Fr. John Seif

      Fr. John Seif was born as Mina Seif in Denver, CO. He moved to Calgary, Canada, with his family where his father earned his PhD degree. Afterwards, they moved to Egypt where Mina graduated from Cairo University as a Civil Engineer.     

      Graduating in the top 1 % of his class, he was handed a tenure track faculty position, where he taught Strength of Materials classes while earning his first MSc degree in Structural Engineering. He came back to the US where he earned another MSc degree followed by a PhD degree in Structural Engineering from the Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, MD. Dr. Seif then worked as a Research Structural Engineer at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in Gaithersburg, MD, where his primary research interests related to the computational assessment of structural performance under extreme loads, particularly under fire-induced heating. 

      Mina Seif served in different ministries in many churches. Namely, he served Sunday school children (grades 5 through 12) for over seven years at St. Mary and St. Athanasius’ Coptic Orthodox Church in Nasr City, Egypt. He also served as the lead servant (ministry coordinator) for middle-school, high-school, and pre-servants ministries for over thirteen years at St. Mary’s Coptic Orthodox Church in Maryland.

      Dr. Seif met his wife, Mary, and later proposed to her in 2012, while she was studying for her MSc degree in Potsdam, Germany. They got married in 2013, and welcomed their son, John (whom Fr. John later adopted his name), in 2016. They later welcomed their new bundle of joy, Joy Seif in 2020.

      Dr. Seif was ordained as the priest of St. George Coptic Orthodox Church of Toledo, OH on June 1st, 2019 as Fr. John, by the Diocesan bishop His Grace Bishop Saraphim (Diocese of Ohio, Michigan, and Indiana), along with their Graces Bishop Youssef and Bishop Basil (Diocese of the Southern United States).

       In addition to liturgical and other ministerial and community services, Fr. John Seif enjoys most outdoor activities including, biking, hiking, camping, fishing, and skiing.