Fr. Andrew Wythe
St. Mary’s Orthodox Church
Morgantown, WV
Biography
Fr. Andrew Wythe was born October 4, 1990 in Green Brook, New Jersey. After graduating Watchung Hills Regional High School, he attended Rutgers University where he earned a B.A. in American History, as well as serving as President of the campus Orthodox Christian Fellowship. He attended Christ the Saviour Seminary in Johnstown, Pennsylvania from 2013 to 2016.
Upon completing his research thesis on preaching the Gospel to a secularized America, he was awarded a Bachelor’s of Theology in May, 2016. He worked as the Sixth Grade teacher at Assumption Catholic School in Perth Amboy, New Jersey. While in Perth Amboy, he taught Social Studies, Sixth Grade English, and Sixth Byzantine Catholic Religion. He also started and coached the school’s Basketball team, the Bulldogs, and worked as an assistant Track and Field coach.
Fr. Andrew married Pani Davina, from St. Thomas Malankara Orthodox Church in Stone Mountain, GA, on September 15, 2019 at St. John the Baptist Carpatho Russian Orthodox Church. He was ordained to the Diaconate on March 1, 2020 by the hand of His Eminence Metropolitan Gregory of Nyssa. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, his priesthood ordination date of May 28, 2020 was postponed and Fr. Andrew spent the 2020-2021 academic year as the Pastoral Assistant at Annunciation Greek Orthodox Cathedral in Atlanta, GA. He was ordained to the priesthood by His Eminence Metropolitan Gregory on June 27, 2021 and assigned to St. Mary’s Orthodox Church in Morgantown, WV where he also works with the WVU Orthodox Christian Fellowship. Fr. Andrew and Pani Davina are blessed one daughter, Alexandra, who was born September 5, 2021.
What is one of your biggest joys of being a priest?
My biggest joy of being a priest is working with someone one on one to bring them to Christ. Many times in counseling or catechism someone has a “lightbulb” moment where they see something in a way they have never before, or notice something new about their relationship with Christ. They may have already heard what you said 1,000 times, but what they needed was to hear it for the 1,001st time for it to matter in a personal way.
In your opinion what makes a great homily?
My homilist professor at Christ the Saviour Seminary said that a homily is drawing a line between the Gospel message and the experience of living in the 21st century. I think a great homily does that plainly and with conviction, as if you were having a conversation with a single person. Some of what I felt were my best homilies were only a quote from one of the fathers and a mental outline of what I had prepared to say. The difference was a conviction in what I wanted to say and just saying it.
What are some of your hobbies outside of the Church?
I ran track in High School, play rec softball, and coached basketball and track and field when I was a middle school teacher. I’ve always found competition a great stress reliever. I’ve also been fascinated with aviation since I was young. It just so happened I have a retired airline pilot as a parishioner who was able to give me a flight in to Morgantown when Pani and I were in the process of moving. I took a flying lesson a few months later and was hooked.
What boardgame are you good at and why?
Password. I’ve always had a knack for describing things and making good analogies.
Fr. Andrew, Pani Davina, and Alexandra celebrate their first Pascha as a family.