Parish Leadership & Staff
Our Priest
Reverend Father Christopher Stamas, Presiding Priest
Office Phone: 508-791-7326 • Send a message to Father Chris
Fr. Chris was born and raised in Lowell, MA and graduated from the University of (Massachusetts) Lowell in 1989 with a degree in Industrial Technology. After working in the field for five years, he left his position and enrolled in Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology in 1994. Simultaneously, he met and married his wife, Penny, who has given him two beautiful daughters, Christiana and Elaina.
At the end of his third year, he was ordained a deacon on May 11, 1997. He was ordained a priest on September 21, 1997 and immediately assigned to St. Demetrios Church in Weston, MA as the assistant to Rev. Dr. Nicholas C. Manikas. In May of 1998, Fr. Chris graduated with high distinction from Holy Cross with a Masters of Divinity degree.
On October 1, 2001, he was assigned to St. George Cathedral in Springfield, MA. During his time in Springfield, Fr. Chris implemented a stewardship program, and an endowment incentive program that have seen remarkable results for the community. He has seen the number of youth increase and their participation in camp and other programs grow significantly. In addition, he has hosted retreats, trips to various religious sites including the Holy Lands.
Fr. Chris has been involved not only in growing his communities from the inside out, but also has worked diligently to grow the Church in the outside community, especially in the greater Springfield Area through volunteer work, classes, media interviews, and natural disaster relief efforts.
In 2009, he published a children's book called Alexander Discovers the Cross and has also published several prayer books and liturgical translations.
In 2019, he was selected by the Archdiocesan director of the Center for Family Care to be trained on how to reach out to fellow clergymen for Peer Training Groups within the Metropolis. He was assigned to St. Spyridon Cathedral on October 1, 2019.
He currently lives in Holden with his wife. Both daughters are college graduates involved with the Young Adult Ministries of the Metropolis.
Meet the Cathedral Staff
Jennifer Wrixon, Office Administrator
Georgia Giolekas, Church Bookkeeper
Georgia came to the office in September 2021 as a part time bookkeeper although she grew up in this community. Although she does not work any regular hours due to family and work commitments, she can be reached by email at: spyridoncathedral@gmail.com
The Parish Council
The Parish Council is made up of elected stewards of our community. The Parish Council helps to run and maintain the community, with the guidance of the Priest. These are voluntary and elected positions that help broaden one's understanding of all aspects of how an Orthodox Christian parish operates. Being a member of the Parish Council is primarily a position of service; service to the God, service to the Council, and service to the community at large. These leaders of our community dedicate their time to not only discuss items relevant to the growth and administration of our parish, but also to leading by example and being present at worship services and community events. The Parish Council is tasked with assessing the status of our parish and is empowered to enact change in a positive and Christ-centered way. We encourage all parishioners to consider serving on the Parish Council.
2024 Executive Board
President- Georgia Parafestas
Vice President- Michael Dionis
Secretary- Panagiota “Pam” Gertsios
Treasurer- Arthur Pappas
Assistant Treasurer- Dean Alexandrou
2024 Council Members
Dean Alexandrou
Dan Avradopoulos
Michael Dionis
Panagiota “Pam” Gertsios
Konstantinos (Gus) Giannakis
Anastasios Isildakli
William Kiritsy
John Lenis
Joanne Tsatis McMahan
Celeste Moschos
Nicholas Paleologos
Arthur Pappas
Georgia Parafestas
Frank Peepas
Joan Theros