Father Athanasius has Passed

 

My younger sister let me know yesterday (October 11^th, 2026) that Fr. Athanasius Wilson had passed in his sleep… at 94 years of age!

My mind rewinds 31 years and I am a university student commuting to Bloomington, IN to finish pre-med requirements.  I’d already spent 2 years overseas in the Army and then finished my degree at Indiana Wesleyan upon my return, but when I decided I wanted to try to go to medical school I had academic gaps to fill.  IU was the place to make that happen.

That summer of ‘95 I visited a friend who was still attending Indiana Wesleyan and we hung out at the house he shared with some other students.  One of his former roommates had transferred to Wheaton College where a group of them had started looking into the Orthodox Church as a little known (to them) but ancient expression of the Christian Faith.  Apparently it generated some negative buzz in the administration/staff considering Wheaton is a premiere Evangelical institution of higher education.  As a result, there was an Orthodox periodical on the kitchen table that I thumbed through and then started reading.  The more I read, the more intrigued I became.

Back home I looked in the Bloomington phonebook for an Orthodox Church and found “All Saints” with a name and number there: Fr. Athanasius Wilson.  I called the number and his wife picked up.  I asked to speak with “Father Wilson”.  I heard her lower the phone and call out in a kind of sing-songy tone “Father Wilson, there is someone to speak with you.”  Having never talked to an Orthodox person before I was unaware that you address a priest with his saint’s name and not his family name and Loretta was being playful with it.  I told him about my recent discovery and desire to learn more and he invited me to come to the church where we could talk some more.  He also encouraged me to “come and see” by attending a service.

In the next few months I met with him in his church office to ask questions which is where I first met Subdeacon Dan who sometimes joined us.  At some point I met Father at a Thai Restaurant for lunch near campus where we had the buffet.  At our next meeting he chuckled about it and said the Thai food had not agreed with him and Loretta had forbade him from ever returning there.  I attended my first service on a Saturday evening (Vespers) because on Sunday morning I was still attending our local Wesleyan Church.  Entering that sacred space with flickering candles, the smell of incense, and the mysterious images of Christ and the saints surrounding me was like nothing I’d ever experienced before.  I was hooked.

After 2 years I moved to Indianapolis to attend medical school and when I got married we invited Father Athanasius to participate in the ceremony at Ss. Constantine & Elena.  I only saw him a handful of times after that due to moving out of state, but whenever we saw each other there was always a feeling of deep joy and love.

An interesting aside, when I met him in 1995 he appeared to me to be an “old man”.  I would have never guessed that 30 years later in my own “old age” he would still be with us.  He labored long in his role as a priest and spiritual father.  May his memory be eternal.

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