John Kefalas, Greek Orthodox leader, dies
The Rev. John Kefalas, longtime priest of St. John's Greek Orthodox Church in Bluepoint is shown during one of his many trips to the Holy Land. The Rev. Kefalas, who resided in East Setauket, died on April 8, 2012. He was 68.
Newsday's obituary for The Rev. John Kefalas
Credit: Handout
The Rev. John Kefalas, a longtime Greek Orthodox leader from Setauket, was wary about becoming a priest. As a young man, he feared that wearing the collar would distance him from the people he wanted to help, his family said.
Despite the early concerns, Kefalas went on to lead St. John's Greek Orthodox Church in Blue Point for 33 years.
He taught English to immigrants, opened the church's doors to the homeless and served as a spiritual guide for the Stony Brook Greek Children's Cardiac Program for more than a decade, said Anita Kefalas, his wife of 43 years.
"His parish was not just within the church -- it was also outside the church," she said. "He loved helping people of all ethnic groups . . . He'd be fighting for them."
Kefalas died of liver cancer on April 8 -- Palm Sunday for Greek Orthodox Christians -- at Mount Sinai Hospital. He was 68.
Born to Greek immigrants in Brooklyn, Kefalas graduated from Holy Cross School of Theology in 1970. He and his wife spent several years counseling troubled youth in San Bernardino, Calif., before returning to New York in 1976.
Kefalas, who was ordained May 23, 1976, led Brooklyn's Three Hierarchs Church until settling at St. John's in 1978. He spearheaded the 1982 reconstruction of the church and married and baptized thousands, according to the church website.
He went on to become a protopresbyter, the highest rank for married Greek Orthodox priests.
"I would tell him, 'You need a cot down there [St. John's],' " Anita Kefalas said about her husband. "There were a lot of kids who didn't have fathers, so there were a lot of times he would go to a concert for a kid instead of his own kid's concert."
The avid sailor even named his boat "Myrto" -- after a Greek orphan and heart patient who passed away, she said.
Karena Kefalas, 36, of Westchester, said despite being constantly on call, her father was a strong role model.
"He didn't have one weekend off," she said. "It was a hard balance. But we never felt he wasn't there."
Kefalas learned of his cancer less than three weeks before his death on the Greek Orthodox holy day, his wife said.
"Only the Lord would take the best on Palm Sunday," she said.
Other survivors include daughters Jessie, of Kansas City, Mo., and Nicole, of Shelter Island; sisters Despina, of Brooklyn, and Kathleen, of Glen Cove; and two grandchildren.
Kefalas' April 10 funeral at St. John's was attended by more than 1,000 people, according to the church. Burial was in Union Cemetery in Sayville.
Out East with Doug Geed: Wine harvests, a fish market, baked treats and poinsettias NewsdayTV's Doug Geed visits two wineries and a fish market, and then it's time for holiday cheer, with a visit to a bakery and poinsettia greenhouses.
Out East with Doug Geed: Wine harvests, a fish market, baked treats and poinsettias NewsdayTV's Doug Geed visits two wineries and a fish market, and then it's time for holiday cheer, with a visit to a bakery and poinsettia greenhouses.
