The Sharing of Sacred Space,Sacred Objects, and Holy People in the Byzantine Mediterranean

Fr Dcn. David-John Williams is the parish Deacon at Saint Petka Serbian Orthodox Church in San Marcos, San Diego California.Dcn David and his wife Lauren have two young children Zoe and Theodore. Both Lauren and David work in the area as educators. In addition to his diaconal ministry Dcn David is Assistant Professor of History at the University of Saint Katherine San Diego and a post-graduate researcher at the Hellenic Institute at Royal Holloway University of London. His Phd research concerns the sharing of sacred space, sacred objects and holy people in the Byzantine Mediterranean. Born and raised in the U.K Dcn David’s original training was as a musician and was brought to the US on an entertainment visa by Warner Bros music as a professional musician for several years. While working in that capacity he became involved in fashion and design, designing shoes for a high end Italian designer and eventually moving into haute couture women’s wear. His experience in the design and textile world led to his recruitment by Riza orthodox vestments, a ministry of the Serbian Orthodox Diocese of Australia and New Zealand:a position he has held since 2014.