PALOS HILLS, IL – Father Byron Papanikolaou, who served the historic parish of Sts. Constantine and Helen in Palos Hills, IL for 55 years, passed away on August 11.
In addition to being a renowned cleric, he was a great inspirer, a visionary, and a leader; a mainstay of the parish’s day school, Koraes.
Fr. Byron was one of the few priests who served spent his entire life serving one parish, and he was as faithful and devoted, and steadfast in preserving the Greek language, as anyone.
A loyal and dedicated reader of the Herald, Fr. Byron often impressed us with his knowledge and enthusiasm regarding an array of topics: Greece, our Greek-American community, pedagogy, culture, and, of course, Greek Orthodoxy.
Ten years ago (October, 2005), the Sts. Constantine and Helen community celebrated Fr. Byron’s 45 years there with a moving ceremony. At that point, as TNH reported, he had performed many thousands of sacraments, including having presided over 1891 wedding ceremonies, 3737 baptisms, and 1914 funerals. He had also made, to that point, over 65,000 visits to hospitals, retirement communities, and prisons.
The parish, founded in 1909, is one of the oldest in the United States, and Fr. Byron played a key role in keeping it united, strengthening it, and leading the school to new heights, all culminating in a deserving celebration in 2009 of its first century.
Strongly supporting him throughout his accomplishments were his Presbytera Xanthippe, and his children and grandchildren, all of whom made him proud. His son Aristotle is co-Founder of and a Senior Fellow at Fordham University’s Orthodox Christian Studies Center, where he is the Archbishop Demetrios Professor in Orthodox Theology and Culture.
Father Alexander Karloutsos, who began his career at Sts. Constantine and Helen, expressed to TNH his sorrow for the loss of his friend and mentor.
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