Fr. Matthew Thurman graduated with a Masters of Divinity from Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology in 2006 and a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy from the University of Central Arkansas in 1989. Fr. Matthew was ordained to the priesthood by His Grace Bishop BASIL on Sunday, July 10, 2005 (Feast of St. Joseph of Damascus) at St. George Antiochian Orthodox Christian Cathedral in Worcester, MA. Prior to that, Fr. Matthew was ordained to the Diaconate by His Eminence Metropolitan PHILIP on Sunday, December 5, 2004 (Feast of St. Savva) at The Church St. John of Damascus in Dedham, MA.

Prior to attending seminary, Fr. Matthew worked for the University of Kansas in Lawrence, Kansas for over eight years, first in grant administration, then in information technology, as a certified public manager (CPM). He was baptized as an adult in a mainline Protestant denomination in 1989 and was Chrismated into the Orthodox Church in 1998. Fr. Matthew has been married to Kh. Rachel for over eight years and they have two boys: Benjamin and Abraham.