Dear Fellow Parishioners and Friends of Saint Spyridon Church,
The Parish Council is pleased to announce the appointment of Father Nicolas Kazarian as our full time priest beginning June 1st, 2017.
Rev. Dr. Protopresbyter Nicolas Kazarian was born in France in 1982. His father is a Greek Orthodox priest in the south of France and his mother is a physician. Immediately after finishing high school in Nice, he started his undergraduate degree in Orthodox Theology at the Institute de Theology Orthodox Saint Serge in Paris, graduating with a BA in 2004. In 2005 he spent almost a year studying Greek at the University of Cyprus, in Nicosia, before moving to Switzerland to start an MA in Orthodox Theology at the Orthodox Theological Institute of Chambésy. After finishing his MA, he changed courses and started a PhD in geopolitics at the Sorbonne. He received a scholarship from the Onassis Foundation to spend a year in Athens, where he improved his knowledge of the Greek language and strengthened his love for Greek culture. He successfully defended his dissertation, entitled “Cyprus, Geopolitics and Minorities”, in November 2011.
He was the assistant of H.E. Metropolitan Emmanuel of France from 2010 through June 2015. In the spring of 2014, Metropolitan Emmanuel asked him to be ordained as a priest, and he was ordained in June of the same year and served at Saint Etienne cathedral in Paris. Through H.E. Metropolitan Emmanuel’s leadership, he also had the opportunity to work for the Ecumenical Patriarchate, especially most recently during the Holy and Great Council in June 2016 (Crete, Greece) as a subject expert in the Press Office of the Ecumenical Patriarchate.
Fr. Nicolas has been teaching Theology at Saint-Serge since 2007, initially as an Instructor in Patristics and later as a lecturer in Western Church History and Ecumenical Relations. He has also taught Ecumenical Relations at the Catholic University of Paris. He is the author of numerous articles about the Orthodox Church in various languages. He sees dialogue – especially ecumenical and interreligious – as a way to reach out to society in general and to youth in particular.
After moving to Philadelphia in 2015, he assisted the Metropolis of New Jersey as a substitute priest serving different communities of the Greater Philadelphia region. He is very grateful to H.E. Metropolitan Evangelos of New Jersey for allowing him to serve in so many different parishes (especially in St. George, Philadelphia, PA; St. Thomas, Cherry Hill, NJ, St. Demetrios, Wildwood, NJ; Evangelismos, Jersey City, NJ), almost every Sunday, and for the chance to be part of his pastoral ministry.
He is married to Presbytera Lianna, who he met during the Ecumenical Patriarchate’s World Youth Conference in Istanbul in July 2007. She works as a translator. They married in October 2010 and have two children, Matthias (4) and Emilie (2). Fr. Nicolas is fluent in English, Greek and French and speaks some Russian and Italian.
Please join us in welcoming Father and his family to our Saint Spyridon Community.
Summer Donation 2017
Dear Faithful Family,
As many of us spend our summer months with family and friends in far off locales, the work and the ministry of Saint Spyridon in Washington Heights continues. In order to keep our doors, open for the summer months, today we are asking you to help support us; not only through prayers and love, but also financially. Any donation that you make will help ensure that the work of our historic parish can continue through the summer months. We hope and pray that you have a restful and enjoyable summer vacation. May God continually bless each of you and your families!
Restoration Project: The restoration of our beautiful church continues. Every week there are new things to see. We hope you will all participate and donate the icon restoration or area of your choosing. The more funds we receive; the more areas of restoration will be completed.
Καλοκαιρινή Δωρεά 2017
Αγαπητοί Πιστοί,
Καθώς πολλοί από εμάς περνάμε τους καλοκαιρινούς μήνες με την οικογένεια και τους φίλους μας σε μακρινές περιοχές, το έργο και η διακονία του Αγίου Σπυρίδωνα στο Washington Heights συνεχίζεται. Για να διατηρήσουμε τις πόρτες μας ανοιχτές για τους καλοκαιρινούς μήνες, σήμερα ζητάμε την υποστήριξη σας, όχι μόνο μέσα από τις προσευχές και την αγάπη σας, αλλά και οικονομικά. Κάθε δωρεά που κάνετε θα βοηθήσει να διασφαλιστεί το έργο της ιστορικής ενορίας μας μέσα στους καλοκαιρινούς μήνες. Ελπίζουμε και προσευχόμαστε να έχετε ξεκούραστες και ευχάριστες καλοκαιρινές διακοπές. Είθε ο Θεός να ευλογεί συνεχώς τον καθένα από εσάς και τις οικογένειές σας!
Εργασίες Αποκατάστασης: Σας παρακαλούμε , να δώσετε ό, τι μπορείτε για την ενίσχυση του προγράμματος Διαχείρισης για να μπορέσουμε να συνεχίσουμε τα προγράμματα και τις λειτουργίες του «Αγίου Σπυρίδωνα». Οι εργασίες αποκατάστασης της όμορφης εκκλησίας μας συνεχίζονται. Κάθε εβδομάδα υπάρχει και κάτι καινούργιο για να δείτε. Ελπίζουμε ότι όλοι θα μπορέσετε να συμμετάσχετε στις εργασίες αποκατάστασης των εικόνων και να κάνετε Δωρεά για την αποκατάσταση της εικόνας της επιλογής σας. Όσο περισσότερα χρήματα συλλέγουμε τόσο περισσότερες εικόνες και περιοχές της εκκλησίας θα αποκατασταθούν.