St. Elizabeth the New Martyr Orthodox Church
Staff & Leaders

Archpriest David Straut

Father David is the founding Rector of St Elizabeth's He is a graduate of St Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary in Crestwood, New York (M.Div. 1988). Father David was ordained to the Holy Diaconate and Priesthood in 1986 by Metropolitan PHILIP (Saliba) of the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese and he served as pastor of St Stephen the Protomartyr Orthodox Church in South Plainfield, New Jersey, from 1986-1998. In 1998, Father David transferred to the Eastern American Diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia and was blessed to found St Elizabeth's Orthodox Church in Somerville, New Jersey. Father David and his wife, Matushka Faith, are the parents of five children and grandparents to a growing number of grandchildren.