---

The Very Rev. Dr. Michel Elias Najim is the President of AHOS, Professor of Patristics & Church History at AHOS, Professor of Christian Ethics at PTS, and Director of Saint Maximus the Confessor, former Dean of St. Nicholas Cathedral in Los Angeles, CA. Fr. Michel was born and raised in Beirut, Lebanon, and joined Balamand Ecclesiastical School in 1962 under the tutelage of Patriarch Ignatius IV and graduated from St. John of Damascus Institute of Theology in 1974. He obtained his M.Th.(1976), and his doctoral degree in theology (1985) from the University of Thessalonica, where he studied under Fr. John Romanides and Prof. Nikos Matsoukas, while serving as Dean of the School of Theology in Balamand. After moving to the USA with his family, he worked with the newly converted Evangelical Orthodox at St. Athanasius Academy, from 1987 to 1996. Unassuming in his demeanor, Fr. Michel is a bearer of the authentic Antiochian heritage, a deeply dedicated churchman and scholar. He is personally acquainted with many spiritual and ecclesiastical figures. Throughout his ministry, Fr. Michel has taught thousands of clergy including hierarchs, lay theologians and professors.