As dean, Archpriest Kirill Sokolov leads Holy Trinity Cathedral in worshipping God according to the Holy Scriptures and Holy Traditions of the Church, encouraging union with God and among the faithful, coordinating educational and charitable efforts, and ministering to the congregation and wider community.
Father Kirill was baptized as an infant at our sister parish of St. Nicholas in Saratoga, CA. He grew up at seminary and in a number of parishes including Holy Trinity Cathedral, where his father, Archpriest Victor, served as dean from 1991 until his repose in 2006. After college graduation, Kirill worked and attended classes at St. Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary in New York where he met his future wife, Sophia.
Kirill was ordained to the Holy Diaconate by Metropolitan Herman on Three Hierarchs’ Day 2004 with then-Bishop Hilarion (Alfeyev) and more than a dozen priests concelebrating. He was asked to remain a permanent diaconal presence at the seminary. The Holy Synod of Bishops elevated him to the dignity of Protodeacon in 2007, and in 2009, to the office of Archdeacon of the Orthodox Church in America. By 2009, Archdeacon Kirill and Sophia had both graduated seminary, and Father Kirill was serving as Associate Chancellor for Systems and Lecturer in Liturgics at the school. In 2010, the Sokolovs moved back to the Bay Area to be closer to family.
On Bright Saturday 2017, Father Kirill was ordained to the holy priesthood by Archbishop Benjamin. On January 21, 2018, he was appointed Dean of Holy Trinity Cathedral. He also serves as Director of Diaconal and Late Vocations for the Orthodox Church in America and on the Church’s Office of Pastoral Life. Father Kirill received his educational doctorate in organizational leadership from Pepperdine University’s Graduate School of Education and Psychology. Father Kirill was appointed Chancellor of the Diocese of the West by His Eminence, Archbishop Benjamin on July 20, 2022 at the Diocesan Assembly held in conjunction with the 20th All-American Council.
Matushka Sophia grew up in Las Vegas, Nevada, in a non-religious household. During her undergraduate studies at St. John’s College (Santa Fe, NM) she discovered the Orthodox Church and was baptized her freshman year at a nearby Antiochian parish, Holy Trinity Orthodox Church. After graduating with a B.A. in Liberal Arts, she enrolled in St. Vladimir’s Seminary where she earned a M.A. in Theological Studies. While in seminary, Sophia studied liturgical music and directed the seminary mixed choir under the tutelage of Dr. David Drillock and spent summers interning with the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese Department of Youth and Young Adult Ministries. In seminary, she and Fr. Kirill met and were married, devoting many years to the campus community.
Matushka Sophia works as a public health nurse at a middle school in the San Francisco Unified School District. She serves in the Orthodox Church in America’s Department of Liturgical Music and Translations and regularly typesets and arranges music for distribution throughout the OCA.
Father Kirill, Matushka Sophia, and their three children are grateful to God for the parishioners that make Holy Trinity Cathedral their spiritual family.