On Sunday, February 15, the Honorable Judge E. Ray Lanier, retired General Counsel of the Orthodox Church in America, was presented the Assembly of Bishops’ Medal of Saint Theodora, “Restorer of Icons” and a patron saint of Orthodox Unity.  The Medal of St. Theodora is an annual award given to one male and one female from among the laity who have made significant contributions to the work of the Assembly and to Orthodox Christian Unity. The award was presented to Judge Lanier at his home parish of St. Innocent Church (OCA) in Macon, Georgia, by Archpriest Theophan Buck, with remarks delivered on behalf of the Assembly of Bishops by William Marianes, Esq.

Judge Ray Lanier has served as Municipal Court Judge in the Monticello and Norcross Municipal Courts in the State of Georgia. He has served as a Professor at the Georgia State Law School and the Georgia State University School of Business Administration. He has served as President of the Georgia Council of Municipal Court Judges, and as mentioned above, labored for many years as the legal counsel for the OCA. He served as a Colonel in the U.S. Marine Corps and was awarded the Bronze Star Medal with Combat for service in Viet Nam.

His Eminence Archbishop Michael, on behalf of the clergy and faithful of the Diocese, extends congratulations to Judge Lanier on receiving the Medal of St. Theodora, asking God’s blessings on him, his wife Patty, and their three children. May God grant them many blessed years!