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Eighty-five clergy have now registered for the 2026 Office of Pastoral Life Pastoral Retreat, as priests and bishops from across the Orthodox Church in America prepare to gather September 29–October 2 at the University of Saint Mary of the Lake Conference Center in Mundelein, IL.
The registration deadline is Tuesday, September 1, and clergy who are planning to attend are encouraged to register soon.
This year’s retreat, “The Fields Are Ripe for the Harvest,” will offer clergy several days set apart from the ordinary demands of parish ministry for prayer, fellowship, conversation, and reflection on the work of the Church.
The retreat will feature Mother Christophora, Abbess of Holy Transfiguration Monastery, and Archpriest John Parker, Dean of St. Tikhon’s Orthodox Theological Seminary, who will lead participants in reflection on the opportunities and challenges of faithful pastoral ministry today.
A highlight of the gathering will be the celebration of the Divine Liturgy for the Feast of the Protection of the Most Holy Theotokos on October 1 at the New Gracanica Monastery in Third Lake, IL. The retreat schedule will also include morning and evening prayer, shared meals, time for informal fellowship, workshops, and opportunities for clergy to reconnect with brothers in parish ministry from across the Church.
The Office of Pastoral Life encourages clergy who have not yet registered to join the growing number already planning to attend.
Registration closes Tuesday, September 1, 2026.
For registration, the complete retreat schedule, travel information, and other details, visit the Office of Pastoral Life retreat page.
For additional information, contact the Office of Pastoral Life at director@opl.oca.org.
About the Office of Pastoral Life
The Orthodox Church in America’s Office of Pastoral Life supports the well-being of clergy and their families, the foundation of parish life across North America. Believing the health of the Church is inseparable from the health of her clergy, the Office offers programs that build resilience, connection and pastoral joy. Programs include Thriving in Ministry peer-learning groups, Financial Health Initiatives, quarterly Synaxis Gatherings, Retreats and Clergy Wives Ministry. In partnership with bishops, dioceses, parishes and our generous donors, the Office of Pastoral Life helps create sustainable conditions in which priests, deacons and their families of the Orthodox Church in America can flourish spiritually, vocationally and personally through every season of parish ministry.
