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Our Priest

Fr. Stavros Akrotirianakis was born in Whittier, California.

He graduated from Whittier College in 1994 with a degree in History.

He wrote a book entitled “Byzantium Comes to Southern California: The Story of the Los Angeles Greeks and the Building of St. Sophia Cathedral” which was published by Light and Life in 1994.

Fr. Stavros entered Holy Cross Seminary in the fall of 1994.

He married his wife Lisa in 1995.

In 1997, Father Stavros was ordained as a Deacon by the late-Metropolitan Anthony of St. Francisco at St. Sophia Cathedral in Los Angeles. He served for one year as the Deacon to His Eminence Metropolitan Methodios of Boston.

In May 1998, Father Stavros was ordained to the Holy Priesthood at the Chapel of the Holy Cross in Brookline, MA, and shortly thereafter graduated from the seminary. His first assignment was as the Proistamenos of St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church in Enfield, CT.

In 2000, Father Stavros was transferred to the Metropolis of Atlanta, to the Greek Orthodox Church of the Holy Trinity in Asheville, NC, where he served from 2000-2004. While in Asheville, Father Stavros became the director of St. Stephen’s Summer Camp for the Metropolis of Atlanta.  He remains as the overall chairman and co-director at present.

In September 2004, Father Stavros was again transferred to St. John the Baptist Greek Orthodox Church in Tampa, FL, where he has been serving ever since.

During his tenure, St. John the Baptist has grown from 220 families to 450 families at present. The church has many thriving programs, especially in the liturgical ministry, the GOYA, and the Bible study. Father Stavros leads a Bible Study on Tuesdays, teaches an Orthodoxy 101 class each semester, and holds 2-3 adult retreats each year in the parish.. The Prayer Team Ministry, a daily reflection authored by Fr. Stavros which began in February 2015, has produced nine books:

He and his wife, Presbytera Lisa, reside in Tampa with their son, Nicholas.

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