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On [[August 28]], 1994, Bishop [[Antoun (Khouri) of Miami|Antoun (Khouri)]] ordained Dcn. Thomas to the [[priest]]hood, and Fr. Thomas served as assistant pastor at his parish in Houston until August of 1996, when he was appointed pastor of St. Nicholas Antiochian Orthodox Christian Church in Pinellas Park, Florida (near St. Petersburg).
Between 1996 and his consecration to the episcopacy, Fr. Thomas served in multiple capacities aside from his work as a pastor. He was an appointed member of the Archdiocese Youth Department Board; Spiritual Advisor to the Teen SOYO (Society of Orthodox Youth Organization) Southeastern Region; Chairperson of the Tampa Bay Orthodox Clergy Association; Director of Programs in Pastoral Bioethics for the International Academy of Bioethics and Philosophy of Medicine in the United States; Speaker at Braunels, Germany, and at City University of Hong Kong on Bioethics; author of published articles on Christian Bioethics; Speaker at Antiochian Village and third session camp priest for many years; past President and Vice President of the Tampa Bay Council of Orthodox Churches. In July 2002, Fr. Thomas was granted a Master of Arts degree in Applied Orthodox Theology jointly from the Antiochian House of Studies and the St. John of Damascus School of Theology of the University of Balamand in Lebanon. In August of 2006, Bishop THOMAS was awarded a Doctorate in Education from California Coast University.
On [[February 15]], 2004, Fr. Thomas was elevated to the rank of [[archimandrite]] by Bp. Antoun, and on [[December 5]], 2004, he was consecrated to the [[bishop|episcopacy]] by [[Patriarch]] [[Ignatius IV (Hazim) of Antioch]] in Damascus, Syria.
Bp. Thomas was enthroned as Bishop of Oakland and the East at St. George Cathedral in Pittsburgh (Borough of Oakland), Pennsylvania, on [[May 6]], 2005. In August of 2006, Bishop Thomas was awarded a Doctorate in Education from California Coast University. His Grace's residence is at the [[Antiochian Village]] in Ligonier, Pennsylvania.
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==Reference==
*[http://web.archive.org/web/20050312165458/http://www.stnicholasaoc.com/Biography_of_Father_Thomas/biography_of_father_thomas.htm Biography of Father Thomas Joseph]
==External links==
