The Priest With Many Parishes
Since his ordination in 1966, Father John Angelis has served in 12 different parishes during 56 years as a Greek Orthodox priest, most of them after he retired in 2007. He and Presvytera Anna continue their service via ZOOM from their home. In his words, “It has been a blessing for us to get to know and serve so many people. Praise be to God."
FR. JOHN’S STORY
John Peter Angelis was born in Tithorea (Fthiotis) Greece, near Amfiklia, on February 14, 1937. He is the sixth of seven children born to Panagiotis and Violetta Angelis and the last surviving member of the family, his younger sister having passed from COVID in 2022.
Panagiotis was wounded in World War I and suffered from emotional trauma from the Turkish slaughter of 1922 all his life. Violetta was very smart and capable with the responsibility of feeding a large family.
Her version of spanakopita was a blend of horta (Swiss chard and other greens between single layers of phyllo dough with a few drops of oil. During World War II the Germans burned the Angelis home and Panagiotis built a bamboo structure in which the family plus paternal grandmother Maria lived. Nearby villagers’ resistance forces would come at night and destroy the rail lines to keep the Germans from bringing supplies to the area. An older brother, Angelis, was wounded during the civil war that followed and the family was forced to leave their village while the national army defended against the communists.
John’s brother Harambalos, an electrician, lived in Atlanti where John was able to attend school through the first year of high school. When Haralambos went into the army, John moved to Amfikleia to finish high school.
John happened to meet an army officer in Atalandi who was planning to raise chickens in Athens and moved to work for the officer. When the business failed, he worked as a delivery clerk from 9 am to 6 pm during the day and attended night school from 7 to 11 pm. The travel by bus and foot began to take a toll on his health. When Haralambos returned from the Army, John was able to finish high school in Atalandi.
He wanted to go to the University but did not have the money to do so. Fortunately, his bachelor uncle Louis Gargalakos who had immigrated to Warren, Ohio, in 1911 and worked on the railroad, helped him. John wrote to his uncle hoping to join him in the United States but didn’t hear back from him for some time. A year later, in 1956, his invitation was accepted, and the uncle sent him money for the ticket.
John’s trip to Warren, Ohio, was a blessing and a culture shock. It was his first time on a boat where he was given sandwiches, milk and soft drinks. He even had a cabin to share. When he landed in New York, a friend from the Atalandi, took hm to the railway station. He recalls seeing his first, small, black-and-white television set. The few words he knew included “bread” and “water.” He had received $20 from his uncle and gave $10 to another immigrant bound for Chicago, Illinois, leaving him with a few dollars to spend.
PRESVYTERA ANNA’S STORY
Anna Avramides was born in Fall River, Massachusetts, on October 8, 1942. Ironically, the family parish was St. Demetrios, as is their parish in Seattle. She recalls babysitting George Stephanopoulos, the TV commentator, as their families were acquainted. Her mother, Efthemia, died when Anna was 15 and her father, Lukianos, when Anna was 28, leaving Anna with her two brothers, Bill, older by nine years, and Steve older by three years. As the little sister, she was often excluded from their activities. She was fortunate to receive a scholarship to Beth Israel, the world-class teaching hospital of Harvard Medical School, from which she graduated with a nursing degree in 1963. During that time her brother, Steve was attending Holy Cross Greek Orthodox Seminary in Boston.
As Anna was able to work part time, she was asked to buy pizzas for her brother. Girls were not allowed on the Holy Cross campus. So, imagine the scene with Anna throwing full pizza boxes over the fence to her brother. During a semester break, her brother invited John Angelis.
Presvytera Anna worked nights at the Children’s Hospital in St. Paul, Minnesota, and when they moved to Seattle in 1993, she worked at the Pacific Medical Center (Pacmed). She laughingly recalls the beautiful view from the Pac Med hillside location while in the ladies’ bathroom. She quit her nursing career when Fr. John began extensive traveling to assist at various parishes.
THEIR LIFE TOGETHER
Anna and John were married on August 30, 1964, in Fall River. They adopted two children, Luke in 1968 and Elizabeth in 1970 before their third child, Theo arrived “as God’s gift” in 1972. As Theo was premature, parishioners looked askance at Anna when she came to Church before the “Σαραντισμός” (Sarantismos), the custom where both baby and mother stay home for 40 days). Luke and Theo live near Pres Anna and Fr. John. Unfortunately, Elizabeth and her two children were lost in a fire in 1998. Elisabeth’s surviving daughter, along with the other four grandchildren are also nearby.
At the seminary, John roomed with Fr. Theodore Stylianopoulos for three years where they both graduated at the top of their class. With the support of two eminent Orthodox theologians, Georges Florovsky and John Romanides, John entered Harvard University where he completed his Bachelor of Divinity degree in 1965. He was ordained as a deacon in 1965 and a priest in 1966. He then received a fellowship to pursue graduate studies in Greece at the University of Thessaloniki. While there, in 1966, with a shortage of priests in the United States, then North America’s Archibiship Iakovos called Fr. John to serve at the St. George Greek Orthodox Church in St. Paul, Minnesota.
The list of the many parishes follows here in Fr. John’s words.
“We started our official service to God’s Churches in this order in the different Communities:
St. George G. O. Church in St. Paul, MN (1966-1975)
Annunciation G. O. Church in Sacramento, CA (1975-1981)
St. George G. O. Church in Fresno, CA (1981-1986)
St. Katherine G. O. Church in Chandler, AZ (1986-1993)
St. Demetrios G. O. Church in Seattle, WA (1993-2007), when I retired.After I retired, I served the following Churches in their transition; their Priest was transferred to another Parish and they were awaiting their new priest.
Saints Constantine and Helen, G. O. Church in Hawaii, HI (2007, just for a month)
St. Nicholas, G. O. Church, Tacoma, WA. (2007-2008)
Holy Trinity G. O. Church, Portland, OR (2008-2009) and in (2013)Saints Constantine and Helen, G. O. Church, Cardiff-by-the-Sea, CA. (2009-2011)
Holy Trinity, G. O. Church, Phoenix, AZ, (2012-2013)
The Life-Giving Spring of the Theotokos Monastery, Dunlap, CA (2013-2014)
St. Nectarios, G. O. Church, Pasco, WA, (2016 to Present). I am serving the Parishioners by Zoom from our home now, since the pandemic.”
REFLECTIONS
Since Orthodox Christianity is the national religion in Greece, the religion and ethnicity are joined together. When Orthodoxy traveled to other countries, (Russia, Ethiopia or Japan) the citizens used the language of that country. This was not the case in the United States where religion and nationality or ethnicity are separate. As “mixed marriages” increased, forcing a non-Greek partner to become Greek was not possible. “If one says they are going to the Greek Church, that is a mistake, if not heresy, as the faith is Orthodox Christianity, independent of any culture or nationality.”
Although Greeks, like other immigrant minorities were not accepted in the United States, Fr. John cannot recall being treated any differently from others. As a Greek, he believes he is respected as he shares the extensive history and culture of his homeland. Had he remained in Greece he would have been a worker of some sort, although there are paths to the priesthood there, but he would not have had the same opportunities he has enjoyed in the United States. Anna’s skin becomes very dark when exposed to the sun and when she first met her in-laws, they asked “Do they have any white people in America?” And, when asked if she had a prika (dowry) to give, she responded, “I am giving him myself.”
Fr. John says, “We are not here for ourselves, but to serve others as did Christ.” He believes people should use the talents God has given them, remember to be kind to others and enjoy the life God has given. “Ta kala kopois ktontai (everything that is good requires work) and the good times will come after we have paid our dues.
“It has been a blessing for us to get to know and serve so many people. Praise be to God.”
By John and Joann Nicon, November 2023
VIDEO SEGMENTS
PHOTOGRAPHS
Pres. Anna and Fr. John, 2023
Panagiotis and Violetta Angelis, 1967
Fr. John’s fin Greece, Violetta at right, 1967
Lukianos and Efthemia Avramides
Anna at graduation from nursing school, 1963
John and Ann Wedding, 1964
Holy Cross graduation certificate, 1962
John at graduation from Holy Cross, 1962
Fr. John’s 50-year certificate, 2016
Fr. John and Anna in Fresno, California, 1981
Fr. John and Anna in Chandler, Arizona, 1990
Fr. John, Anastasia Mallos, and Anna. Portland, Oregon, 2014
Fr John, Fr. Anthony Tomaras, and Fr. Demetrios Dogias, 1990s
Photo 1 by John Nicon, all others from Angelis family collection
SOURCES
Video interview by John and Joann Nicon and Helen Georges. February 2023