Met. Jonah (Paffhausen) on Orthodoxy's Southern Revival
In an exclusive interview with UOJ-America, Vladyka Jonah speaks of the explosive growth of Orthodox missions across the American South, the hunger for authenticity among young men, and the radical freedom at the heart of Orthodox life.
ATLANTA — In late July 2025, Metropolitan Jonah Paffhausen served at the Saint Mary of Egypt Orthodox Church, where he presided over several ordinations intended to support the growing wave of Orthodox missionary activity throughout the American South.
Standing in for His Eminence Metropolitan Nicholas, First Hierarch of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia, Metropolitan Jonah was welcomed by a vibrant and fast-growing community under the leadership of Archimandrite John Townsend, rector of the parish and abbot of the Holy Optina Elders Skete.
Vladyka Jonah was gracious enough to sit down with UOJ's ATL Correspondent, Luke Albanese, for an exclusive interview, offering key insights into the growth of Orthodoxy in the American South.
Vladyka, how much growth have you seen in Orthodoxy in the South in the past 5 years?
Met. Jonah: There's a lot of growth, not so much in the major urban areas or the ethnic parishes, but in the convert parishes that are maybe in some of the smaller cities, for example, in Lenoir city Tennessee. My own parish in Stafford County, Virginia has exploded. There are some parishes that have 40 and 50 catechumens at a time; then they get baptized and another 40 or 50 more people show up. It's led, of course, by a lot of young men who are searching for stability, they're searching for authenticity. They're searching for a place to be loved, where there's somebody that can kind of take them under their wing and disciple them. And I think this is a perfect ministry for orthodoxy. It’s the tradition of Orthodoxy.
How do you think Orthodoxy can help younger Americans who are leaving their heterodox confessions come back into the faith?
Met. Jonah: Well, the Orthodox Church is totally stable. It's the only church that's stable. Even the Roman Catholic is constantly changing and making all sorts of alterations; so, there's no stability, in any part of it, [even though] the administration is there. Then the Protestant churches are completely off track, and a lot of them are dying off, you know.
So, from my understanding, young people are primarily looking at Orthodoxy and Roman Catholicism — and of course, we would prefer that they come to the Orthodox Church, but they're searching for the same things... Orthodoxy is non legalistic. There are some people who distort it into legalism, but in itself, it's not legalistic at all. Roman Catholicism is profoundly legalistic, and so if that's what people want, I mean, I suppose they can have it, but I think Orthodoxy is really the way to a deeper and deeper personal experience of God and union with God, which is the whole point. You know that the pursuit of the knowledge of God, not about God, but of God, I think, is one of the things that would be most appealing for those who are really seeking Christ.
People come to Orthodoxy for all sorts of other reasons as well. They're looking for a community, they're looking for friendship, they're looking for all these other things — they're looking for a false security because their concepts are false, their presuppositions are false, and they'll grow out of that eventually — but it's what Orthodoxy really has to offer: Orthodoxy has radical freedom. That doesn't mean that there are no dogmas and canons and all those kinds of things, but within that context, there's radical freedom. And what theological freedom is, is the freedom to do God's will. And if you have that, you have freedom. And if you don't have that, which is the direction the West has been heading, you have nothing. And I think people want a meaningful life and not some kind of emptiness.
What should Orthodox Christians in the South do to help spread Orthodoxy and start missions in places that don't have a strong presence yet?
Met. Jonah: I spent years and years as a mission planner, and still do some of it. I think the thing is to build a group of people who are committed to Christ and to the faith, and committed to building a church. It takes every last penny and every last minute that you have, but it's worth it. I mean, obviously, there's the whole liturgical side, there's the material side, but the most important thing is to build a set of relationships with people who are of the same mind. And if you're all committed together to Christ, then it will all come together, it will all work. If everybody's pursuing their own agenda, it won’t work. So, one of the most important things, I think, is that it's critical to avoid any kind of zealotry or fanaticism. One thing you can call zealots and fanatics is Protestants, we are not that. We embrace what Saint Benedict, who was a great father of the church, said: moderation in all things. So, if you're getting carried away with some kind of emotional idea or some kind of romantic idea of what it means to be an orthodox Christian, it's not going to last very long. But if you really pursue God in a sober way, what it will do is it will lead you deeper and deeper into communion with God. Of course, that means prayer, that means fasting, that means ascetic discipline, frequent confession, going to communion frequently, trying to transform your life into a quest for God. That’s what orthodoxy really is, and that's where it will take you.
What is the personal prayer that you find most compelling in your day today?
Met. Jonah: The Jesus Prayer.
For those unaware, could you explain what the Ludwell fellowship is and what the conference is going to be about this September?
Met. Jonah: I'm glad you brought that up. The Philip Ludwell III Orthodox Fellowship is holding its annual conference on September 6th in Stafford, Virginia, hosted by Saint Herman's parish, which is my parish, it’s going to be called the Cradle and the Crucible. And that's pretty much what orthodoxy is. It's a cradle and crucible of Christianity. We’ve got some excellent speakers. It took a long time to get him, but we got Father Turbo Qualls. We have Jay Dyer, and we have a couple of other kind of names who are going to be presenting both on the history and the legacy of Philip Ludwell, the first American Orthodox convert. It's especially about planting missions in the South, discussing what is unique about Southern culture, why the South so open to Orthodoxy., and I think it's going to be a good conference.
Thank you, Vladyka Bless
Metropolitan Jonah Paffhausen is the Abbott of the Monastery of Saint Demetrios of Thessaloniki, and the Rector of the St. Herman of Alaska Orthodox Church in Stafford, VA. After serving as the Primate of the Orthodox Church in America (OCA) he retired in the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia (ROCOR), where he continues to play an active role in educational and missionary efforts.
