John Serrati

I was born and raised in Montreal where I attended Roman Catholic primary and secondary school.  And while I remain thankful for the education I received, a trip to the Vatican in 1992, where I witnessed the opulence and splendour of the Church, made me seriously question Catholicism.  I came to the Anglican faith through the Church of St John the Evangelist (the ‘Red Roof Church’) in downtown Montreal.  When I announced that I was moving to Ottawa in 2015, the congregation at St John’s recommended Christ Church to me, and the rest is history. At the Cathedral, in addition to being People’s Warden, I am also a choir dad, as my daughter is a chorister in the Girls Choir.

I identify myself as a Christian Socialist, and I believe deeply that social justice and human rights go hand in hand with faith.  If you are interested understanding how my faith and my politics intersect, then simply read the lyrics to the hymn, Streams of Living Justice.

In my everyday life, I teach in the Department of Classics at the University of Ottawa, where I specialise in Greek and Roman gender.  I was originally educated at McGill, and after graduation I left Canada in to pursue a doctorate at the University of St Andrews in Scotland.  After obtaining my PhD in 2001, I taught at St Andrews for eighteen months, and then moved to Northern Ireland where I taught at The Queen’s University of Belfast.  After nearly a decade away, I returned to Canada in 2004 to take up a position at John Abbott College in Montreal.  In addition of John Abbott, I also spent eight years teaching at McGill before moving to the University of Ottawa in 2015.

Outside of my work and Christ Church, I am a passionate soccer fan (and former player).