Saint Anna Seminarians

Christian Burkhard

Christian is currently a Senior in the Religious Studies Program at Hellenic College.  He intends to pursue a Masters in Divinity at Holy Cross upon graduation.  His path of study is to prepare for ordination, although he remains open to whatever God has in store.  Christian lives in the campus dormitory as do many of the students which has afforded him the opportunity of establishing good friendships, not to mention that it’s been a unique experience to say the least!

This past summer, Christian participated in a short term mission to Albania, traveled to Greece and the Skete of St. Anna on Mount Athos, and again had the opportunity to serve the San Francisco Metropolis alongside fellow seminarians as a youth counselor at Saint Nicholas Ranch in Dunlap CA.

On the forefeast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross in 2010, Christian received the School Cross from His Eminence Archbishop Demetrios and was formally recognized as a seminarian.

Yianni Smyrni

Yianni is 2010 Graduate of Hellenic College with a degree in Religious Studies and a minor in Modern Greek. He is beginning his second year of graduate studies at Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology. Yianni is married with 6 children and prior to entering seminary he worked in the counseling field with focus on helping families and individuals recover from addictions. He works his summers as a Program Coordinator for the Saint Nicholas Ranch Summer Camp.

Yianni has been an advocate of “faith-based” recovery programs and has spoken to Congress and various federal and state sponsored conferences around the country. Both he and his wife, Kirsten, have been advocates for The National Center on Child and Family Welfare.

His hope is to be ordained to the priesthood and serve the Holy Greek Orthodox Metropolis of San Francisco.

Nicholas Mueller

Nick is a 2010 graduate of UC Berkeley with a bachelors in English and a minor in Creative Writing. He will be entering his first year of graduate studies at Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology this fall. Prior to attending Holy Cross Nick worked with Michelle Hawe as a GOYA Advisor, with several nonprofit organizations as a grant writer, and as a counselor at St. Nicholas Ranch Summer Camp with Ron Burkhard, Michelle Hawe, and Yianni Smyrni.

His experiences this past year with the GOYA and St. Nicholas Ranch Summer Camp lead him to apply to seminary. His hope is to delve into his faith and to become better equipped to serve the church and his community in whatever capacity the Lord see’s fit.