Clergy Wives Ministry:
Connect, Encourage, Support
The Clergy Wives Ministry serves as a program of the Office of Pastoral Life, dedicated to connecting, encouraging and supporting clergy wives across the Orthodox Church in America.
Photo credit: OrthodoxRoad.com
St. Olga, Matushka of All Alaska
St. Matushka Olga (Feb. 3, 1916 – November 8, 1979) was a Yup’ik (Native Alaskan) woman who lived in Kwethluk, Alaska. She served as a clergy wife, a midwife and a confidante in her village, caring especially for women. In love and prayer, she supported the spread of Orthodox Christianity. The Orthodox Church in America proclaimed her glorification on November 8, 2023.
Holy Matushka Olga, pray for us.
Learn more about the Glorification of St. Olga.
St. Xenia
Saint Xenia lived during the eighteenth century, but little is known of her life or of her family. She passed most of her life in Petersburg during the reigns of the empresses Elizabeth and Catherine II.
Xenia Grigorievna Petrova was the wife of an army officer, Major Andrew Petrov. After the wedding, the couple lived in Saint Petersburg. Saint Xenia became a widow at the age of twenty-six when her husband suddenly died at a party. She grieved for the loss of her husband, and especially because he died without Confession or Holy Communion…
To continue to learn more about St. Xenia, click here.
Projects
Newsletters
Directories
Clergy Wives Prayer List
Diocesan Point People (DPP)
Retreats & Workshops
Clergy Widows
History of Clergy Wives Ministry
In July 2020, following the first clergy wives online retreat, His Grace Bishop Alexei encouraged the retreat facilitators to form a group representing the voice of OCA clergy wives. With the blessing of Bishop Alexei, eight women volunteered to initiate this group, committing to meet every other week to lay a firm foundation for a new and meaningful initiative within the church.
In the years to follow, through the faithful vision and efforts of six volunteers (Matushka Valerie Zahirsky, Matushka Alexandra Safchuk, Matushka Jennifer Levine, Matushka Wendy Cwiklinski, Matushka Miho Ealy, and Matushka Lela Powell), regular newsletters helped connect clergy wives to one another. Resources, news, book recommendations, and the sharing of prayer requests helped encourage a sense of sisterhood across the Orthodox Church in America. The establishment of Zoom retreats and workshops brought the wives of both priests and deacons together to be strengthened in body, mind and spirit. An intentional ministry to clergy widows was also launched under the watch of this dedicated volunteer committee.
In 2025, Clergy Wives Ministry began a new chapter with the creation of a formal director position, a change representing a systemic investment of the Orthodox Church in America in the 1,200 clergy wives that serve so vitally alongside their husbands to nurture our church. Matushka Carrie Foley was hired into the new role.
Under Matushka Carrie’s directorship, Clergy Wives Ministry is planning its inaugural in-person retreat in 2026, piloting a diocesan Matushki Meet-Up program, and launching the One Book, One Sisterhood program. An exciting redesign of the current website is underway and will highlight both our common bond—our love for our Church and our husbands—and the great variety of ways each of us fulfills our calling. We’re excited to continue to expand our mission to connect, encourage, and support clergy wives as they live out their call to serve Jesus Christ and His people.
Mission
Our mission is to provide relevant, Christ-centered, spiritually-nourishing, and feedback-based programs to connect, encourage, and support clergy wives of the Orthodox Church in America in order to champion their gifts in serving the Orthodox Church.
Purpose
Our purpose is to facilitate programming for clergy wives and to communicate with the administration of the Orthodox Church in America and the other initiatives of the Office of Pastoral Life on the needs and unique challenges of clergy wives.
Vision
Our vision is to be a support to every clergy wife in the Orthodox Church of America.
Empowering Spiritual Caregivers
Upcoming Events
Stay Connected and Engaged with Our Calendar of Events. Explore Workshops, Retreats, and Community Gatherings Tailored to Support Your Spiritual Journey and Professional Development.
Learn more about the Elsie Skvir Ganister Foundation Fund grant received to help fund rooming at our upcoming 2026 in-person Clergy Wives Retreat!
Connect With Us
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Join our contact list to receive notices of events, newsletters, prayer lists, and other relevant communications. We promise not to flood your inbox!
We’d love to have a more complete contact list of clergy wives in the Orthodox Church in America. If you haven’t received communications from us, please submit/update your contact information here: