OUR LEADERSHIP
Our Pastoral Leaders
Our clergy are ordained under to the authority of the Orthodox Church in America to pastor and minister to the faithful of our community.
Archbishop Alexander of Dallas & the South
Hierarch & Spiritual Father
Archbishop Alexander (Golitzin) was born in Burbank, CA in 1948 and raised attending Saint Innocent Church, Tarzana, CA. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from the University of California at Berkeley and a Master of Divinity degree from Saint Vladimir’s Seminary. He spent seven years pursuing doctoral studies at Oxford University in England under His Eminence, Metropolitan Kallistos [Ware]. During this time, he also spent two years in Greece, including one year at Simonos Petras Monastery on Mount Athos.
His Eminence received his DPhil in 1980, ordained to the diaconate in 1982, the priesthood in 1984, and tonsured a monastic in 1986. In 1989, he took a teaching position with the Theology Department at Marquette University in Milwaukee WI, a position he held until April 2012. In October 2011 he was elected Bishop of Toledo and the Bulgarian Diocese and consecrated May 5, 2012. On March 30, 2016 he was elected Bishop of Dallas, the South, and the Bulgarian Diocese. In 2017 the Holy Synod elevated him to the rank of Archbishop.
Father John Cox
Rector
Father John Cox is from Knoxville, TN and was previously the rector of Holy Dormition Orthodox Church in Norfolk, Virginia. He and his wife, Matushka Photini, have four children. Father John has been the rector of Holy Ascension since September 1, 2021.
Staff
Who facilitate and assist with ministry in our parish.
Elias Rehmet
Administrator
Elias Caleb Rehmet serves as the Church Administrator of Holy Ascension Orthodox Church. He holds a Bachelor of Music from the University of North Texas and an M.Div. from Saint Tikhon’s Orthodox Theological Seminary. Caleb is an Orthodox composer, arranger, and lecturer with a specialization in Ancient Greek and Church Slavonic. His work combines scholarly expertise with a deep commitment to the living tradition of Orthodox sacred music.
Olivia Joan Rehmet
Choir Director
Olivia Insignares Rehmet is a Charleston native mezzo-soprano with a passion for choral, chamber, operatic, early, and world folk repertoire throughout the Lowcountry. She holds a Bachelor of Music from the College of Charleston and an M.Div. with a specialization in sacred music from Saint Tikhon’s Orthodox Theological Seminary. Olivia has performed on six professional recordings with the Grammy-nominated Saint Tikhon Choir and the PaTRAM Ensembles.
Olivia has served as choir director at Saint John the Baptist in Mayfield, PA; Holy Resurrection Cathedral in Wilkes-Barre, PA; and Saint Innocent of Irkutsk Cathedral in Anchorage, AK. She currently teaches Lower School music at Christ Our King School in Mount Pleasant and co-leads Harmonia, a liturgical children’s choir for students in grades 4–8.
Attached Clergy
Retired or with additional vocations.
Other Leadership
Directors of Children’s Ministry, Nina Parker & Elena Barna
Bookstore Manager, Joan Hagan
Event Coordinator, Timothy Shaw
Catechism Instructor, Subdeacon Jeremy Boyle