About JTO

I am Fr. John A. Peck.

I’m the priest in charge of St. George Orthodox Church in Prescott, AZ, a mission parish in the Metropolis of San Francisco of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of North America. That being said, I’m actually on-loan from the Diocese of the Midwest, Orthodox Church in America.

I am the director of the Preachers Institute, and the founder of Journey To Orthodoxy, as well as Good Guys Wear Black, a site for prospective priests and deacons.

I have an intense interest in spreading the Gospel, the study and application of Byzantine homiletics, in order to advance the practice of preaching the Gospel with excellence.

My Contact Information

You can contact me by email, or on Facebook.

More about me

I was born in Detroit, MI, and received my B.A. in English Literature from Michigan State University. I converted to the Orthodox faith in 1992, and graduated from St. Herman Theological Seminary in Kodiak, Alaska, in 1997 after serving as Administrator, and teaching courses in Introductory Speech and Communications, Introductory and Advanced English Literature, Basic Composition, Religious Education, and Orthodox Christian Psychology. I completed coursework towards a Master’s degree in Public Administration at Southern Illinois University-Carbondale, and in 2009,  was granted a D.Min. by Veritas Theological Seminary. My thesis became the book “Called To Serve: A Basic Bible Survey for Orthodox Christians.”

My work experience includes over 30 years as a graphic designer, decades of non-profit administration. After starting the world’s first 24 hour online Orthodox radio broadcast, I’ve been involved in spreading the Gospel via new media for the last 20 years.

I have written several workbooks and manuals for instruction: Called To Serve, Student and Leader’s Manuals, Divine Liturgy: A Student Study Text, the Bible Drill/Bible Divas Field Manuals, and S.W.A.T. (Spiritual Warfare And Training), The Orthodox Guide To Pastoral Blogging, and The Place for Preaching: A Short Illustrated History of the Ambo, the Pulpit and the Lectern. I have also written articles for Orthodoxytoday.org, the American Orthodox Institute, The Handmaiden magazine, the Interior Strength blog, the St. Katherine College website, and others. I am an occasional writer for Charles Staley’s  Staley Training Systems website, and has been featured on the Functional Hand Strength, Theory To Practice, and The Masculine Heart websites.

As a contributor of a number of articles for the Orthodox Study Bible, I also provided written commentary for the Old Testament books of Hosea, Song of Songs, and  III Maccabees.

I’m very happily married, have three sons, a dog, and a set of bagpipes.

I’m indebted to Fr. Hans Jacobse of the American Orthodox Institute, who so often helps me with coding problems I can’t solve, and does so willingly, with grace and humor.

More about JTO

The Mission of “Journey To Orthodoxy” is to provide a place for inquirers, converts and others to explore, share information and fellowship, in preparation for entrance into the Orthodox Christian faith.

Conversion is the process by which a person decides to become Orthodox, as opposed to being brought up in the Orthodox faith from childhood.

 

A convert, someone who has undergone conversion, may have any non-Orthodox background, including no religious beliefs (i.e., atheism), non-Christian religious beliefs (e.g., Muslim, Buddhist), or non-Orthodox/heterodox Christian beliefs (e.g. Roman Catholic, Protestant).

In the latter case, the individual may be received into the Church by the sacrament of chrismation, as long as the person has already had a baptism using the Trinitarian (“In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit”). In the two former cases, individuals would be received by the sacrament of baptism, then chrismated.

OrthodoxWiki.org

If you are a non-Orthodox clergyman, profession, chaplain, missionary or person in a leadership position whose spiritual journey has led you to contemplate the Orthodox faith, JTO exists because we’ve been there! It is a well worn path to the Orthodox Church, and it requires reflection, fellowship, and a gut-wrenching search for the Truth.

You can’t become Orthodox because it is the best choice…

you must become Orthodox because it is the only choice.

We’re here to help.

If you are a non-Orthodox lay person interested in the Orthodox faith, our Network of current inquires and past converts will help you answer those pesky questions, and deprogram from the very issues that have troubled you.

No matter where you are on your spiritual journey, whether you are retracing the steps of the Ole’ Schism Trail, or newly introduced to the Orthodox faith, you can be sure that multitudes just like you have been on the same journey – with the same result.

Rejoice! You aren’t alone now, and you won’t be alone then.

Click here to start your Journey!