Foods in Faith
FOODS in FAITH * TLAA-WINTER
February 8 - 12, 2026*
*This is a 4 night retreat with a full-week stay option. Arrive Sunday evening, depart Thursday morning. You have the option to stay one or two extra nights after your program finishes.
Program is limited to 10 students
Foods in Faith aims to encourage the tradition of foods associated with our worship. Students will learn the theological significance of these sacred foods, as well as how to prepare them. You will participate in the worship life of TLAA-WINTER and the fruits of your labors will be offered in prayer during Friday evening vespers and Saturday morning liturgy.
Instructor: Presvytera Meredyth Houpos
Inspirational Teaching with: Fr. Andreas Houpos
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PROSFORA
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KOLIVA
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ARTOKLASIA
About this Academy
Logistics
You will learn to bake Prosforon and Artos (The Five Loaves) and prepare Koliva for memorials.
These offering foods will be used during the Vespers, Liturgy and a Memorial services that the Chant Academy will be praying during these days.
Students will enjoy the peaceful setting of the Diakonia Retreat Center, visit the iconography workshop, attend church services, eat meals together with the other students; maybe even canoe and fish.
You may be asked to bring a stand mixer if you are driving to the Diakonia Retreat Center.
Lodging
As you register, you will be asked for your lodging preferences. However, Initially you will be invoiced at the BASE RATE for LODGE SINGLE and later the appropriate adjustments will be applied to your invoice, based on your lodging assignment. We will do our best to accommodate your preferences.
Note that the facilities at the DRC necessitate that we consider many factors when assigning lodging —such as how many women and men register, consideration for physical limitations, or if we have married couples. There are more lodge rooms than cabins, so most students will be housed in the lodges. Cabins usually fill quickly, are subject to availability, and are prioritized for married couples.
You will be notified of your assignment about 2 months before the Academy starts. In some cases, we might need to make a change to your lodging assignment to appropriately accommodate the entire group. Please be patient with us; it’s a little like a game of Tetris!
More Business
A $200 Deposit is required to confirm your registration.
After you submit your application, we will send you an invoice and information on how to pay your deposit, shuttle fee, etc.
For students who are flying in, you may want reserve the airport shuttle that goes from the DRC to GSP airport. Please read our Travel Page for more details.
Cancellation Policy:
Before December 20 is eligible for a refund less a $100 administrative fee.
December 20 - January 10 during these dates is eligible for a refund less the $200 deposit.
After January 10 is not eligible for a refund. If we can fill your spot before the event, you may be eligible for a refund less $200.
TRAVEL INSURANCE -- In light of these terms, you may want to consider purchasing Travel Insurance from a third party vendor.
What to Bring
We will provide all the ingredients and specialized equipment needed to share for your program. But we encourage you to bring the following items*:
Mixing bowls (med, large)
Whisk, spatula, wooden spoons
Rolling pin
Measuring cups for liquid and dry ingredients
Small decorative bowl or platter with sides for Koliva
Digital scale
Tea towels
And these items are optional:
Mortar and pestle (optional)
Prosphoron stamp (optional, see below)
Stand mixer** with dough hook (optional, see below)
Books, crafts, walking shoes, etc. (see below)
*If you do not have some of the required items, please let us know and we will be sure to have them for you.
**If you can bring a stand mixer, please let us know. Stand mixers are recommended for artos because hand kneading this particular dough will be difficult. We will have mixers to share, but a few extras would be appreciated. But please be sure that your stand mixer has the dough hook, because that is what you will be using.
We will have some Prosphora stamps from Image and Likeness Iconography available for sale. You can view what they have in their shop here: https://www.imageandlikeness.com/the-home-church/
Quote Source
“Presbytera Meredith was a knowledgeable, wonderful teacher. I really enjoyed her classes.”
Quote Source
“The whole week was a treat and I’m thankful I was able to attend. I especially appreciated Father Andreas taking time to teach us about the liturgical use of the foods; it’s helpful to understand the what, why, and how these foods are used in the service. Thank you.”
