Curated by Dr. William Samonides and Dr. Regina Samonides
The special St. Photios Greek Orthodox National Shrine exhibit, Pioneering Priests in America, has received multi-generational attention. Visitors have a personal connection to this pictorial essay of the early priests, those who prior to the 1922 incorporation of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, came to serve the faithful in the Western Hemisphere. The exhibit will continue through January 2016. There are many individuals, parishes, and institutions we must thank as we encourage you all to visit the exhibit in person or on line at www.stphotios.org.
First, thank you to Sophia Gregory and her daughters, Beth Gregory and Elizabeth Bisbikis who in 2005, donated the ecclesiastical items used by Sophia’s father, the Reverend Father Gregory N. Eliades of White Cloud, Michigan when he came to America in 1900. This family and their story spurred historians, Drs. William and Regine Samonides to encourage the Shrine to work with them to procure a Leadership 100 grant to create the exhibit which continues to grow as more information is submitted from families and parishes. The St Photios Foundation is ever grateful to this resourceful, energetic couple who have brought an excitement for family history to a new level. They were very thoughtful and thorough in providing the names of those who contributed to this effort. We recognize with gratitude Rev. Nicholas Verdaris, Holy Trinity Church, Little Rock, AR; Rev. James C. Pappas, Saint George Church, Fresno CA; Rev. Anastasios Gounaris, Saint Nicholas Cathedral, Tarpon Springs FL; Rev. Nicholas W. Jonas, Saints Constantine and Helen Church, Palos Hills IL; Rev. Athanasios DeMedeiros, Saints Constantine and Helen Church, Palos Hills IL; Rev. George Wilson, Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Cathedral, New Orleans LA; Rev. Cleopas Strongylis, Annunciation Cathedral, Boston MA; Rev. George D. Tsoukalas, Saint George Church, Lynn MA; Rev. Christopher Stamas, Saint George Cathedral, Springfield MA; Rev. Dean Paleologos, Saint Spyridon Cathedral, Worcester MA; Rev. Basil B. Arabatzis, Saint Demetrios Church, Saco ME; Rev. Mark Sietsema, Holy Trinity Church, Lansing MI; Rev. Elias (Lewis) Warren, Assumption Church, Bayard NE; Father Robert J. Archon, Saint Nicholas Church, Portsmouth NH; Rev. Conan Gill, Saint George Church, Albuquerque NM; Rev. Christos B. Christakis, Annunciation Church, Buffalo NY; Rev. Nicholas Gamvas, Saint Haralambos Church, Canton OH; Rev. Dean Dimon, Annunciation Church, Cleveland OH; Rev. Paul T. Paris, Holy Trinity Cathedral, Portland OR; Rev. Alexander Veronis, Annunciation Church, Lancaster, PA; Rev. Andrew G. George, Annunciation Church, Cranston RI; Rev. Aristotle W. Damaskos, Holy Trinity Church, Charleston SC; Rev. Stavros Ballas, Annunciation Church, Chattanooga TN; Rev. Dean W. Kouldukis, Assumption Church, Seattle WA; Rev. Photios Dumont, Saint Demetrios Church, Seattle WA and Rev. Peter N. Papademetriou, Saint Spyridon Church, Sheboygan WI. We thank parish secretary Stephanie and Thimia Kazilonis of St Demetrios, Saco, ME; Angelika Anderson from NJ and Charleston, SC; Clifford and Theodora Argue, Saint Demetrios Church, Seattle WA; Carol Jorgensen, Jean Atheneos, Odettey Menedis Graf for the information regarding Father Menedis; Xenophon Beake, Saint George Cathedral, Springfield MA; Elizabeth Bisbikis, White Cloud, MI; Chris Brous of CT; Alexander Calogeridis, Saint Demetrios Church, Rocky River OH; Eric Casanave, Holy Trinity Church, Altoona PA; Jim Chiamardas, Koimisis Tis Theotokou Church, Erie PA; Nitsa Demos and Others from Charleston SC; Cathy Donath, daughter of Fr. Michailides, Cape Cod, MA; Stephen Georgeson, Annunciation Cathedral, Atlanta GA; Anna Sophocles Hadgis of PA; Bessie Hotis, Holy Trinity Cathedral, Phoenix AZ; George Koutras, Silver Spring MD, Georgia Liapes, Holy Trinity Cathedral, Portland OR, Jim Lucas, Greek Historical Society of the San Francisco Bay Area, San Francisco CA; Stephanie Chapralis McCaffrey, Santa Rosa CA; Barbara Manos, Westfield NJ; Dennis Menos, Saint Sophia Cathedral, Washington DC; Emanuel [Manny] Mihailides, Providence RI; Katherine Stathis & Elaine Moulos, Ascension Cathedral, Oakland, CA; Dr. Sandra J. Pakes, San Antonio TX; Aphrodite and Anna Pappas, Saint Andrew’s Church, South Bend, IN; John Papson, Hellenic College Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology, Brookline MA; Rosa Paulatos, Holy Trinity Church, Charleston SC; Stephanie Pulakis Stafford & Penny Peppes, Assumption Greek Orthodox Church, Seattle WA; Aristides Phoutrides, Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Cathedral, Portland OR; Ted Poledor, Saint Andrew’s Church, South Bend, IN; Katherine M. Pomonis, Santa Fe, NM; Nicholas M. Prevas, Annunciation Cathedral of Baltimore, MD; William Rekouniotis, Holy Trinity Church, Salt Lake City UT; Greg Stamos, Holy Trinity Church, Ansonia CT; Helen and Jim Vardarkis, Bayonne NJ; Daphne Pavlides Vaccarello, VA; Nickolas Vosinas, Saint Demetrios Greek Orthodox Church, Perth Amboy NJ; Stephanie Withers, Saint Haralambos Greek Orthodox Church, Canton OH; Penny Zavichas, Saint John the Baptist Church, Pueblo CO; Helen Condes Zervakis, Chicago Heights, IL; and Dr. Nikitas Zervanos, Annunciation Church, Lancaster PA.
Other resources came from the staff at the public libraries of Biddeford, ME, Lynn, MA, Springfield, MA (Sheila Green), Omaha, NE (Martha Grenzeback & Lynne Sullivan), and Pueblo, CO (Maria Tucker). Thank you to Laura Hummer of Nashotah House, Nashotah, WI and Adam Strohm, Newberry Library, Chicago, IL. Special thanks to Nikie Calles, Director of the Archives Department at the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America; Anne Reece, Acquisitions Librarian of the Archbishop Iakovos Library of HCHC; and finally to Paulette Poulos, Executive Director of Leadership100 whose faith in the righteousness of this project encouraged L100 to provide the 2014 grant monies to see this to fruition.