Protopresbyter Panagiotis (Peter), Presbytera Hara Avgeropoulos
Protopresbyter Panagiotis (Peter) (1959-____)
and
Presbytera Hara Avgeropoulos (195__-____)
Panagiotis is sometimes written as Peter.
Presvytera may be spelt Presbytera.
Early life of Panatiotis Avgeropoulos
In 1959, Panagiotis (Peter) Ioanou Avgeropoulos was born in Port Arthur (Thunder Bay), Ontario, Canada to Greek immigrant parents John and Georgia (born Saitis) Avgeropoulos. In 1957, they had emigrated from Fotina, Central Greece, and arrived through Halifax, Nova Scotia, at Port Arthur, Ontario. They arrived with 4 children aged 8 to 14 years. They had arrived at Port Arthur because of Demetrios Saitis (father of Georgia), who had previously emigrated there with some friends in 1930. He had gone first to Winnipeg for work, and then moved to Port Arthur. He had left his wife Demetroula (with 3 daughters and a yet-unborn child) in Greece, and he was never able to return because of the Great Depression, World War II, and the Greek Civile War. After the civil war, his wife emigrated with 2 unmarried daughters, as yet unmarried. Her eldest daughter had been killed (with others) by the communist rebels in 1948). Her husband had covered the cost of their travel. Their second daughter, Georgia, had been already married, and her family could not emigrate until later. Demetrios reposed in the Lord in 1958. Demetroula reposed in the Lord in 1966.
At that time, there was only 1 Greek Orthodox Church, Holy Trinity Church, in which they worshipped and where the children received their Greek Orthodox formation. This parish is the third-oldest Greek Orthodox parish in Canada (1918). All the family’s social life was focussed on the spiritual life of the parish. The parishioners were to one another like extended family. The Greek-speakers of the Port Arthur-Fort William area naturally celebrated important feast-days and Greek national occasions all together, as they would in their villages in Greece. Panagiotis received his primary education in Port Arthur.
Bereavement
In 1968, his brother, Avgeros, reposed suddenly in the Lord at age 18.
This bereavement, and his mother’s consolation in the Lord in the Church brought Panagiotis closer to the Church, and he was very much helped by Priest Christos Kavadas. It was then that he invited Panagiotis to serve in the Altar. Later, he was taken to the parish choir, where he learned to sing.
They had moved to London in 1974, and Paagiotis began to be part of the spiritual and social life of Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church there.
Panatiotis received his and his secondary and post-secondary education in London, Ontario. It was at this time that Panagiotis began playing key-board in a Greek band. He had already been playing the accordion, and he had learnt to play many Greek folk-melodies, especially from his father’s home region. He played in this band for 10 years, and his colleagues in the band were all honourable young men. The group played at special occasions in various places between Windsor and Toronto.
Higher education
He attended the University of Western Ontario, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree (Honours History). He had taken courses in history, philosophy, classical history, and Byzantine studies, as he reflected on the meaning of life.
He had commented that one influential person in his future life was [Professor William (Vasilios) Bush]. Professor Bush introduced him also to [Professor Dmitry Pospielovsky[. While he was a student, he sometimes visited the English-language Antiochian Mission of the Holy Transfiguration in London, where both these professors attended, and which mission they had founded. His post-graduate studies were done in the United States of America.
First, from 1984, he studied at Saint Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary in Crestwood, New York.
He graduated in 1987, when he received a Master of Divinity degree. He was the Valedictorian for his graduating class.
Pilgrimage to the Holy Land
During the following summer in 1987, Panagiotis participated in a pilgrimage to Jerusalem and the Holy Land of parishioners from Holy Trinity Church in London, Ontario. It was led by the rector, Priest Evstathios Kontoravdis.
Meeting Hara (Joy)
It was on this pilgrimage that he met his future wife Hara. They became friends during that pilgrimage, and they continued their friendship while Panagiotis concluded his studies in the USA. Hara had been a student also at the University of Western Ontario, where she had studied in the Faculty of Arts, and then of Education.
She received the Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Western Ontario, in London, Ontario, in 1984.
She received the Bachelor of Education degree from the University of Western Ontario, in London, Ontario, in 1985.
Following her graduation, she began her long career in teaching (mostly in the Greater Toronto Area) in 1985.
Because of his high marks, Panagiotis qualified for a scholarship to pursue further post-graduate studies at the Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology in Brookline, Massachusetts. He finished his Master of Theology studies there in 1988.
Marriage
In 1988, Panagiotis I Avgeropoloulos was married to his now good friend Hara at Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church in London, Ontario.
In time, Father Panagiotis and Presvytera Hara received by the mercy of the Lord, 3 sons, John, Gregory, and Theodore.
Diaconal and presbyteral ordinations
In 1989, on the Feast of Pentecost, his life-long hope to serve the Church was realised when he was ordained to the Holy Diaconate.
On 25 July, 1989, Deacon Panagiotis Averopoloulos was ordained to the Holy Priesthood (on the Feast of the Dormition of Saint Anna) in the Greek Orthodox Church of Canada. He has the distinction of being the first Canadian-born priest to have remained in and to serve in the Greek Orthodox Metropolitanate (now Archdiocese) of Toronto (Canada) (any other Canadian-born priests left to serve elsewhere).
Pastoral service
Priest Panagiotis Avgeropoulos was assigned to serve as the founding pastor of Saints Panteleimon and Paraskeva Greek Orthodox Church in Markham, Ontario, where he served from 1989 until 1995.
Bereavement
In 1991, Demetrios Avgeropoulos, brother of Father Panagiotis, fell asleep in the Lord.
Continued pastoral service
In 1995, Father Panagiotis was transferred to Hamilton, Ontario, where he served at the Dormition of the Virgin Mary Church, which he served for 1 ½ years.
On 1 November,1996, Father Panagiotis was transferred to Toronto, Ontario, where he was assigned to serve as rector of the Annunciation of the Virgin Mary Greek Orthodox Cathedral. Over the several decades of his pastorate, he became a spiritual father to the parishioners, and he baptised several generations of the Faithful in the parish.
When asked, he commented on the continuing and increasing tensions between Canadian society and the Orthodox Christian Way of Life. With the passage of time, the ways of Canadian society have increasingly contrasted and conflicted with that of the Orthodox.
Upon his arrival, the parish council asked for the increase of English in services for the sake of the children. This process took time, and it bore fruit. He emphasised that language alone is not the concern. Rather, the primary concern is having a living and lively relationship with the Lord. Patriarch Bartholomew
In 1998, Patriarch Bartholomew (Archontonis) of Constantinople made a pastoral visit for 8 days to the Metropolis of Toronto (Canada), and he visited various Greek Orthodox and Ukrainian Orthodox communities in Canada. During this visit, Father Panagiotis had been given the obedience by Metropolitan Sotirios (Athanassopoulos) of Toronto to serve on the organising committee, and to translate most of the homilies and speeches of the patriarch from Greek into English, as well as other materials. This labour began 3 weeks before the visit, and continued while the visitation was in progress.
For this, the patriarch awarded him the Patriarchal Cross.
Fire
On 3 April, 2000, there was a catastrophic fire in the Temple, in the very early morning.
As a consequence, Father Panagiotis had to learn about construction. For the next 2 years, intense labour was involved in re-constructing and repairing the Temple, while services were offered in the parish hall. The parishioners and their friends committed themselves with energy under his pastoral leadership to the immense work of reconstruction. A video was produced to record the events – “Rising from the ashes : The Restoration of the Church of Panagia” Most significantly, this event enabled first the moving of the Altar-area to the east side of the building ; and then the renewing of the rest of the Temple in Eastern Orthodox (“Byzantine”) style.
Bereavement
On 23 October, 2002, Ioannis Avgeropoulos, father of Father Panagiotis, fell asleep in the Lord in London, Ontario.
Following the funeral obsequies, his body was interred in the Woodland Cemetery of London, Ontario.
Bereavement
On 6 June, 2011, Georgia (born Saites) Avgeropoulos, mother of Father Panagiotis, fell asleep in the Lord in London, Ontario.
Following the funeral obsequies, her body was interred in the Woodland Cemetery of London, Ontario.
Covid-19 Pandemic
Father Panagiotis spoke in an interview about the difficulties associated with the closures resulting from the pandemic closures.
Because of the resources available in this community, Panagia Cathedral was the first Greek Orthodox Parish to be able to offer live-streamed services, Bible-studies, youth-group communication, and others.
It was during this time that the trust of people in the Lord was very much tested, and it required a great deal of pastoral patience to pass through this test (as was the case everywhere). He did his best by his example to show that there is no need to fear receiving Holy Communion, but to have confidence in the Lord and His life-giving Love.
Illnesses
From the 1990s, there were many particular challenges that faced Father Panagiotis and Presvytera Hara. Presvytera Hara, who had been very active in teaching children in the parish, and in many other activities, was discovered to be suffering from Parkinson’s Disease. In time, this required her to retire from teaching. Nevertheless, the Lord enabled her to persevere in hope. Father Panagiotis required surgeries to replace painful leg joints ; and then, later on, he encountered a life-threating infection (sepsis), during which he was hospitalised in intensive care for some time. His recovery, by God’s mercy, was complete, and he was enabled to return to his family and to his parishioners (his spiritual family).
Other pastoral service
In loving obedience, and as a servant of Christ, Father Panagiotis fulfilled many obediences given to him from time to time by Metropolitan (later Archbishop) Sotirios (Athanassopoloulos).
From 1990, Father Panagiotis served as the Director of Inter-Church Relations for the Greek Orthodox Church in Canada, serving as his Church’s representative to the Canadian Council of Churches since 1990.
From 1998, Father Panagiotis served as Professor of Patristics and Orthodox Pastoral Ministry at the Toronto Orthodox Theological Academy since 1998.
He and one other person have been teaching in the Academy from the beginning. His students have generally loved and respected their esteemed teacher, not only for his teaching, but perhaps mostly for his loving example.
References
Article in “Faith in Canada 150 – Cabinet of Canadians”
“My Journey to the Priesthood” : Greek Canadian Archives Interview of Father Avgeropoulos (Pentecost, 2025)
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