Faith has always played a major role Religious Studies Professor John Fotopoulos’s life. Due to his scholarly work on the New Testament and his service to the church, John has been inducted as an Archon of the Order of St. Andrew. This honor is one of the oldest and most prestigious in the Orthodox Church.
“I could not believe I was nominated for this honor. When I received the letter saying I was nominated, I thought it was a mistake at first,” John shared. “Only about twenty or so people are inducted each year. I was excited for the opportunity to travel to New York City with my family to take part in the induction ceremony.”
John was brought up in a devout Christian family, so religion is very important to him. Even though his religion was a major part of his life, he still had many curiosities and questions surrounding it.
“I always had a lot of questions about religious things, especially in the Bible. Those curiosities and questions led me to want to study and learn more about my own faith.”
John’s passion for learning about his own faith and answering some of his personal questions about religion not only led him to his scholarly work on the New Testament, but also helped turn his curiosity into a vocation.
“I never realized my religion would turn into a whole career, but it is funny how things go sometimes. This is my 17th year teaching at Saint Mary’s College,” John shared. “The best part of being here is the students. The students are hardworking, intelligent, and interested in new things.”
John is only the third scholar to receive this recognition and was given the unique title Archon Teacher of the Gospel. Now that he has been inducted into this leadership role, John hopes to help spread the word of religious freedom. He also hopes to continue sharing his scholarly work on the New Testament, as well as continuing finding answers to some of his own curiosities
