​PDN. PETER DANILCHICK

Protodeacon Peter M Danilchick has served domestic and overseas parishes and missions of the Orthodox Church for almost forty-five years, and is presently assigned to St Mary Orthodox Church, Falls Church, VA, OCA Romanian Episcopate. He is also a retired ExxonMobil executive with over three decades of international operations, planning, and management experience, including as President, Exxon China Petroleum & Petrochemical Company, and Vice-President, Planning, ExxonMobil Asia-Pacific Ltd.

His ExxonMobil career was principally focused in the international arena, working in six different countries. At the same time, he worked in the Orthodox Church in these locations, either supporting existing parishes or establishing new missions. He also served on two national church governing boards in the USA and East Asia (Orthodox Church in America and Ecumenical Patriarchate, respectively) as well as the board chairman of the International School of Hamburg, Germany.

He currently serves as Trustee Emeritus of St Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary, a member of the Secretariat for the Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of the USA, and a member of the board of FOCUS North America.

He received Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in electrical engineering at The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art and Syracuse University, respectively. He was recently awarded the degree of Doctor of Humane Letters (D.H.L.), honoris causa, from St Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary. He is the author of "Thy Will Be Done: Strategic Leadership, Planning, and Management for Christians”, published by St Vladimir’s Seminary Press -- https://www.christianleadership.co

Jesus declared: "Behold, I say unto you, lift up your eyes and look on the fields, for they are already white for harvest." (John 4:35) We have enormous unharvested leadership resources in our Church in America. But many are not aware of their calling as leaders. Some may frankly be confused as to just how to lead in the Church and even in the world — as a Christian. The job of the Leadership Initiative is to help Orthodox Christians understand their calling as servant leaders doing God’s will wherever they are, and to help them with practical tools and personal assistance. We desire to be faithful to Jesus' command to lift up our eyes and see the great potential before us — and do something about it.