The Compassionate Russian Priest

Fr. Basil Karpelinia (1926-2006)

I have always had a genuine affection for Eastern Orthodox Christianity, and for a short time in 2004 we attended an Antiochian Orthodox parish, St. Nicholas in Pinellas Park, FL, regularly.   If you know my history, I was part of a movement of Evangelical and Pentecostal Christians who rediscovered the ancient Church and its liturgy and traditions, and several like-minded people, beginning in the late 1980's, were attracted to the Antiochian Orthodox Church and its American parishes.  Although I never formally became an Orthodox Christian (instead, I was chrismated a Maronite-rite Catholic in 2000, although currently I am working with the Anglican Catholic Church), we nonetheless attended the Orthodox parish for a short time and got to know many good people, including a very godly Palestinian Arab subdeacon, Najib Jacob, as well as other clergy and laity.  One of the the most phenomenal priests in that particular parish though was a septagenarian Russian-American priest by the name of Fr. Basil, and it is he that I wish to devote some time to now.

Fr. Basil was originally from Pennsylvania, where he was born on September 22, 1926.  After graduating from St. Vladimir Seminary in 1950 (after which he was ordained to the presbyteriate), and later from the University of Michigan with a teaching degree in 1972, he served in a variety of capacities, including a very fulfilling tenure helping those in bondage to alcohol and drug addictions.  Although of Russian heritage, Fr. Basil served in the Antiochian Orthodox tradition either pastoring parishes or in other capacities of ministry for over 50 years.  In addition, he was a Naval veteran of World War II and had quite a legacy of helping curb delinquency in youth.  He served parishes in seven states, and his ministerial record alone, which he balanced with a wife and four children, merits his being considered a true man of God.  I gleaned a lot of this biographical information from his obituary published in 2006 in the Las Vegas Review-Journal, and am grateful for having access to that. 

A younger picture of Fr. Basil

Fr. Basil (on the right in the black raisa) attending the ordination of a good friend of ours, Fr. Joe Ciarciaglino, who was at one time our deacon in a Byzantine Catholic parish we attended.  The priest of the host parish (Holy Trinity Russian Orthodox Church in Safety Harbor, FL), Fr. Peter Tutko, is on the far left.

I got to know Fr. Basil after we began attending St. Nicholas, and grew to love him like a father - he had a big heart, and I remember him always greeting me with a big hug and a "God bless you!".  As an orator, he pulled no punches though - he was a committed traditionalist, although he also had a great love and respect for faithful Protestants and Catholics that was generally free of the elitism one often encounters with some Orthodox clergy, and he told me once that Billy Graham gave him some good sermon ideas!  He was also willing to talk to anyone who engaged him in conversation, and his down-to-earth Slavic warm-heartedness was an endearing quality.  That is why I personally believe he touched a lot of the troubled youth he reached out to in his earlier ministry, due to the fact he was honest but compassionate.  Although by the time we got to know Fr. Basil, he was essentially retired from the priesthood, he was nonetheless still reaching people with the witness of his own life. 

Fr. Basil passed away about a year after we left St. Nick's, and I only heard about his repose later.  However, he left a rich legacy behind, and as far as I can ascertain (although I could be wrong) his dear widow Loretta is still the choirmistress at St. Nick's even today.  I also believe personally his eternal reward will be great too, as he had a real heart for the people he reached, and those same people loved him dearly too.  I guess in a way he kind of reached me too, as it made me appreciate the Orthodox Church more even at a time I was having some conflicts with certain attitudes among other Orthodox I encountered then.  Rest eternal, Fr. Basil, and it was such a blessing to get to know you.