New Manager Announced for Orthodox Marketplace & St. John Chrysostom Oratorical Festival
With the blessing of Archbishop Elpidophoros of America, the Director of the Department of Religious Education (DRE), Bishop Athenagoras of Nazianzos is pleased to announce the new Manager of Orthodox Marketplace and St. John Chrysostom Oratorical Festival — Maria Klonaris.
The DRE has three ministries within the Department — Religious Education, the official online store of the Archdiocese, Orthodox Marketplace, and the St. John Chrysostom Oratorical Festival. The DRE is being reorganized under the new leadership of Bishop Athenagoras to establish a clear division of roles and responsibilities for each ministry. Once the job posting is issued, there will also be a new Manager for the Religious Education ministry.
Maria has been part of the DRE team for eight years, working closely with customers and vendors. This year was her first year planning the St. John Chrysostom Oratorical Festival, and a soft spot quickly grew in her heart for this incredible program. This year’s Oratorical Festival saw a national increase in participants, despite a hiatus due to the COVID pandemic, and a significant increase in scholarship donations. The goal is to continue to expand and improve the Oratorical Festival.
Orthodox Marketplace offers materials created by the ministries and departments of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, as well as a variety of supplemental books, gifts, and materials from other publishers and suppliers. Maria worked on launching the new version of the online store orthodoxmarketplace.com. The Department is in the early stages of doing a full review of this Ministry to transform Orthodox Marketplace into a one-stop online shop for the faithful, parishes, and communities across America. You will hear more about this review in the fall because we want your feedback — our loyal and potential faithful customers.
"When I first met Maria, I knew right away she had a significant amount of potential and could play a key role in transforming Orthodox Marketplace and growing the St. John Chrysostom Oratorical Festival," said Director Bishop Athenagoras. "It was simply a different management style and staffing changes that quickly empowered Maria to grow into a natural and impressive leader."
"I have served the DRE for eight years, and in the very short and busy period of time that Bishop Athenagoras took over the Department we have accomplished so much more, together," said Manager Maria Klonaris. "I am truly grateful and excited for this opportunity to serve the faithful across America in a more substantial way. And humbled to be counted as a Greek Orthodox woman at the managerial level in our Archdiocese.”
Have questions? Kindly contact:
Department of Religious Education
Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America
toll-free: 800-566-1088
email: [email protected]
website: religioused.goarch.org
