OCPM is an agency of the Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of the United States of America.
Chaplain Patrick Tutella, who had served as Executive Director since 2009, will be stepping down at the end of June to begin new ventures in prison ministry.
“We are very thankful to Chaplain Patrick for his dedicated leadership these past five years. He has been a great asset to OCPM,” said Eric Grant, OCPM board chairman. “At the same time, we welcome Father Stephen into his new role and look forward to continued growth under his leadership.”
Father Stephen began working with OCPM in 2005, first as a board member and later as Assistant Director. He served as a prison chaplain for almost 26 years in state and federal prisons. During that time, he ministered to people in prisons at every security level, including maximum security prisons. He has lectured widely to audiences about prison ministry and has been active in training clergy and lay people for prison ministry.
In related news, OCPM’s 2014 Convocation, slated to be held in Houston, TX July 24-26, 2014, has been cancelled.