Father John was born in Brooklyn, NY to Irish-American and Italian-American parents and brought up on Long Island. He was raised as a Roman Catholic and was educated mainly in Catholic schools from elementary school to graduate school. He graduated from St. John’s University in Jamaica, NY with a B.A. in East Asian Studies and pursued graduate studies there in the same field. While in graduate school he met his future wife, Doreen. While working as an English teacher in Tokyo, Japan he began to attend the Orthodox Cathedral of the Holy Resurrection (Nikorai-do) where he and his wife were received into the Orthodox Church. He was attracted by the Orthodox Church for its firmness in holding the ancient traditions of the church and by the liturgical beauty of Orthodox services.
Returning to America he studied at St. Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary in Crestwood, NY where he received the Master of Divinity degree and was ordained to the priesthood. Since then he has served parishes in Australia, Japan, Canada and the United States.