Rev. Gregory Gilbert
Fr. Gregory was born and raised in Knoxville, TN. After graduating from high school, he attended Davidson College in Davidson, NC, where he studied Classics (Ancient Greek and Latin) and met his future wife, Presvytera Catherine, who also studied Classics. After college, he taught Latin for three years at a private high school in Nashville, TN. It was during this time that Fr. Gregory, who was raised in the Southern Baptist church, began to look for a form of Christianity closer to what he had learned of the ancient Church in his studies. This search led him to the local Greek Orthodox parish and, eventually, to St. Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary in Crestwood, NY, where he received his M.A. in Theology in 2004. After seminary Father and Presvytera moved to the Washington, D.C., area so that he could pursue graduate studies at the Catholic University of America. He received a second M.A. in Classics in 2008 and a Ph.D. in Greek and Latin in 2014. In his research, Fr. Gregory specializes in the writings of the Church Fathers. During his graduate studies at CUA, Fr. Gregory served as the Head Chanter at Sts. Peter and Paul Greek Orthodox Church in Frederick, MD. He has traveled a great deal in the Greek world, including two summers digging at an archeological site in Cyprus and a semester traveling to archeological sites throughout Greece. Most recently, Fr. Gregory and his family spent a year in Greece, where he had a fellowship for his doctoral research at the American School of Classical Studies in Athens (at the Gennadios Library). While in Greece, Fr. Gregory also completed the coursework and examination for the Diploma of Byzantine Chant, issued by the Greek Ministry of Culture. After returning from Greece, Fr. Gregory spent two years as an adjunct lecturer in the Ancient Studies Department at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. His Eminence, Metropolitan Evangelos of New Jersey, ordained Fr. Gregory as a deacon on October 4, 2015, and elevated him to the priesthood on October 25, 2015. From 2015-2017 Fr. Gregory served as the presiding priest of Sts. Mary Magdalene & Markella Greek Orthodox Church in Darlington, Maryland. On September 1, 2017, Metropolitan Evangelos appointed him presiding priest of St. Demetrios, Upper Darby. He is joined by Presvytera Catherine and their five children.
Doctoral Dissertation
Baltimore Sun Article Featuring Fr. Gregory
ΑΙΔ. ΓΡΗΓΟΡΙΟΣ ΓΚΙΛΜΠΕΡΤ
Ὁ π. Γρηγόριος γεννήθηκε καὶ ἀνατράφηκε στὸ Νόξβιλ, Τενεσί. Ἀφοῦ τελείωσε τὶς ἐγκύκλιες σπουδές του, σπούδασε Ἑλληνικὴ καὶ Λατινικὴ φιλολογία στὸ Κολλέγιο Ντέιβιντσον, στὴν Βόρεια Καρολίνα, ὅπου γνώρισε τὴν Πρεσβυτέρα Αίκατερίνα, ἡ ὁποία σπούδασε τὴν κλασσικὴ φιλολογία καὶ αὐτή. Ἀφοῦ πῆρε τὸ πτυχίο, ἐδίδασκε τὰ Λατινικὰ σ᾽ ἕνα ἰδιωτικὸ λύκειο στὸ Νάσβιλ, Τενεσί. Κατὰ τὴν περίοδον αὐτή, ὁ π. Γρηγόριος, ὁ ὁποῖος ἀνατράφηκε Διαμαρτυρόμενος στὴν Ἀναβαπτιστικὴν ἐκκλησίαν, ἄρχισε νὰ ἀναζητεῖ μία ἐκκλησία πιὸ παρόμοια στὴν ἀρχαίαν ἐκκλησία ποὺ εἶχε γνωρίσει στὶς σπουδές του. Αὐτὴ ἡ ἔρευνα τὸν ὀδήγησε στὴν τοπικὴν Ἑλληνορθόδοξον ἑνορία ὅπου κατηχήθκε καὶ τελικὰ στὴν ἱερατικὴν σχολὴν τοῦ Ἁγίου Βλαδιμήρου στὴν Νέα Ὑόρκη ὅπου τελείωσε τὶς θεολογικές του σπουδές τὸ 2004. Συνέχισε τὶς φιλολογικές του σπουδές στὸ Καθολικὸ Πανεπιστήμιο τῆς Ἀμερικῆς στὴν Γουάσινγκτον καὶ τὸ 2014 ἀναγορεύθηκε Διδάκτωρ Ἑλληνικῆς καὶ Λατινικῆς Φιλολογίας, μὲ εἰδικότητα στὴν Πατρολογία. Ἐνῷ διδακτόρευε, ὁ π. Γρηγόριος ὑπηρετοῦσε ὡς πρωτοψάλτης στὸν Ἱ.Ν. Ἁγίων Ἀποστόλων Πέτρου καὶ Παύλου, Φρέντερικ, Μαίρυλαντ. Ὁ π. Γρηγόριος ἔχει ταξιδέψει ἀνὰ ὅλην τὴν Ἑλλάδα καὶ τὴν Κύπρο γιὰ ἀρχαιολογικὲς σπουδές, συμπεριλαμβανομένων δύο καλοκαιριῶν ποὺ δούλευε σὲ ἀρχαιολογικὲς ἀνασκαφὲς στὴν Κύπρο. Ὁ π. Γρηγόριος μὲ τὴν οἰκογένειά του πέρασαν τὸ 2011-12 στὴν Ἑλλάδα ὅπου συνέγραφε τὴν διδακτορική του διατριβὴ ὡς Ὑπότροφος Φούλμπραϊτ στὴ Γεννάδειο Βιβλιοθήκη τῆς Ἀμερικανικῆς Σχολῆς Κλασσικῶν Σπουδῶν στὴν Ἀθήνα. Συγχρόνως ὁ π. Γρηγόριος συνέχισε τὶς σπουδές του στὴν ψαλτικὴν τέχνην καὶ ἐπέτυχε τὸ Δίπλωμα Βυζαντινῆς Μουσικῆς, ἐπικυρωμένον ἀπὸ τὸ Ὑπουργεῖο Πολιτισμοῦ. Ἀφοῦ ἐπέστρεψε στὴν Ἀμερική, ὁ π. Γρηγόριος ἐδίδασκε ἀρχαῖα ἐπὶ δύο χρόνια στὸ Πανεπιστήμιο Μαίρυλαντ στὸ Baltimore County. Ὁ Σεβάσμιώτατος Μητροπολίτης Νέας Ἰερσέης κ. Εὐάγγελος ἐχείροτόνησε τὸν π. Γρηγόριο εἰς διάκονον στὶς 4 Ὀκτωβρίου 2015 στὸ Φρέντερικ, Μαίρυλαντ, καὶ εἰς ἱερέα στὶς 25 τοῦ ἰδίου μηνός στὸν Ἱ.Ν. Ἁγ. Δημητρίου, Upper Darby. Τὸ 2015-2017 ὁ π. Γρηγόριος ὑπηρέτησεν ὡς ἱερατικῶς προϊστάμενος στὸν Ἱ.Ν. Ἁγίων Μαρίας Μαγδαληνῆς καὶ Μαρκέλλης, Darlington, Maryland. Τῇ 1ῃ Σεπτεμβρίου 2017 ὁ Νέας Ἰερσέης Εὐάγγελος τὸν διόρισε ἱερατικῶς προϊστάμενον τοῦ Ἱ.Ν. Ἁγίου Δημητρίου, Upper Darby. Ὁ π. Γρηγόριος μὲ τὴν Πρεσβυτέραν Αἰκατερίναν ἔχουν πέντε παιδιά.