The Very Reverend John Scollard
The Very Reverend John Scollard fell asleep in the Lord on the afternoon of Friday, May 31, 2024. His repose, though unexpected, was tranquil and swift, an apt answer to that petition he prayed as a priest for so many decades: a Christian ending, painless, blameless, and peaceful.
Born in Oakland, California into a faithful Roman Catholic family, the future Fr. John’s studies in education, psychology, and religion took him to the Midwest. There in 1972, he and Dianne were received into the Orthodox Church, married, and Fr. John was soon ordained to serve the community of St. Elias in La Crosse, Wisconsin.
A hiatus from pastoral service took this young couple to England for some years, where Fr. John was proud to call Metropolitan Anthony Bloom a mentor and St. Sophrony his spiritual father. Returning to the United States, he and Prifteresha Dianne put down roots in Massachusetts, establishing together a successful psychology and counseling practice which aided and comforted many, steering them through this life’s turbulence and strife.
Introduced to the Albanian Orthodox Archdiocese initially as a fill-in priest, Fr. John and Prifteresha Dianne recognized swiftly that this temporary service at St. John the Baptist in South Boston could be so much more. And for the next 33 years, it was. In 1980, Fr. John requested and received release from the Patriarchate of Antioch and became the pastor of St. John’s where he was a beloved father of the community, weaving together life-long members, new immigrants, Albanians, converts, and all those who sought a shared family of faith.
Tragically, the parish was decimated by fire in 2013, and he then undertook yet another challenge of helping his people grieve, hope, plan and, ultimately, integrate into the archdiocesan cathedral of St. George and other local Orthodox parishes. He remained attached to St. George Albanian Orthodox Cathedral, proudly and fiercely beloved as its honorary dean, until his falling asleep.
May Fr. John, friend of the lonely, father to many, a counselor and compassionate guide to those seeking Christ’s holy things, rest with the just, and may his memory be eternal! I përjetshëm kujtimi!
A lover of all God’s bounty and all of God’s creatures, Fr. John will be best honored by donations made in his memory to local food banks and animal shelters, that care for others may continue. His family and friends request that you exercise your generosity in these ways rather than with flowers.
Fr. John’s Funeral Service for a Priest, Viewing, and Divine Liturgy at St. Mary's Assumption Albanian Orthodox Church, 535 Salisbury St, Worcester, MA have been held. Fr. John was laid to rest in Groton Cemetery. Arrangements by McGaffigan Family Funeral Home, Pepperell. Please see www.McGaffiganFuneral.com for online guestbook.