Father Paul (Norval) Yerger is pastor of Holy Resurrection Orthodox Church in Clinton, MS. Fr. Paul is a native of Greenville, Mississippi and a graduate of the University of the South, Sewanee, Tennessee. He later earned a Master’s degree in English Literature at the University of Virginia.
Initially, he taught English and French at Lynchburg College in Virginia before enrolling at Nashotah House in Wisconsin, a theological seminary of the Episcopal Church, where he received a Master of Divinity degree. He served as pastor of Episcopal Churches in McComb and Magnolia, Mississippi, before embracing Orthodox Christianity in 1977. After directed study with faculty members of St. Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary in New York, Fr. Paul was ordained priest, and became the first pastor of Holy Resurrection.
Father Paul and his wife, the former Evelyn (Sissy) Gooch of Richmond, Virginia, were married in 1971. They have three adult daughters, Wisdom Yerger and Mary Yerger of Jackson and Mrs. Margaret Elliott of Memphis, and two grandsons, James Rucks Elliott and Paul Hite Elliott of Memphis. Fr. Paul is a humble man with an infectious faith, tremendous love for God and the Orthodox Church. He has many years of valuable experience in parish life and ministry to pass on to the next generation of clergy.