Our Community Life
They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers ... And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts ..." (Acts 2:42-47)
Fr. Peter Kavanaugh, Priest
The Reverend Father Peter Kavanaugh was appointed as Rector to St. Benedict Orthodox Church on January 11th, 2016.
A convert to Orthodoxy, Fr. Peter grew up in a non-denominational church in Virginia. He was raised in a devout family of missionaries and musicians, and early on found his love for God and the Holy Scriptures, as well as for history and classical literature.
When asked who were some of the most influential mentors in his life, he responded with a smile, "C. S. Lewis, George MacDonald,
and G. K. Chesterton." These authors, and other contemporary Christians, lead him on to search deeper into the Christian faith. “After reading works by C. S. Lewis and others like him,” he says, “I became convinced that there must be more to Christianity than the picture given to us in 21st century America.”
When he first walked into an Orthodox Church, he explains, “My first realization was that what I had always believed in my past was some how present in the church, right in front of my face, in some way that I couldn't explain. Christ and His apostles no longer felt like they were part of the past, but were tangible here, and now.” The second conviction that Orthodoxy gave him was, “Its ancientness and apostolicity…I began to wonder, why should I believe Pastor Joe’s interpretation, and not Reverend Jim’s, and on and on? On what authority is Christianity being taught? 1 Timothy 3:15 calls the Church the ‘pillar and foundation of the truth.’ Ephesians 2:19-22 says that this Church, this arbiter of truth, is ‘built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets.’ And so I began to wonder, where is this church? What happened to Christianity in those years that followed the apostles? Orthodoxy has maintained the traditions passed down from the apostles for 2,000 years, and is no less vibrant, Christ-centered, or dedicated to the life-changing Gospel than the Church in the first century.”
Fr. Peter’s convictions were further influenced by studying philosophy, religion, and psychology in college, and over a year spent at a monastery on Mt. Olympus, Greece. Afterwards, he earned his M.A. in Divinity at Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology and has worked as a farmhand, chaplain, and Harvard research assistant.
Today, he is the happily married husband of Zoe and three, Kevin, Eva, and Ella Rose. He can't imagine a better place to raise his family than Wichita Falls, Texas.
If you would like to get to know him better please visit us or call him anytime.
Our Hierarchy
His Eminence, the Most Reverend Saba, Archbishop of New York and Metropolitan of All North America, Primate.
His Grace the Right Reverend Bishop John (Abdalah) of Worcester and New England and the Western Rite Vicariate
