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His Beatitude Metropolitan Tikhon is encouraging dioceses, parishes, clergy, and faithful throughout the Orthodox Church in America to support clergy wives who wish to participate in the inaugural Office of Pastoral Life’s Clergy Wives Retreat, “Come Away and Rest,” July 27–30, 2026, at Antiochian Village in Ligonier, PA. At the launch of registration, His Beatitude said, “The Church has a responsibility to our pastors and their families and so does each parish community. This is why I’m so grateful for the Office of Pastoral Life for organizing … the Clergy Wives Retreat. [This is] not a luxury … not an extra. This is an act of stewardship. This is the Church stepping forward to say to her clergy wives ‘we value you and we care for you.’”
Registration for Clergy Wives Retreat closes June 29.
The retreat will offer clergy wives from across the Orthodox Church in America an opportunity to step away from their daily responsibilities, renew their strength, and reconnect with what matters most in their life with Christ. Alongside structured sessions, the schedule will provide time for prayer, quiet, conversation, walks, reflection, and unhurried fellowship.
Sessions will be led by Dr. Ioana Popa, MD, BCC, MTS, a physician-psychiatrist, board-certified chaplain, and Christian spiritual care, life, and leadership coach. Dr. Popa earned a Master of Theological Studies degree at Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology with a focus on spiritual care.
Under the theme “Come Away and Rest: A Blueprint for Renewal and Resilience in Our Journey with the Lord,” Dr. Ioana Popa will help participants explore the pressures Christian women face that can contribute to chronic stress and hidden burnout. Through prayer, reflection, journaling, silence, and small- and large-group conversation, participants will consider practices that foster renewal and begin developing a personal blueprint for healthier and more deeply grounded living.
“It is a true joy for me to support Christian women, especially clergy wives, who desire to serve their families, communities, and churches with a grounding presence and peace,” Dr. Popa said. “Our time together will be an opportunity to renew ourselves and reground our faith through prayer, reflection, contemplation, and more.”
Dr. Popa was also a featured speaker at a recent Thriving in Ministry Facilitators Retreat hosted by the Office of Pastoral Life.
“Dr. Ioana embodies the ability to bring peace into our daily lives,” said Shelby Giokas, Director of Thriving in Ministry. “With a strong focus on how our physical and spiritual wellness impacts our bodily health, Dr. Ioana offers gentleness and healing that is rooted in Christ. The kindness that she radiates is contagious.”
Retreat participants will not only discuss the need for refreshment, but practice it, guided by Christ’s words to the Samaritan woman:
“Whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.” (John 4:14)
Each afternoon of the retreat will include an unscheduled block of time for rest, quiet, walks, or informal fellowship. Participants will also have opportunities to form friendships with other clergy wives through shared meals, prayer, and conversation.
His Eminence Archbishop Mark announced last week his commitment to pay for registration costs of every clergy wife and widow from the Diocese of Eastern Pennsylvania who wishes to participate in the retreat.
Parishes and dioceses are encouraged to assist clergy wives with registration and travel expenses, recognizing that supporting clergy wives’ renewal strengthens clergy families and enriches the life of the Church.
Additional information and registration are available at: opl.oca.org/programs/pastoral-retreats/clergy-wives-retreat-2026
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.
