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Published by The Oakland Tribune, March 31, 2005

Church’s new metropolitan eager to take spiritual reins

OAKLAND — Metropolitan Gerasimos Michaleas said he considers himself lucky to inherit the position of spiritual leader of Greek Orthodox Christians in the Western United States.

"The people who constitute the San Francisco Metropolis are very well-informed in the church’s mission and very much involved with the church in their lives," Metropolitan Gerasimos said while strolling the hillside grounds of the Ascension Cathedral in Oakland, where his enthronement ceremony will be held Saturday. "It is thrilling to be here."

The new Metropolitan of San Francisco will preside over nearly 100 parishes in California, Hawaii, Oregon, Washington, Alaska, Nevada and Arizona in a position left vacant by the Christmas Day death of Metropolitan Anthony Gergiannakis, who served as its popular leader for more than 25 years.

The Rev. Thomas Paris of Ascension Cathedral said the late Metropolitan Anthony was an energetic, down-to-earth man, popular with adults and children. The new Metropolitan Gerasimos is "a quiet man, but he speaks with thunder," Paris said.

"He has a deep social consciousness, and he wants to work by consensus," Paris added.

Metropolitan Gerasimos, 59, was elected to the office of metropolitan, which can be compared to an archbishop, in February.

He was born in the Peloponnese region of Greece in the town of Kalamata and immigrated to the United States after completing secondary school.

He holds several degrees, including a master’s in divinity and a doctorate in counseling and school psychology.

He worked in administrative positions and as dean of students at his alma mater, Hellenic College/Holy Cross, while serving for 17 years as archdeacon to Archbishop Iakovos, the then-leader of 2 million Greek Orthodox in North and South America.

Professionally, Metropolitan Gerasimos has been a teacher and lecturer, a staff member of an outpatient clinic in Boston and a college admissions and records director. He has published several articles in the area of psychology and is a member of the American Psychological Association and the American Counseling Association.

Metropolitan Gerasimos has served as bishop of Krateia and as chief secretary of the Holy Eparchial Synod of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America.

Life is not all study and work, Metropolitan Gerasimos said Wednesday. In his free time, he likes to go mountain climbing, hiking, biking and running.

"I love reading as much as possible," he said, citing Tom Clancy as one of his favorite novelists.

Metropolitan Gerasimos also is a cook, and admits he prefers light meals cooked with organic vegetables and fish to traditional Greek fare.

Metropolitan Gerasimos said he will announce his commitment to families during his enthronement ceremony speech Saturday. He said he is concerned the traditional family does not have enough support, and he wants the church to create an "institute of family care" to provide direct services, such as counseling, to families.

Fanis Economidis, vice president of the San Francisco Metropolitan Council and one of Metropolitan Anthony’s closest advisers, said the 100,000 or so parishioners of the Metropolis of San Francisco are excited about the church’s new leader.

"We’re embracing him with love and affection, hoping he will steer and navigate our church in the right direction," Economidis said.

His Eminence Archbishop Demetrios of America, primate of the Greek Orthodox Church in America, will preside at the Saturday enthronement at 4700 Lincoln Ave., Oakland.

Doors of the Ascension Cathedral will open at 9 a.m., and the event will begin at 10:30 a.m. Shuttle service will be provided at additional parking sites available at the nearby Mormon Temple and Cerebral Palsy Center.



Volume 7 Number 14 - Tuesday, April 5th, 2005	A Publication of the ORTHODOX CHRISTIAN LAITY