One of my genealogical threads is Welsh and I’ve been interested in my Celtic background since childhood. In 2016 I received the M.A. in Celtic Studies with distinction from the University of Wales Trinity St David, Lampeter. I studied Welsh on my own during those graduate studies, and then discovered Cymdeithas Madog purely by a random web search, attended my first Cwrs Cymraeg, and I continue to learn the language and the culture. I teach a course in Celtic Folklore at New Mexico State University and hold “Beer and Bards” twice a month at a local pub, reading folk tales from Celtic lands. I have an extensive background in undergraduate and graduate study of languages, including Greek, German, Hebrew and French.
My family includes wife Susan Steinhaus and five adult children who live all over the US and in Prague, Czech Republic. I am serving as priest of St Anthony of the Desert Orthodox Church, Mesilla Park, New Mexico, and on the faculty of St. Sophia Ukrainian Orthodox Seminary, South Bound Brook NJ, but finally about to retire. I haven’t been to Wales in decades and am hoping for an extended trip yet this year, at the latest in 2026.