Constantina R. Palmer lives with her husband, an Orthodox priest, in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador in Canada, serving the Holy Lady of Vladimir (OCA) Orthodox Mission, the only Orthodox parish on the island of Newfoundland. She teaches Sunday School to children of various ages, striving to present the great mysteries of the Orthodox faith in a form and context they can grasp. She is also a social worker with the provincial government’s social housing corporation.
Prior to moving to Newfoundland she and her husband lived in Thessaloniki, Greece for almost six years, during which time she received her Master’s degree in theology from Aristotle University. Her thesis, entitled “The Presuppositions of the Orthodox Iconographer according to the Stoglav Council (Moscow 1551)”, focused on the theology of icons. During her time in Greece she also studied Cretan style iconography as well as Byzantine chant and frequently visited Greek Orthodox women’s monasteries.
Deeply impacted by what she saw, heard and experienced working alongside female “frontline soldiers of Christ” she wrote down her experiences in The Scent of Holiness: Lessons from a Women’s Monastery (2012) published by Ancient Faith Publishing. As she strongly identifies with being a storyteller and finds meaning in drawing out spiritual lessons from all the ups and downs of life, she wrote a second book, The Sweetness of Grace: Stories of Christian Trial and Victory (2017). This book contains stories, conversations and lessons from her experiences living and making pilgrimages in South Korea, Greece, and North America. In addition to these works she is the author of Out of the African Lands: The Story of St. Perpetua and Her Companions (2015), a historical fiction novella published by Lumination Press.
She has spoken at various retreats, conferences and parishes throughout North America on a variety of topics. She loves the Orthodox faith and its expression through word, colour and music.
