A Brief Biography of Archpriest Eric George Tosi 

Fr. Eric was born in Passaic, New Jersey, the third of four children of George and Evelyn Tosi. He was baptized in Holy Annunciation Orthodox Church in Clifton, New Jersey where his grandparents were founding members. He grew up in devout Orthodox family in Little Falls, New Jersey. His family moved to Holy Resurrection Orthodox Church in Wayne, New Jersey when he was a youth. He was involved in many youth programs at the Church including working at St. Andrew’s Camp in Jewell, NY (where he met his future wife). 

 He graduated from Passaic Valley High School in 1982 and received an ROTC scholarship to Fordham University in The Bronx, New York. He was involved in many activities while in college, and was appointed commander of the Corps of Cadets in his senior year being the Distinguished Military Graduate. He received a dual BA in Economics and History upon graduation in 1986. He received a Regular Army commission as Second Lieutenant in Armor. Upon completion of various schools, he was assigned to the 1^st Squadron, Second Armored Cavalry Regiment in Bindlach, Germany. His primary job was to patrol the West German border with East Germany and Czechoslovakia. While in Germany, he received Three Army Commendation Medals and One Army Achievement Medal as well as other numerous awards and citations while commanding a tank and scout platoon and as an Executive Officer for a tank company. He also held other staff positions and achieved the rank of Captain. He was present at the fall of the border. He was married in 1988 to the former Christina Lickwar who joined him in Germany.

 Upon completion of his military duty in 1990, he returned to the United States and found a position with Strategic Intelligence Systems in New York City. He was the program director for consultants in 42 counties as well as working on high level business briefs. He then went to work for The Economist Intelligence Unit, part of The Economist magazine, where he was a consultant on international business briefs. He completed a MA in European History from Fordham University in 1993.

 He entered St. Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary in 1993. He was ordained a deacon in 1994 and did his internship at Christ the Savior Orthodox Church in Paramus, New Jersey. He was ordained a priest in 1995 and served as a second priest in his home parish in Wayne, New Jersey for the remainder of his seminary education. He graduated with honors from St. Vladimir’s in 1996 and took an assignment at St. Nicholas of South Canaan Orthodox Mission in Billings, Montana. He was one of the first priests to graduate from the Church Planting Grant Program and in 1999 the fast-growing mission was upgraded to parish status. He also founded missions in Bozeman and Helena, Montana. Fr. Eric was appointed the Director of Communications for the Diocese of the West, which he served until 2001. He also served on the Diocesan Council for a number of years.

Fr. Eric was transferred to St. Paul the Apostle Orthodox Church in Las Vegas, Nevada in 2001. He has served as rector of the parish to the present time. He also was elected President of the Board of Trustees of the Life-Giving Spring Retreat Center in nearby Boulder City, Nevada. He served as President until 2004 and then became Vice-President until the present. Fr. Eric also serves on the Chancellor’s Advisory Committee. St. Paul’s continues to be the largest parish in the Diocese of the West with a highly diverse and active community. Fr. Eric was appointed Chairman of the Department of Evangelization of the Orthodox Church in America in 2001, a position in which he still serves. The primary duties include planning and establishing new missions through North America, coordination of revitalization efforts and introducing new material on evangelization for the Church. Fr. Eric also has taught missions and evangelization at seminaries and to parishes and deaneries throughout North America. He and Matushka Christina have two children, Alexander and Kyra.