Very Rev. Fr. Andrew Welzig
A native of Southern California, Father Andrew Welzig began serving the Antiochian Diocese of Los Angeles and the West in 1994. He initially served as deacon and youth leader for a large parish in Garden Grove, CA. In April 1998, His Eminence Metropolitan JOSEPH ordained Father Andrew to the priesthood and made him pastor of St. John the Theologian mission parish in San Juan Capistrano, CA.
In 2010, Father Andrew was transferred to the Spokane area and became pastor of Christ the Savior. Since his conversion from Protestantism to Orthodoxy in 1993, Father Andrew has been a fervent apologist for the Orthodox faith and enjoys dialoguing with people from all different backgrounds. His teachings frequently explore the Incarnation of Jesus Christ, human nature, and the intersection of Christianity and popular culture.
Father Andrew currently lives with his beloved wife Ann in the Spokane Valley area. The two met in 1977 at a Baptist Bible study in Tustin, CA, and married the following year. They have four adult children and seven grandchildren.
Rev. Deacon Michael Tubbs
Born and raised in Southern California, Deacon Michael was ordained to the Holy Diaconate in November 2020. Deacon Michael currently lives with his wife, Diakonissa Irene, and their three daughters in the Post Falls, Idaho area, and has been married for 27 years. Deacon, Diakonissa, and their two oldest daughters were Baptized and Chrismated into the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church at St. Barnabas Antiochian Orthodox Church in Costa Mesa, California, on Lazarus Saturday of 2007. In December of 2009, they welcomed their third daughter into this life. In September 2017, with the blessing of their spiritual father, Deacon and Diakonissa sold their home in California and moved to the Inland Northwest, focusing on raising their daughters, serving Christ’s Holy Church, and seeking to have a “little more time to pray”.
