Our parish

Founded in 2006, the Reigning Mother of God Russian Orthodox Church is a parish of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia (ROCOR), serving the Orthodox faithful of Charlotte and the surrounding communities.

Our founding community brought together descendants of White Russian émigrés, recent immigrants from Russia and Ukraine, Orthodox Christians from Greece, Bulgaria, and Serbia, and Americans who had embraced the Orthodox faith. Nearly twenty years later, our parish life continues to be typified by this rich coming together of people of different backgrounds in service of Christ and one another.

Clergy and parish staff

Rector

Archpriest Alexander Logunov

Archpriest Alexander Logunov was raised in the vibrant Russian Orthodox community of San Francisco, California, where his family was closely connected to the Cathedral of the Icon of the Mother of God “Joy of All Who Sorrow.” His father served as Church Warden under St. John of Shanghai and San Francisco, while his mother, Marina, embraced the Orthodox faith after growing up in Protestantism. Instrumental in the conversions of both Marina and young Alexander was the future Hieromonk Seraphim (Rose), then known as Eugene Rose, who served as godfather and spiritual father to them both and helped establish them firmly in the traditions and spiritual life of the Russian Orthodox Church.

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Following his service in the United States Air Force, Fr. Alexander answered the call to the holy priesthood. Over the course of his ministry, he has served Orthodox communities in Sacramento, California; Mobile, Alabama; and Charlotte, North Carolina, devoting his life to the pastoral care of the faithful and the preservation of the Church's sacred traditions.

Throughout his ministry, Fr. Alexander has been supported by his wife of more than forty years, Matushka Natalie, who also grew up in the San Francisco Cathedral community, where she sang in the choir. For nearly twenty years, Matushka Natalie served as Choir Director at Reigning Mother of God, helping to establish and preserve the parish's rich liturgical and musical traditions. Although she has since stepped back from regular choir direction, she continues to lend her experience and talents to the parish and remains an invaluable resource in matters of liturgical music, festal customs, and parish life.

Fr. Alexander and Matushka Natalie recently celebrated two remarkable milestones: forty years of marriage and thirty years of Fr. Alexander's service in the holy priesthood. Together, their lives bear witness to a lifetime of devotion to Christ, His Church, and the Orthodox faithful entrusted to their care.

Parish Deacon

Deacon John Makarow

Deacon John Makarow was born in São Paulo, Brazil, into a family deeply rooted in the traditions of the Russian Orthodox Church. His father, Andrej, was born into a Cossack family in Rostov, Russia, while his mother, Maria, was born in Zagreb, Yugoslavia, and converted from Roman Catholicism to Orthodoxy following their marriage. Fr. John's paternal ancestors fought for the restoration of an Orthodox Tsar in the aftermath of the Russian Revolution before being forced into exile. Their legacy of faith, perseverance, and devotion to the Church would remain an important part of his family's heritage.

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Fr. John grew up in St. Louis, Missouri, where he attended St. Michael the Archangel Russian Orthodox Church. His family later moved to New York, where he became a parishioner of St. Seraphim of Sarov Church in Sea Cliff, then under the pastoral care of Bishop Mitrophan of Boston. Following in his family's tradition of military service, Fr. John enlisted in the United States Marine Corps in 1975, serving honorably until 1979.

It was at St. Seraphim of Sarov Church that Fr. John met his future wife, Natalie, in October 1989. The couple became engaged in February 1990 and were married in 1991. Together, Fr. John and Matushka Natalie have raised three children, each of whom remains deeply devoted to the Russian Orthodox Church.

In 2014, Fr. John and his family relocated to Charlotte, North Carolina. The following year, he was asked to consider a calling to the holy diaconate. After prayerful discernment, he accepted, initially being told that his ordination would take place in approximately three months. Providence, however, had other plans. Just days later, on October 24, 2015, he was ordained to the diaconate by the ever-memorable Metropolitan Hilarion (Kapral), First Hierarch of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia.

That same day, Fr. John was assigned to the Reigning Mother of God parish, where he has faithfully served ever since, assisting the rector at the holy altar and contributing to the spiritual and communal life of the parish.

Parish Reader, Secretary & Catechist

Reader Benjamin Dixon

Reader Benjamin Dixon is a native of North Carolina and a veteran of both the United States Army and the French Foreign Legion. Raised in a Protestant household, where his father served as an Evangelical pastor, Benjamin's journey into the Orthodox Church began in 2020, when he met his future wife, Catherine. Through this introduction to the ancient faith, he came to embrace the spiritual and liturgical traditions of the Orthodox Church.

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His wife, Catherine, is the daughter of a priest of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia and currently serves as Choir Director at Reigning Mother of God, continuing a family tradition of service to the Church.

In early 2026, Benjamin was tonsured a Reader. In addition to his liturgical responsibilities, he serves as Parish Secretary and Catechist, assisting in the administration of the parish and overseeing its catechetical instruction for those seeking to enter the Orthodox Church or deepen their understanding of the faith.

Reader Benjamin is currently pursuing theological studies through the Orthodox Studies Program at Holy Trinity Orthodox Seminary in Jordanville, New York.