Archpriest Thaddaeus Hardenbrook

At the age of 17, Father Thaddaeus converted to Orthodox Christianity, with his entire family, from non-denominational Protestantism. Immediately after high school, he attended a one-year, residential program at St. Athanasius Academy of Orthodox Theology. After completing Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Literature (with minors in Psychology, and Composition & Rhetoric), he taught English at an Orthodox high school and was the Director of Operations for an Orthodox publishing company. In 2000, with the blessing of His Holiness Patriarch Diodoros, Father Thaddaeus was Ordained to the Diaconate and the Priesthood in the Holy Sepulcher of Christ, Jerusalem. In 2005, he was elevated to the Archpriesthood. In 2009, Father returned to formal studies and earned a PThD from the Orthodox Theological of Chicago (ROCOR); his thesis topic was “The Orthodox Parish As Community: A Community of Essence, Will, and Activity.” He is married with four children.