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Archbishop of America joined centennial celebrations of St. Stephen Church in Nea Ionia

July 12, 2026 · 1 min read

On the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the foundation of the Church of St. Stephen in Nea Ionia, a festive concelebrated Hierarchical Divine Liturgy was celebrated today, Sunday, presided over by Archbishop Elpidophoros of America and concelebrated by Metropolitan Gabriel of Nea Ionia, Philadelphia, Irakleio and Chalcedon, and Metropolitan Ieronymos of Kalavryta and Aigialeia.

Among those attending the Divine Liturgy were the Mayor of Nea Ionia, Panagiotis Manouris; former Prime Minister Antonis Samaras; Deputy Prime Minister Kostis Hatzidakis; Ministers Adonis Georgiadis and Niki Kerameus; Government Spokesperson Pavlos Marinakis; PASOK Member of Parliament Milena Apostolaki; former Regional Governor of Attica Giorgos Patoulis; Member of Parliament Athena Linou; former AEK football player Nikos Kostenoglou; as well as members of the Nea Ionia Municipal Council.

Photos: CHRISTOS BONIS / EUROKINISSI

Source: Orthodox Times · Read the full story →

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Νίκος Κωνσταντίνου

Happy birthday to the parish of Agios Stefanos! It's nice that Archbishop Elpidophoros came along with Metropolitan Gabriel. Kostenoglou was there, he reminded me of old AEK.

Elizabeth Johnson

Nice to see the whole neighborhood turn out for St. Stephen’s hundredth. Kostenoglou in the crowd made me smile too — brought back those old AEK days. Χρόνια πολλά to the parish.

Ειρήνη Αντωνίου

Happy birthday to our parish here in Heraklion! Kostenoglou really stands out, he reminded me of that match with Olympiakos in '97. I hope you also went for coffee in the neighborhood afterwards.

Κατερίνα Παπαδοπούλου

Happy birthday from me too! Indeed, it is nice that the Hope Bearer came, it gave another weight. Kostenoglou also reminded me of the Sundays when I used to go to the stadium with my husband. Did you go to church by bike?

Наталья Макарова

Χρόνια πολλά to the parish of St. Stephen! It’s nice that Elpidoforos came and added weight. And Kostenoglu reminded me of how my sons supported AEK on TV in the nineties.

Νίκη Βασιλείου

Yes, Kostenoglou always stands out, I also remember that match in 1997 that gave us joy. I hope you also went for coffee afterwards, the neighborhood was full of people. Happy birthday to your parish in Heraklion!