DOS Clergy Conference 2023: Feb. 7-9 [UPDATED Feb. 1]

[Updated Feb. 18: full photo report and links to the conference talks are here]

[UPDATED Feb. 1]  St. Athanasius Parish is delighted to welcome all our diocesan clergy and many of our clergy spouses to Kentucky for our February 2023 Diocesan Pastoral Conference. In addition to over 80 priests and many of their wives, we are also welcoming many deacons, our Archbishop Alexander, our auxiliary Bishop Gerasim–and our honored guest His Beatitude, our Metropolitan Tikhon, primate of the Orthodox Church in America!

You will find our detailed schedule and list of speakers below–including times for various meetings like the Bishop’s Council and Diocesan Council, the VIP Bourbon Tours, the Matushki Luncheon, a choir practice, and much more. The matushki are invited to join in the full social and worship opportunities of the week. In particular, we hope the matushki will join our expanded parish choir (rehearsing after Wednesday Vespers) for the Primatial Liturgy on Thursday, Feb. 9. (You can find the music packet for both services here.) For families looking for activities to do at various points before or after the conference, check out our list of great local options here.

The hotel we are using is the Embassy Suites by Hilton located at Lexington Green (which has both the most impressive bookstore in the world as well as several wonderful restaurants. See this list for excellent restaurants in close proximity to our hotel.) As of February 1, the hotel is booked (at least for the special rate.) Nonetheless, any stragglers can reach out the Embassy Suites at 859-271-4000 if you have any questions. The hotel is located at 245 Lexington Green Circle, Lexington, KY 40503 not very far from our local Bluegrass Airport (LEX.) St. Athanasius Orthodox Church is located at 100 Lime Lane, Nicholasville, KY 40356, about 20 minutes from our hotel.

As a bonus to our conference, we are excited to offer a VIP Bourbon Tour for our guests on Tuesday, Feb. 7. This optional event is $15 per person and will take place in two shifts (departing the hotel at 3pm and 330pm.) We will get a special tour of the urban Alltech Lexington Distillery and then break into groups to explore some of Lexington’s finest and most local cuisine options. It’s important to remember, though, that to participate in this tour, you will need to arrive at the hotel before 3pm on Tuesday, so make your travel arrangements accordingly! (As of February 1, there are still more than 20 spots available-so our clergy should not be shy about signing up!)

If you have any questions as the Pastoral Conference gets closer, please reach out to me at priest@athanasiusoca.org

Schedule for Pastoral Conference 2023:

printable google doc of schedule here

Monday, Feb. 6: