On the weekend of November 3 – 5, 2023, the Greek Orthodox Metropolis of San Francisco Clergy Continuing Education Ministry held its annual Deacon's Retreat with the theme “Let all that you do be done in love.” The retreat was graciously hosted by St. Paul Greek Orthodox Church in Irvine, California, with the enthusiastic support of its proistamenos Rev. Fr. Steven Tsichlis. This is the fourth such retreat held with the blessing of His Eminence Metropolitan Gerasimos in recent years. Participating in the retreat were seven deacons from within the Metropolis of San Francisco and elsewhere, three diakonisses, seven deacon candidates, and approximately 15 other clergy and lay people from the surrounding area. Metropolitan Gerasimos was present through the weekend and offered encouragement and guidance to the participants in his remarks, in which he emphasized the critical role of humble love for others in any service undertaken in Christ's name.

The guest speaker this year was the well-known Hieromonk Seraphim Aldea, the abbot and founder of the Holy Monastery of All Celtic Saints in Scotland. Originally a monk from Moldavia (Romania), he was tasked with founding the first Orthodox monastery in Scotland in over 1,000 years while he was performing his doctoral research in the United Kingdom. Father Seraphim shared his advice for how to strip our egos in order to love God and our brothers and sisters when we serve them, even when they do not treat us with love and respect in return. He also shared the stories of multiple early Orthodox saints from Scotland, such as Saints Columba, Ninian, Brendan, and Oran and how their example shows us how to love Christ and each other. He likewise shared the story of the founding of his monastery and the many blessing from God that have resulted in the establishment now of two monasteries: a men's monastery on the Isle of Iona and a women's monastery on the Isle of Mull.

The weekend included multiple liturgical services and wonderful meals offered the by St. Paul parish. The culmination of the weekend was Hierarchical Divine Liturgy on Sunday morning. Through an intensive mentoring program, distance learning offerings, and a total of three summer sessions on the campus of Holy Cross, the Archdiocesan Diaconate Program introduces candidates to the theology, history, liturgical practices, pastoral approaches, and canonical tradition of the Orthodox Church. The program provides candidates with a cohort of like-minded individuals seeking to prepare themselves for service to the Church. As part of this program, each Metropolis is expected to hold a yearly opportunity for the deacons and candidates to gather.