St. Anna Greek Orthodox Church

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

I apologize for this late message. It has been an extremely busy week with our mosaic installer in town. What an incredible time in the history of our parish!

Before I share anything else, let me invite you to the Divine Liturgy this Wednesday Morning for the Feast of St. Demetrios. It will be your first real opportunity to see the new mosaic. We will bless it next Sunday following Church Services. 

Please note the above pictures. They are our new Sunday School rooms, located on the property of our new next-door neighbors and the future home of a Lunatic Fringe Hair Salon. The owners, Lauren Spatafore and her father, David Spatafore have graciously allowed us to hold Sunday School in their building until our classrooms (three of the intended five) are complete this spring. They are gracious and generous neighbors. 

Our preschool class will remain on our property; tomorrow, having class in the back of the church in their partitioned space, and eventually in the new storage building, once it has heat and electricity in the coming weeks. Elementary and Teenage Classes will go next door for the next few months. Our Men’s Ministry Team built a stairway and installed a handrail up to the new location. Teachers will guide the kids up for their classes following Communion. 

Once their salon is open, the employees of Lunatic Fringe will be parking in our parking lot during their business hours. We are honored as a community to be both the recipient of, and the provider of neighborly blessings. It is the way it should be. 

Enjoy a lovely remainder of your short evening. See you in a few hours. Stay warm. Come to Church!

Much Love in XC,

Fr. Anthony Savas
Protopresbyter

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Some very exciting news: our mosaics have been delivered. The artwork arrived on Thursday and remains crated and waiting for the installers to arrive in about ten days. We have been engaging these Italian artists for months.

The design, budgeting, creative and production process has been filled with great anticipation and prayerful jubilation. You could imagine my sense of excitement knowing that our shipment had cleared customs and was on its way. The truck pulled in, the delivery driver jumped out and then, one of the most significant interactions of my life took place. And it had nothing – NOTHING to do with glass mosaic tiles. 

The delivery driver came into the building, and I immediately went to the door, extended my hand to greet him and introduced myself. The man shook my hand, then just stood there, staring at me. He didn’t say anything for what seemed to take forever. He just kept looking at me, almost beginning to cry. He then asked in very broken English “Do you speak Spanish?”

I told him no. He then took out his phone and started speaking into it with clear and deliberate speed in his own language. He then showed me his phone, which had translated what he said into English. “Here,” he said. I took his phone and read the message. Then, just like him as we first met, I began to get emotional and started to cry.

His phone read: “Thank you. For the first time since I’ve moved to this country, you are the very first person to shake my hand.”

Through the process of his phone translating, I asked him how long he’s been here.

He said just over three years. 

By this point, I wasn’t even thinking about mosaics or artwork or construction or Italians or anything else. I was equally stunned with emotion.

This man, standing before me, was taken back with the most basic gesture of acknowledgement and connection. Upon his arrival, I did not see a delivery man, or a foreign guy walk through the doors of our church, but a person. I didn’t even think about the interaction in such terms. But he sure did.

Let’s think about the last three years. With the Pandemic, we all got out of the habit of shaking hands. The awkward combination of fist and elbow bumps replaced the firm handshake. Ricardo, our new friend came to the USA around this time. Perhaps the timing of his arrival made it so, that nobody, ever, extended a hand of greeting. For the sake of giving humanity the benefit of the doubt, I’ll naïvely accept that. But you and I know probably know that’s not true.

Let us always take the opportunity to respect and acknowledge everyone who comes into our lives. When we afford grocery clerks and cable installers with the same dignity, we offer our physicians and professors, we can see humanity through the eyes of Christ. We are all His children. We are all created in His image. We are accountable to Him by how we treat each other. 

Can you imagine going three years without an acknowledgement of your existence? Would you want to walk through the halls of your office, school or warehouse as an invisible ghost? Always, always see the Other. Because the Other, is another occupant of this globe and represents Christ, Himself (Mt 25:31-46).

So, the mosaic icon is here. It depicts St. Anna walking in her garden with her daughter, the Theotokos. There is no image of Christ in this icon. But look with a prayerful, humble, discerning, and delicate eye. Then you’ll see Him. 

He delivered it to us.

With Love in Christ,

Fr. Anthony Savas
Protopresbyter

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

I am thrilled to officially share some wonderful news with our St. Anna Family, though we have touched on these subjects during divine services. The Metropolis of Denver, and our own parish are blessed to receive much needed and appreciated assistance in ministry and leadership on two, distinctively different fronts.

His Eminence Metropolitan Isaiah of Denver has in no small measure, guided and grown our holy Metropolis for decades. His final “addition” to his holy “territory” was the establishment of the Greek Orthodox Mission Parish of Utah, which of course, became a chartered parish of the Archdiocese as the St. Anna Greek Orthodox Church of Sandy, Utah. His Eminence has proven to be a prayerful, holy and sacrificial, servant-shepherd. We are ever grateful for his episcopal support and guidance in the formation of our vibrant parish, and for all he has accomplished in his prolific ministry.

It is equally true that due to the Covid pandemic, his age and over-all health, His Eminence has not been able to travel the vast spaces of the Metropolis of Denver and has been in need of assistance, just like any priest in a large parish. The priests of the Metropolis of Denver are thrilled and excited to welcome our new Auxiliary Bishop, Bishop Elect Constantine of Sassima, as the assistant bishop to His Eminence. Following is his biography that was sent out from the Archdiocese.

His Grace is worthy, capable, gifted and kind. I have known (formally Fr. Dean Moralis) for over 30 years and there is not a single person on this Earth that is more suited for this specific ministry – here and now. This is not good news for our Metropolis. This is fantastic news! Make no mistake, Metropolitan Isaiah is still very much our local hierarch and remains in charge of the day-to-day life of the Metropolis. His Grace will be of great assistance to him and to us. To the newly elected bishop of our church and our metropolis – we jubilantly shout “Axios!” “He is Worthy!”

The Metropolis has requested that each parish share in the substantial, financial obligations of His Grace’s ordination and relocation from Baltimore to Denver. Parish Council President, Steve Simos and I have determined that a $2,000 pledge from our parish is acceptable, given the size of our parish and all of the responsibilities we have here at home, with our on-going build out. We will offer a special collection in the Narthex (we do not pass baskets) for this blessed cause. Please be as generous as able. This appointment will benefit our entire Metropolis and we eagerly look forward to the first hierarchal visit of His Grace. 

His Grace Bishop Elect Constantine of Sassima (Moralis)

In continuation to the July 22, 2022, communication from the Ecumenical Patriarchate’s Holy and Sacred Synod announcing the unanimous election of His Grace Bishop-elect Constantine of Sassima (Moralis) as an auxiliary Bishop for the Holy Metropolis of Denver, it is with much joy that our Sacred Archdiocese announces that His Grace’s ordination to the Holy Episcopacy will take place at the Archdiocesan Cathedral of the Holy Trinity in New York City this fall, on October 15. 

His Grace Bishop-elect Constantine of Sassima (Moralis) was born in 1966 in Baltimore, Maryland. He is the son of the late Petros (a refugee from Asia Minor born in Athens) and Sarah (of Mobile, Alabama), and is the youngest of three children.

From an early age, His Grace served as an acolyte at the Greek Orthodox Cathedral of the Annunciation in Baltimore, MD under the late Fr. Constantine M. Monios of blessed memory, a mentor who encouraged him to pursue ordained ministry. In 1988, he began his studies at Hellenic College and graduated from Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology in 1994. He was ordained to both the holy Diaconate and Presbyterate in 1996 by the late Metropolitan Silas of New Jersey of blessed memory and was assigned to the Annunciation Cathedral in Baltimore — the same parish where he was baptized and raised — and has served as its pastor to the present day. He was elevated to the rank of Confessor in the year 2000 and to the rank of Archimandrite in 2002, at which time he was also installed as Dean of the Annunciation Cathedral. On July 22, 2022, he was elected by the Ecumenical Patriarchate’s Holy and Sacred Synod as the Bishop of Sassima.

With over 1,000 families at the Cathedral, His Grace has worked tirelessly to serve the needs of the parish and the greater Baltimore community. He has established a number of programs for youth and young adults and is the founder of the Annunciation Senior Center. His Grace’s pride and joy, the Annunciation Senior Center affords senior members of the community a safe haven for Christian fellowship while receiving the highest level of care but has temporarily closed due to Covid. He served as the director of the Chesapeake region’s Camp Good Shepherd and has led four overseas pilgrimages. His Grace currently serves on the Board of Trustees for both Hellenic College Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology and St. Basil Academy.

Now, on the opposite end of the Orthodox clerical spectrum, I am equally thrilled and grateful that St. Anna’s has been abundantly blessed with the attachment of Deacon John Kavas to our parish. Dn. John and his family are from Denver, CO and have recently relocated to Park City, Utah for reasons he spells out in his biography. Dn. John is a beautiful liturgist and an outstanding person. We welcome him, Diaconissa Julie, together with their youngest child, Joey to Utah. We also look forward to meeting their eldest three children Jonas, Jack and Jana when they come to visit from Colorado and Kansas. Dn. John generously volunteers his time to participate in the divine services of the church and in the future, will assist in the teaching ministries of St. Anna’s. It is important for us to realize that Dn. John was not assigned to serve at St. Anna’s by the Metropolis, but rather, he chose to serve here. We should always express our gratitude to him and his family for joining our spiritual home.

Beyond his profession as an attorney, he is a graduate of our Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology in Brookline, MA. And I should also say that Dn. John is a classmate of our own, dear Fr. Jimmy Foreso, who served the very first Divine Liturgy of our budding mission. He returned often to serve our community in its first year. Fr. Jimmy will always hold a special place in the heart of our parish. May his memory be eternal! Fr. Jimmy and Dn. John were very close friends, and I find it a divine nod, that the association of his ministry continues here through Dn. John. So let’s also meet…

Deacon John Kavas

Deacon John Kavas, his wife Diakonissa Julie and their youngest son Joey join St. Anna’s after relocating from Colorado.  John and Julie have four children, ages 21-15, and live in Park City.  Deacon John graduated from Colorado State University and the University of Denver College of Law. 

He started his law practice in 2000 and joined Merlin International, a cybersecurity company in 2004 as its General Counsel.  The family moved to Boston in 2008 where he continued to work in that capacity while he pursued a Masters of Divinity from Hellenic College Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology. 

After their four years in Boston, the family moved back to Denver where John was ordained as a Deacon.  He began his volunteer ministry at St. Catherine Greek Orthodox Church in Greenwood Village, Colorado, and continued to help grow his company in a new role as its Vice President of Corporate Development. 

He left the company in 2019 and now works on various investment projects while serving as Vice Chair of the Intermountain Division Freestyle Committee of US Ski & Snowboard, and as a judge in mogul skiing. The family is so happy to be part of the St. Anna’s community!

New bells, new bishop, new deacon. These incredible blessings will open the door to the next phase of our construction as the exterior of the church, and the new storage building are nearly complete. Please look forward to the soon-to-be-shared announcements concerning Phase II of our construction – narthex, offices, bathrooms, and three of the five classrooms. 

Much Love in Christ,

Fr. Anthony Savas
Protopresbyter