On 30 July 2017, at the Orthodox Church of Saint Mark and Saint Hubert in Cusworth Village, Doncaster, during the Sunday morning Liturgy, Abba Seraphim ordained Subdeacon Athanasius Hall to the diaconate and Archdeacon James Maskery to the Sacred Priesthood.

Abba Seraphim noted that by comparison with Father David and himself they represented a new generation of ministry in the church. They will both be attached to the staff of the Church Secretariat, although Father James will also have responsibility for the Charlton Parish. However, they will exercise more than a London-based ministry as they both travel and transport Abba Seraphim to service in other congregations, notably Bournemouth, Chatham and Babingley.

Messages of greeting were received from friends from far away and, in addition to the local Cusworth congregation, some travelled from Sussex, Manchester and mainland China to attend the ordination. Deacon Athanasius’s wife, Rachel, who is currently visiting her family in the Philippines, made a point of attending their local Catholic Church to coincide with the ordinations at Cusworth, so that they could be united in prayer.