Spirit of Hope and Commitment to Rebuilding Pervades St. Spyridon

NEW YORK –  While the proud and historic parish of St. Spyridon in Washington Heights can be called a wounded community after the dramatic and sudden downfall of its pastor, the now-defrocked George Passias, the celebration of its Feast Day on December 12 with a Divine Liturgy led by Archbishop Demetrios and a luncheon hosted by its Philoptochos chapter is evidence of healing and hope for the future.

Father Evagoras Constantinides, who was assigned to minster to the current needs of St. Spyridon, told the congregation “I thank each of you for your love and support.”

During the luncheon that followed the liturgy, Archbishop expressed his faith in the historic community, and during his sermon he highlighted the life of St. Spyridon. Noting the violence and other dangers in the world and the threats to the health and well-being of individuals, he said of the beloved Saint “1700 years later he continues to make miracles for people in need and in danger.”

A brilliant man who contributed to the theology of the First Ecumenical Council, St. Spyridon was of humble origins. “He was a shepherd, but God told him to become a shepherd of men.”

The Archbishop called out the visiting clergy by name saying “It is good for you to know their names – they are the good shepherds. Fr. Chrysostomos Gilbert, Chrysostomos Panos, Fr. Elias Villas, Fr. Constantine Combitsis, Archdeacon Panteleimon Papadopoulos, and Deacon Eleftherios Constantine. Among them were Metropolitan Philotheos, who had served as a pastor at St. Spyridon and was a special guest.

The nave beneath the great dome was filled with parishioners past and present. Konstantina Dakas, who has lived in the neighborhood all her life, told The National Herald that the church was completely packed the night before for vespers with Metropolitan Evangelos of New Jersey, a proud son of the parish, presided. “Everyone was filled with excitement and hope for the community,” she said.

Nikitas Drakotos is one of a number of St. Spyridon stalwarts who was asked to return the parish council in the community’s time of need after the scandal involving Passias led to the dissolution of the prior council. Having served as president twice in its glory days in the 1960s and later in the 1980s, he and the others are happy to dedicate themselves to re-building their beloved parish.

Former PC President  Steve Hantzarides told TNH “I think the great Saint is asking us in this period of testing how much do we want to maintain our Church and community in Washington Heights. Now we just have to double down and move forward. There is a lot of change for the good in the neighborhood, and I think that under Fr. Evagoras’ leadership, for however long he will be here, the feeling is good in the community.”

Lydia Vagelos-Callimanis, past Philoptochos president and the newly-appointed PC President, said to the Archbishop during the luncheon, “your presence brings the love, peace, and reconciliation that our parish so deeply needs.”

She expressed her appreciation and admiration for the Philoptochos “teams” she has worked with and described projects including a feed a hungry program that sends a “pop-up” restaurant to Penn Station each month that feeds 150 people.

Vagelos-Callimanis and thanked the Archbishop for sending them Fr. Evagoras, “such a young, dynamic, and faithful servant” of Christ, and declared, “Our main short term goal is to heal and unite the parish…we stand united and strong in taking this community into its next chapter,” she said to applause.

The chapter president Elizabeth Katechis thanked the guests for attending and called on St. Spyridon to bless everyone in the room the way she has been since she was a child, and Direct Archdiocesan District Philoptochos President Jennifer Constantin spoke about the work of the organization.

Fr. Evagoras, addressing the luncheon guests, testified to the parish’s important place in the history of the Greek Orthodox Church in American by noting that at one point 15,000 Greeks lived in Washington Heights and said, “in my service for the Archdiocese, everywhere I go, I meet people who have passed through the ve4ry doors we passed through today – people born, baptized and married here…and while our numbers are now fewer, our faith and our love is full.”

Addressing the challenge and opportunity he and his flock face, he continued “as we celebrate this Feast Day, we have a long road ahead of us, a mission of restoration…faith…and love and it is only with the guidance and love of His Eminence that we will be able to accomplish the great feats we have before us. I thank you for welcoming myself, my wife and my son into your community and I hope and pray that together we can do whatever we can, siga siga” – slowly by surely – “with patience and love to do the right things, not only for ourselves, but for the Church.”

During his luncheon remarks the Archbishop thanked everyone and offered special acknowledgement to Fr. Evagoras, the son and grandson of distinguished priests, and to Vagelos-Callimanis and Ketechis.

Expressing his support for St. Spyridon and his faith in the future, The Archbishop put the proud history of the parish in a larger context.

“We are the carriers of this unique and wonderful thing, which is Orthodoxy,” and Hellenism. “Our history is something we should be thankful and proud of,” praise echoed by all the Presidents of the United States he has met.

But they added a challenge to the compliment. “Because we have these two tremendously important realities that you are carriers of, the presidents – Clinton, Bush, and Obama, said ‘we expect your contribution to confronting and resolving issues in the United States. We want you to bring this treasure to dealing with the difficult problems we are dealing with.”

“St. Spyridon is part of this tremendous legacy,” he said.

Apropos of the celebration of a parish with a proud Greek education history, he praised the Greek-speaking ability of Deacon Eleftherios. “He is a fourth generation Greek-American, who proves it is not impossible” for his peers to speak Greek. “It takes time, effort, will, and some recognition of what is beautiful and irreplaceable,” he said.

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