Our Clergy
Fr Demetrios Gardikes, Cathedral Dean
By God’s Grace, the mission is the Great Commission of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
I am a Columbus native and have attended, as an active member, the Annunciation Greek Orthodox Cathedral in Columbus since the early 1970’s.
I entered the Ohio State University in 1985 and graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration in 1989. After graduation, I took a position with a major corporation as a sales and marketing manager and worked my way up before attending seminary in the late 1990’s.
In the spring of 2001, I graduated from the Masters of Divinity Program at St. Vladimir’s Theological Seminary. I was ordained to the Deaconate by His Eminence Metropolitan MAXIMOS of Pittsburgh on August 4th, 2001 at St. Gregory Palamas Monastery (Haysville, Ohio), and to the Priesthood on January 26th, 2002 at the Annunciation Greek Orthodox Cathedral in Columbus. Upon completing my additional studies at Holy Cross Theological Seminary in Boston, MA, I was assigned as associate pastor to the Annunciation Greek Orthodox Cathedral beginning June 1st, 2002.
At the request of His Eminence in June of 2005, I was assigned as the presiding priest of St Spyridon Greek Orthodox Church in Monessen, PA. On December 12, 2008, the Feast of St Spyridon, His Eminence bestowed the honor of Stavrophoros Economos. Nine months later, I was assigned as the Dean of the Metropolis Cathedral in Pittsburgh.
Coming full circle, I have been entrusted with the ministry at the Annunciation Greek Orthodox Cathedral which began on the cathedral’s 100 year anniversary celebration, September 30, 2012.
God calls all of humanity to follow Him in peace. In our response, He is glorified. Let us humbly answer the call, in love with perseverance, to repent, meaning to continuously reflect on the words of the Lord’s Prayer, “Thy Will be done,” for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.
Fr Savvas Mandeville, Assistant Priest
The Mission as Dean:
The mission is to uphold the Great commission of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, “to make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (Mt. 28:19), teaching them to observe the commandments. Man’s vocation in Christ as far as his soul is concerned, is to bring the body and all of creation into relationship with God. My hope is to always do God’s will and be a vessel in whatever capacity. As a priest, I believe one must observe the needs of the community and then create situations to connect with the people, and to bring the remembrance of Christ into their hearts. Connections are made through the services, being present at meetings, functions, social activities, visitations, church organizations and creative situations, which give opportunity to preach the Gospel without discrimination.
As you surf through the web site pages, I also hope that you will remember that the Christian community is like every other part of life. To paraphrase scripture, we reap what we sow. Therefore, the greater your involvement, commitment and support, the greater will be the benefit to you and our church. The greater your commitment and time to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, the closer your relationship will be with Him. I look forward as we encourage one another to continually grow in the faith of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ for the building up of His Church. Glory to You O Lord, Glory to You!