Stories

John Belkoff was born in Pontiac, Michigan in June 1963 to his Christian home, which followed the discipline of the Episcopal Church. He was active in men and boys choirs, serving at the altar and lay ministry to mission churches. His grandmother was convinced that he should leave public school, always sensing John's calling to ministry. This began his long journey through scripture, history, and theology of the Chrisitan Church, committing to find and promote the ancient Christian faith of the Apostles and the early Church. Seeking a school that upheld the values of faith, scripture, morality, and on sacrificing oneself to Christ, he found Oakland Chrisitan School where he graduated in 1981. 

Following OCS graduation, he studied at Oakland Community and Oakland University, discerning the best path to ordination and proper seminary education. One Sunday, a clergyman recognized John's dilemma of disappointment with his secularized church and its disregard for scripture and moral law. Understanding John's dilemma at a crossroads, he advised John to leave his church and venture across the cultural dive, immersing himself in the Apostolic Church of the 1st Century; the ancient Orthodox Christian Church. Few opportunities existed to experience and participate in the somewhat strange expression of Christianity. The clergyman advised and arranged for John to experience the worship and theological discussion of an Orthodox parish, even providing transportation. John considers the Orthodox Christian Church, his “pearl of great price”, a treasure, offering the fullness of Christianity from apostolic times, neither added to nor subtracted from, throughout the span of Christian history. 

Father John became Archimandrite (highest rank of a monastery priest) Pachomy (named after St. Pachominus, a 3rd-century Christian father who preached and founded a monastery in Egypt). His most valued friends and mentors are Patriarchs, Archbishops, and clergy of ancient New Testament Christianity. His closest relationship is with the Patriarch of Jerusalem, the Mother Church of all Christianity. Jerusalem is his second home, where he experiences renewal and continuity of the early church while discovering history, Christian theology, and culture. He resides in Harper Woods, surrounded by a paradise of his own making—a monastery with an enclosed community, botanical gardens, beautiful fountains, a library, and a gallery of rare treasures. The monastery church exhibits fresco icon accounts of biblical stories and early Christian martyrdom. Oakland Christian School proudly recognizes Father Pachomy to our Wall of Faith for a lifelong commitment to faithfulness, sacrifice, and worship to Christ.