George (Schaefer)

Early life

Paul Schaefer was born on May 25, 1950, in Belleville, Illinois to Francis and Claire Schaefer, a devout Roman Catholic family. While attending a Roman Catholic elementary school, he attended mass daily, served as an altar boy and sang in the church choir.

In 1968 he graduated from Catholic High School and then attended Southern Illinois University from 1968 to 1972.

After graduating, he saw problems in the Roman Catholic Church; he stopped attending services and began to search for the truth, including in Buddhist and other eastern sources.

In 1974, he moved to San Jose, California, and found out about Orthodox Christianity through a Greek man, discovering the Orthodox Church. He was baptised that year at the Greek Orthodox Church in Modesto, California, and given the name Makarius in honor of Saint Macarius the Great. He started attending St. Nicholas Church, San Jose, before attending the Greek Cathedral in San Francisco. as well as a Russian church.

Monastic life

In January 1975, Makarios visited Mount Athos, where he decided to become a monk. He later visited the St. Herman of Alaska Monastery, Platina, California, where he met Seraphim (Rose) and Herman (Podmoshensky) and was immersed in the monastic life. They suggested he enrol in seminary, which he did, entering Holy Trinity Orthodox Seminary in September 1975.

On Christmas, January 7, 1976, Makarios was made a novice by Archbishop Averky (Taushev). As a novice his obediences in the monastery were working in the farm and cemetery.

He spent the next summer in Platina, California, and helped Fr. Seraphim and Fr. Herman to print books and do other jobs. Divine services were in English unlike Jordanville: "I understood every word, which touched my heart".

On Friday of the First Week of Lent, 1979, after a few years in the monastery he was tonsured a rassophore monk. On Friday of the First Week of Lent, 1980, he was tonsured into the small schema and given the name Mitrophan in honor of Saint Mitrophan of Voronezh. On Palm Sunday of the same year he was ordained a subdeacon and a couple of months thereafter he graduated from Holy Trinity Seminary.

In June 1981 he was given a blessing by Archbishop Laurus (Škurla) to relocate to Mount Athos. He was tonsured to the great schema by Hieromonk Chrysostomos of Koutloumousiou monastery, Mount Athos and given the name George in honor of Saint George the Great-Martyr.

In February, 1986 he returned to Holy Trinity Monastery and started working on the Print Shop of Saint Job of Pochaev in 1986, where he worked until 1998. He assumed editorial duties on "Orthodox Life" from 1992 to his consecration as bishop in 2008.

On the feast of St. Michael, 1986 he was ordained a hierodeacon. On Palm Sunday, 1987 he was ordained a hieromonk.

In 1994 he was appointed as economos Holy Trinity Monastery.

In September 1998 he was elevated to the rank of hegumen.

On Labor Day 2005 he was elevated to the rank of archimandrite

In 2007 he appointed dean of Holy Trinity Monastery.

He also served as confessor and spiritual father of the Hermitage of the Holy Cross in Wayne, West Virginia, the largest English-language monastery of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia.

Life as a Bishop

In May 2008, the Synod of Bishops of the ROCOR elected Archimandrite George as Bishop of Mayfield, Pennsylvania, Vicar of the Eastern American Diocese and the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church confirmed the election in June 2008.

On December 7, 2008 Archimandrite George was consecrated bishop at Holy Trinity Monastery in Jordanville, New York, by Bishop Gabriel (Chemodakov) of Montreal and Canada, Bishop Peter (Loukianoff) of Cleveland and Bishop John (Bērziņš) of Caracas, receiving the title of Bishop of Mayfield. Metropolitan Hilarion (Kapral) could not be present, as was preparing to attend the funeral of Patriarch Alexey II in Russia.

Bishop George's place of residence was then at the Hermitage of the Holy Cross in Wayne, West Virginia. In May 2009 he was elected abbot of the Holy Cross Monastery in Wayne, WV.

May 25, 2010 in consideration of his labour for the Church and of 60th anniversary he was awarded the Order of St. Seraphim of Sarov, II degree.

On January 27, 2013 at St. Nicholas Cathedral in Washington he attended the enthronement of Metropolitan of All America and Canada Tikhon.

October 7, 2014 he was appointed vicar of First-Hierach metropolitan Hilarion for Australian and New Zealand Diocese with title bishop of Canberra.

Writings

He is the author of several articles and translations published in "Orthodox Life". He translated several sayings of the Optina Elders published in the book "Living Without Hypocrisy", published in 2006 by Holy Trinity Monastery Press.