The Hellenic Community of Vancouver and St. George’s Greek Orthodox Cathedral are proud to welcome Father Nikolaos Sideras to serve as our parish priest. He was ordained to the Holy Priesthood as a Deacon in 2014 and was elevated to Presviteros-Priest in 2016. He recently finished his university studies at the Theological School of Aristotle at the University of Thessaloniki.
Joining him in Vancouver are his family: Presbytera Petroula and their three young children Panagiotis, Christoforos, and Akylina.
Father Nikolaos was born in Thessaloniki in September 1987 to Savvas Sideras and Maria Papadimopoulou. He has an older brother George and a younger sister Maria.
As a young child he began training in Taekwondo ITF and continued until age 26 in competitive martial arts. He was undefeated from 2004 to 2013, MVP in 2005 and 2008, winning 8 Pan-European championships and 3 World Championships and was a member of the Greek National Team for 10 consecutive years. Subsequently, he earned a coaching degree and served as coach for the Greek team in 2012 and 2013.
Further studies include two and a half years at the Police Academy (2007 – 2009) and served as a police officer in Thessaloniki.
As an entire community, we warmly welcome Father, Presbytera, and their children to Vancouver.
Fr. Odisseys Drossos was born in Montreal, Quebec on September 18, 1967. Following graduation from Malcolm Campbell High School in 1984, he earned a Bachelor of Liberal Arts Degree in Pre-Theology from Hellenic College in Brookline, MA, USA in 1990 and earned a Masters of Divinity from Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology in Brookline, MA, USA in 1993. During his seven years at Hellenic College/Holy Cross, Fr. Odisseys was a member of the Byzantine Choir, “Romanos o Melodos”. He served as Chanting Leader in the Chapel and Teaching Assistant to the Professor of Byzantine Music. After graduation, Fr. Odisseys served as the Pastoral Assistant at St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church in Oak Lawn, IL, USA under the direction of Archimandrite Fr. Gabriel Karambis. While in the Chicago area, he met his wife Maria Kalyvas, and was married on February 5 1995.
He was ordained to the Deaconate on July 17, 1995 at the Annunciation Church in Montreal, Quebec and ordained to the Priesthood on July 18, 1995 at Saints Panteleimon, Anna and Paraskevi Greek Orthodox Church in Markham, Ontario where he served as Parish Priest till August 31, 2019.
On March 7, 2005, His Eminence Metropolitan Sotirios elevated Fr. Odisseys to the O!ce of Oikonomos, (good steward). On July 26, 2017, His Eminence Metropolitan Sotirios elevated Fr. Odisseys to the O!ce of ProtoPresbyter. In addition to his pastoral duties at St. Panteleimon Greek Orthodox Church in Markham, he has served as editor/producer of the weekly Archdiocesan TV program, as well as the Director of Social Services and one of the founding Directors of the Summer Camp Metamorphosis programs for the Greek Orthodox Metropolis (Archdiocese) of Toronto. He also has served as the Professor(Instructor) of Byzantine Music at the Patriarchal Toronto Orthodox Theological Academy as well as the Byzantine School of Music and the Chaplain of the Metamorphosis Greek Orthodox Day School in Toronto. On December 30, 2006, Fr. Odis & Maria became the proud parents of a healthy baby boy: Thomas Tsambikos Drossos. On September 1st, 2019, Father Odisseys has assumed his responsibilities as the priest of St. George Greek Orthodox Cathedral here in Vancouver, BC.
Fr. Constantinos was born in Vancouver, BC and baptized at the St. George Greek Orthodox Cathedral, Vancouver, BC. Fr. Constantinos grew up in the Hellenic Community of Vancouver and was actively involved in the programs of the community, serving as an Altar Boy at St. George Greek Orthodox Cathedral for many years. On Palm Sunday of 2002, Fr. Constantinos was tonsured a Reader and a Sub- Deacon by His Eminence Metropolitan Sotirios. Fr. Constantinos was involved in the Youth and Dance Groups of the Community, served as President of GOYA and later served as the youngest Board Member elected to the Board of Trustees of the Hellenic Community of Vancouver. Our Orthodox Christian Faith and Hellenic Culture have always been a priority in Fr. Constantinos’ life. After completing High School he continued his studies at the British Columbia Institute of Technology (BCIT) in Burnaby, BC and graduated in 2005 with a Diploma of Technology in Operations Management (Dipl.T. OPMT). Following the completion of his Diploma Fr. Constantinos pursued his dream and continued his studies at the Toronto Orthodox Theological Academy (TOTA). Fr. Constantinos graduated as Valedictorian from TOTA in 2008 with Bachelors in Theology (BTh.). Upon graduating, he returned home to Vancouver and began serving the Church as a Chanter and Youth leader from 2008-2011. In the summer of 2010, prior to his ordination to the deaconate, Fr. Constantinos founded Camp Metamorphosis BC and has been serving our Metropolis as the Director of Camp Metamorphosis BC since that time. With the intent of restoring youth participation within the communities of BC, Fr. Constantinos grew the program from 25 participants in its inaugural year to 187 participants at its peak. Because of the great energy and enthusiasm revitalized by the Camp program, Fr. Constantinos and the Camp Metamorphosis BC volunteer sta” have successfully organized Winter Camps, Day Camps as well as Regional and National Youth Assemblies for our young adults. Camp Met BC’s motto of “Faith. Fun. Friends” inspired a resurgence of youth involvement in all of the programs of the Greek Orthodox Communities of Metro Vancouver including youth/play groups, traditional dance groups, as well as church attendance. In May of 2011 Fr. Constantinos married his wife, Presbytera Kristina at St. George Greek Orthodox Cathedral, Vancouver, BC. Fr. Constantinos and Presbytera Kristina met while volunteering at the Greek Food Festival for Sts. Constantine and Helen Greek Orthodox Church in Surrey, BC. On June 4th, 2011, Fr. Constantinos was ordained to the Diaconate by His Grace Bishop Christoforos of Andida at St. George Greek Orthodox Cathedral, Vancouver, BC. In October of 2011 Fr. Constantinos was appointed as the Western Canadian Regional Youth Director. On January 31st, 2012, Fr. Constantinos was ordained to the Priesthood at St. George Greek Orthodox Cathedral, Vancouver, BC. This was a great honor as Fr. Constantinos was the #rst and only person to be baptized, raised, married and ordained at Saint George Greek Orthodox Cathedral, Vancouver, BC and all under the spiritual guidance of Rev. Fr. Demetrios Partsafas. Fr. Constantinos served as an Assistant Priest at Saint George until the summer of 2012. On August 14th, 2012 Fr. Constantinos was appointed the Parish Priest of Ypapanti Greek Orthodox Church in Victoria, BC. Father and Presbytera served the Greek Orthodox Communities on Vancouver Island with love and enthusiasm and brought a special focus to the youth ministry. Together, Father & Presbytera revitalized the Sunday School program, started and ran a bi-weekly playgroup for the toddlers and GOYA for the youth of the community, and taught a traditional Greek dance group, the NISIOTES, who performed at food festivals and local events in Victoria. On December 1st, 2014 Fr. Constantinos was appointed the Parish Priest of St. George Greek Orthodox Cathedral (Honoris Causa), Vancouver, BC. Father Constantinos spearheaded the re-establishment of the St. George Vancouver – Youth, a 5 level youth group Constantinos’ direction our ENOSIS Hellenic Dance Groups were re-established including: FILARAKIA (ages 5-12), H PAREA (Ages 13 – 17), and ENOSIS (ages 18 – 25). In January of 2015, after a 30-year absence, Fr. Constantinos organized the Theophany Cross Dive which brings together all our Greek Orthodox Communities in Metro Vancouver, and sees our youth of all ages dive for the Cross at Kitsilano beach. In 2017 our Cathedral celebrated its 90thAnniversary. To honor St. George and the Hellenic Community of Vancouver, Fr. Constantinos organized and celebrated two Divine Liturgies at the location of the original St. George Greek Orthodox Cathedral in Kitsilano, the now Kitsilano Neighbourhood House. Many of our faithful had this little Church as their #rst home in a new world, and it was an emotional and uplifting experience. After Pentecost 2018, Fr. Constantinos led a pilgrimage to the Holy Land which 38 of our Community members attended. The primary focus of the pilgrimage was to experience the Holy Places by serving Paraklesis at Gethsemane, Diesis prayers at all the holy sights, and above all Divine Liturgy at the Holy Sepulchre. Fr. Constantinos has organized community pilgrimages and youth trips, continued towards the completion of the iconography of St. George, and led the creation and construction of the Chapel of St. Anna in our Cathedral. Fr. Constantinos’ ultimate vision is to ensure that the Greek Orthodox faith and culture are not just a part of our lives, but the foundation for our lives. By promoting and supporting programs and events with the goal of engaging every community member, both young and old, Fr. Constantinos will continue to create a sense of welcome, family, and a home away from home for all the Greek Orthodox faithful.
Protopresbyter Reverend Father Demetrios Partsafas, the middle child of Socrates and Maria Partsafas, was born on October 27, 1940 in Kokkari, Samos. Father Demetrios grew up on the island of Samos until 1954 when he left Samos for Montreal with his mother and two siblings to join his father, who had immigrated to Canada in 1951.
welcomed into the world their son, Socrates in 1969, followed by their twin daughters Maria and Stella in 1972. Their third child, Nektaria, was born in Vancouver in 1980.
Fr. Demetrios was a central force in the Hellenic Community of Vancouver for over four decades. Under his direction, countless young men served the altar as altar boys during the Divine Liturgies and other important feast days. He also was responsible in leading a robust Sunday School program with very dedicated volunteers who taught the youngest members of our community about our faith. After completing Sunday School, the youth of our community entered GOYA (Greek Orthodox Youth Association) and Fr. Demetrios ensured that the youth remained close to the church and engaged in their community. Most recently, Fr. Demetrios was involved in supporting Camp Metamorphosis. He was also an advisor to our Greek language program where thousands of students studied our language, culture and religion.
During his time at St. George’s, Fr. Demetrios was elevated to the office of Economos and then Protopresbyter by His Eminence Archbishop Sotirios.”
Hellenic Community of Vancouver
4500 Arbutus St, Vancouver, BC V6J 4A2
Phone: (604) 266-7148
contact@helleniccommunity.org