Longtime Greek Orthodox pastor retires
READING >> The Rev. Thomas L. Pappalas, pastor of Sts. Constantine & Helen Greek Orthodox Church, retired recently after serving for 34 years at the Berks County church.
He was honored Saturday evening, Sept. 7, at a banquet that drew 525 people, including His Eminence Savas Zembillas, Metropolitan of Pittsburgh, to the DoubleTree by Hilton hotel in Reading.
Affectionately known as “Father Tom,” he is the longest-tenured priest to serve at the church on East Wyomissing Boulevard in the city.
His tenure spanned about a third of the history of the church, founded by Greek immigrants in 1914.
Pappalas, who’s 70, celebrated his final Divine Liturgy as the church’s pastor on Sept. 1.
With Metropolitan Savas, Rev. Pappalas celebrated Divine Liturgy Sunday, Sept. 8, with his successor, Rev. Theodore Petrides, formerly of Holy Cross Greek Orthodox Church in Stroudsburg, Monroe County.
Father Tom was greeted with hugs and kisses from admiring parishioners when he arrived at a reception in a lobby outside a DoubleTree banquet room.
Artie Fecera, parish council president for the past 15 years, said Father Tom is going to be missed.
“His love of his parish and the people in the parish are second to none,” Fecera said. “He was not only a priest, but a friend.”
Chris Kararas, former council president and emcee for the evening, said Father Tom’s greatest quality was his approachability.
“His very deep faith comes across wherever he is present,” Kararas said. “He is very pious, yet very human.”
Pappalas, who said he was overwhelmed by the outpouring of love he felt, left for a vacation in Greece on Monday, Sept. 9.
“I want to visit my family,” he said. “I have more family in Greece than here.”
Born in Chicago, Pappalas did a stint in the Navy and earned a degree in electronics technology from DeVry Technical Institute before entering Hellenic College Holy Cross Orthodox School of Theology in Massachusetts. He earned a Master’s Degree in Theology from Holy Cross Seminary in 1981.
While serving as deacon in parishes in Virginia, he was ordained into the priesthood in 1983.
He was assigned to Sts. Constantine & Helen in September 1985.
“Over the past 34 years, Father Tom has made a tremendous mark on the lives of parishioners and families at Sts. Constantine & Helen,” said Gust Zogas, one of a delegation that recruited Pappalas from St. Demetrios Greek Orthodox Church in Perth Amboy, N.J.
“We never regretted our decision,” said Zogas, 88, former president of Reading Area Community College. “He’s very religious, but very humble.”
Pappalas presided over several church expansions, including the completion of the interior iconography of the church, construction of a social hall in 2000 and its 100th anniversary celebration in 2014.
He was the first non-Protestant to serve as president of the Reading Berks Conference of Churches in 1984. He served two terms.
Pappalas holds the title Protopresbyter of the Ecumenical Throne, the highest honor awarded married priests in the Orthodox Church.
He and his spouse, the former Anne Panagakos, live in Exeter Township. They have been married 38 years and have three children.
In their farewell message to the congregation, the couple wrote, “Our hearts are full of gratitude for the many years we have shared. We will always be part of you because we have shared so much and loved your greatly. We look forward to seeing further growth and for a new generation full of energy and enthusiasm to come forth.”
The family plans to continue living in Exeter Township and Rev. Pappalas will be available to serve as a substitute priest at Greek Orthodox churches in the
Pittsburgh Diocese, which includes most of Pennsylvania, all of Ohio and West Virginia.