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Through the Grace and infinite Wisdom of our Merciful Lord I have been assigned by his Eminence our Metropolitan Gerasimos to lead this beloved congregation in its spiritual quest according to our precious Orthodox Christian faith. My name is Fr. John Kariotakis and, yes you guessed right, I was born and raised on the island of Crete. I am a graduate of the Rizarios Seminary in Athens. I also received my theological degree from the School of Theology of the University of Athens in 1980. While still a student in Athens I was married to Kathy Schaper, an all America girl with a very strong Lutheran upbringing from Fort Wayne Indiana. She lovingly embraced the Orthodox faith and became my beloved Presvytera as I was ordained into the Holy Priesthood in 1981. My first assignment was as an assistant Priest at the Holy Trinity Church in Portland Oregon. There, among many blessings, I had the privilege to have in my youth group two young people by the names of John and Fotini. Of course you who they are. Also in Portland our only child, daughter Evangelia was born. Following Portland, I served as the proistamenos at St. Nicolas Parish in Tacoma, WA. for 7 years. In 1992 I was assigned to lead the parish of St. Spyridon in San Diego. Unfortunately, Presvytera Kathy fell asleep in the Lord in the year 2000 at the young age of 43. At the same age I was a widowed Priest with a young child to care for. I continued to be the pastor at St. Spyridon until 2003 for a total of 11 years. At that point I decided that I needed to take a sabbatical and to decide the course of my life, given my special circumstances. Upon my return I assumed the pastoral duties at the Greek Orthodox Mission in San Juan Capistrano, a new and vibrant Community in S. California. I welcome my new assignment to St. John the Baptist Parish. I do not consider it a challenge but a noble opportunity to serve. I am looking forward to knowing each and everyone of you personally and to ministering to your needs. My prayer is that I will be not only your pastor, but your friend and confidante. Loving the Lord is possible only through love for His people Pray with me that, through His loving kindness, all our good expectations will be fulfilled in this new union. In Christ, Father John Kariotakis |