. "It is dynamic. People participate, singing, not listening to a choir. The liturgy is about being part of the body, so it's only in the flesh, not online. People come to take eucharist and be anointed with oil, so they go out healed to serve those in need."
Before he was ordained, Rajiv was a music teacher, choir director, guitarist and composer for 15 years. His bachelor's degree from Gonzaga in 2005 was in music composition and Spanish. There he met and married Emily, now a clinical psychologist.
Moving to Portland, he earned a master's degree in music education and choir conducting at Portland State University, not having a clear call to be a priest.
"When I was 10, I remember looking at my father celebrating the divine liturgy and thinking it was special and important for the world, and maybe someday I would do that," he said.
In college, when he wanted to date Emily, but she did not want to date him, he felt sorry for himself and prayed, "Lord, what do you want me to do?" A voice said, "Feed my flock." "I kept that in my heart," he said.
The priest at the Syriac Orthodox Church in Portland asked him to be ordained as a minor deacon.
When they moved to Tucson, Ariz., they went to an Antiochian Orthodox Church and occasionally to a Syrian Orthodox one in Phoenix, where the priest asked, "When will you be ready to go to seminary?"
"Not now," said Rajiv, fearful about that step. Three years later when he moved back to Spokane, he consulted with his father and other priests about going to seminary. The bishop in Houston approved him to go to St. Athanasius Orthodox Seminary run by the Coptic Egyptian Orthodox Church in Florida.
Rajiv had taught music at public and private schools in Tucson and at All Saints Catholic School in Spokane, where he was working when he started the hybrid seminary program. He went to Florida for classes just twice a year. The rest was online, so he taught music half time and served at St. Gregorios, putting to practical use what he learned. He also studied liturgy and pastoral care with priests in Texas and Ohio.
Eventually, the bishop was ready to ordain him to the holy priesthood.
"I felt unworthy, but realizing none of us is worthy, I began to trust grace would come with ordination because God equips the called," he said.
In January 2020, his ordination was set for March. He knelt in prayer: "God if you want me, I will obey. Help me serve your people." He felt ready, but the voice that had said, "feed my flock," now said something would delay his ordination and cause suffering around the world, but it would be okay.
COVID broke out in Italy and Seattle. All Saints School went online. The bishop was stranded in India because flights were canceled. Four other dates were canceled before he and his brother, Pradeep, who lives in New York City, were both ordained there on May 22, 2021, as full deacons, and Rajiv was ordained as a priest on May 26.
Along with serving St. Gregorios, from 2021 to 2023 he served every four to six weeks St. Thomas Indian Orthodox Church in Renton and for two years has been in charge of the South American mission of the South-West American diocese of the Malankara Orthodox Church, which has 100 parishes in the U.S and 12 in Canada.
He recently visited Ecuador to help two priests and a deacon establish parishes in Quito and Santo Domingo. In January, he goes to Brazil to help eight communities who want to join the diocese. He is in dialogue with a group in Peru.
"Orthodoxy is growing in Latin America," he said, reporting the conversion of 250,000 Guatemalans.
"Orthodox churches are growing in the U.S., too, particularly with immigrants who struggle to survive the onslaught of secularism," Fr. George said. "They are drawn to the simple, beautiful way of life of orthodoxy in contrast to secular focus on entertainment and materialism.
"There are two tragedies: getting what we want and not getting what we want," he said. "People are starving for something beyond arguing about religious philosophy. Many are looking for this ancient, timeless way of worship not created by men. Holy orthodoxy and love draw sinners to be repentant."
"We are not a wealthy parish, but we try to do all we can for those in need," he said.
For information, call 325-6432, email stgspokane@gmail.com or visit stgspokane.org.
