Brad Rees is a Seminarian at Saint Raphael in formation for Johannite Priesthood. and comes from a diverse religious and spiritual background including bouncing around between different Christian denominations with his extended family while growing up in Pittsburgh, PA. Never finding the right “niche,” Brad described himself starting in his late teens as being an organized Christianity expat and later settling with the moniker of Universal Spiritualist.
While he by no means considers himself “an elder of any sort” or “categorically old,” Brad is already entertaining his second career having previously served 25 years in the U.S. Army. He
Beyond seminary, his research interests include the mystic philosophy of Sant Mat, John of the Cross, and the esoteric aspects of Scottish Rite Freemasonry. He and his wife, Austin, have been married for almost 25 years. They have four children – aged 21, 19, 17, and almost 12.
The ordination will take place during a celebration of the Johannite Gnostic Mass on Saturday, May 10th at Conclave 2025 in Atlanta, Georgia with the Patriarch of the Apostolic Johannite Church presiding and the ordination conferred by the Primate of the United States, Mar Thomas.