Ordination of Bishop-elect Spyridon of Amastris

On Saturday, November 14, 2020, His Grace Bishop-elect Spyridon (Kezios) of Amastris will be ordained to the Episcopacy at Holy Cross Greek Orthodox Church in Belmont, CA. The Greek Orthodox Metropolis of San Francisco welcomes His Eminence Archbishop Elpidophoros of America who will preside over the Ordination, along with His Eminence Archbishop Nikitas of Thyateira and Great Britain and His Eminence Metropolitan Gerasimos of San Francisco.

“It is a joy and honor to once again be joined by His Eminence Archbishop Elpidophoros of America as he visits the west coast for this historic episcopal ordination of Bishop-elect Spyridon of Amastris. The clergy and faithful look forward to joining in prayer, whether in person or virtually, to witness this beautiful service and the continuation of Apostolic Succession which began with the founding of the Orthodox Christian Church by the Apostle Andrew in Constantinople nearly 2,000 years ago,” stated His Eminence Metropolitan Gerasimos of San Francisco. “I have known Bishop-elect Spyridon for many years and he is a man of great faith who has led a distinguished ministry. I know he will continue to serve the Church with the gifts and knowledge he has been granted from the Lord, and we pray that he will be blessed with many more years to serve the Archdiocese as an Auxiliary Bishop.”

Due to COVID restrictions, attendance at the Divine services is limited to those who have reserved advance seating. All faithful are invited to watch the live stream online, with Orthros beginning at 8:30 a.m. PST, followed by the Archieratical Divine Liturgy at 9:30 a.m. PST.

There are three components to the episcopal ordination that occur at various points in the Divine Liturgy. The first begins at the conclusion of the Great Doxology, just prior to the beginning of the Divine Liturgy, with a ceremonial “questioning” of the faith of the candidate to be ordained. The second part of the ordination follows the chanting of the Trisagion Hymn (Holy God, Άγιος ο Θεός), which is the formal laying on of hands by all the ordaining hierarchs on the candidate, Significantly, this occurs with the Gospel Book opened and placed over the head of the kneeling candidate. Then he is vested in his episcopal robes, At the Dismissal, near the end of the Liturgy, the newly ordained Bishop Spyridon will receive his Episcopal miter and pastoral staff.

His Grace Bishop Spyridon will celebrate his first Divine Liturgy on Sunday, November 15 at Holy Cross Greek Orthodox Church in Belmont, CA, with Orthros beginning at 8:45 a.m. following by the Hierarchical Divine Liturgy at 10:00 a.m.

AXIOS!

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Biography of Bishop-elect Spyridon (Kezios) of Amastris

Fr. Spencer T. Kezios, a priest of the Greek Orthodox Faith, was born in Chicago, Illinois. His home parish was the Assumption Church where he served as an Altar Boy and where he was ordained a deacon. During his teen years he was a very active participant in youth ministry as a Jr. Goyan. The Central Council, comprised of representation of all the Chicago parishes, elected him as their president in 1951. It was during those years he came to know Chrisanthe Marinakos. Their friendship grew to love and they married in July of 1957. They have been blessed with four loving children: Mark, Evonne, Trevon, (Jennifer) and Nicholas, and grandchildren Roman and Mia. In 2012 after a prolonged illness Presbytera Chrisanthe passed into life eternal on Easter Sunday.

After ordination Fr. Kezios served parishes in Keene, New Hampshire; Gary, Indiana and Pocatello, Idaho. In 1960, Fr. Kezios began serving the Parish of Saint Nicholas in Northridge, California where, after 45 years, he retired, accepting the honor of Pastor Emeritus. Under his spiritual guidance the Saint Nicholas Parish grew from a mission parish into a prominent center of Faith. In 1967, Saint Nicholas Church, which had been located in Granada Hills, outgrew its facilities and moved to Northridge to a newly erected church, an administration building and a twelve-classroom school. In his early years at Saint Nicholas, Fr. Kezios was one of the three original incorporators of Guadalupe Home for Boys.

In 1970 he established the first Greek Orthodox senior citizens housing development in the Archdiocese, followed a few years later by a second senior citizens housing development.

In 1977 he founded Saint Nicholas Parochial School which has distinguished itself by its high academic standards. In 1978, a new Community Center was erected providing an additional thirteen classrooms, meeting rooms, a separate gymnasium as well as a ballroom.

Some of his extraordinary assignments have been the production of five educational films. The first of these, “A Boy Named Panayiotis,” was produced when Archbishop Iakovos asked Fr. Kezios to produce a film to bring the plight of the people of Cyprus to the American people after they suffered the Turkish invasion.  In addition, he produced and directed a folkloric program of the music and dances of Cyprus which toured the United States.  The net proceeds of this program benefited the refugees of Cyprus.

Immediately following the fall of communism in Albania, Archbishop Iakovos once again called on Fr. Kezios to assist the efforts of the Church to have the Albanian government accept Anastasios as Archbishop of Albania.  After meeting with Archbishop Iakovos and Mr. Samaras, the then Foreign Minister of Greece, he was assigned to a delegation which was sent to Albania to assist in the furtherance of this request of the Ecumenical Patriarchate for the appointment of Archbishop Anastasios.

In 1994, experiencing the real lack of cantors versed in Greek and able to chant the Office of Orthros, he embarked upon translating the complete Orthros services from the original Greek into English, a monumental task. The Office of Orthros chanted prior to the Liturgy changes each and every week and each and every year. The complete Orthros service for every week of the year is now published semi-annually for use by both Priests and Cantors. It has now become a familiar resource and because of its size affectionately referred to as the “Kezios phonebook.”

That same year he and his good friend, the late Fr. Leonidas Contos, formed Narthex Press, primarily dedicated to providing liturgical translations into contemporary English. Although Fr. Contos passed on in 1995, Fr. Kezios has continued the work of Narthex Press with the publication of forty two volumes, and an additional four liturgical music books and CDs.  He recently published a beautifully illustrated book, The Bible for Young People.

Fr. Kezios has also chaired the Liturgical Translation Committee of our Archdiocese in the past, and has served on various committees of our Church and Archdiocese; among the dearest, as a member of the Executive Committee of his Alma Mater, the Holy Cross School of Theology.  He has also served as a Trustee for the Patriarch Athenagoras Orthodox Institute of the University of California, Berkeley.

Upon his retirement as Pastor of Saint Nicholas, the Vestry in the Chapel of the Holy Cross School of Theology was named in his honor.

His activities and involvements go beyond the Church and extend into the Community as well. He has been active in various civic and community affairs. He presently serves as a Chaplain for the Los Angeles Police Department and was also a member of its Chaplain’s Advisory Board. In 2005 the Mayor of Los Angeles, Antonio Villaraigosa, appointed Fr. Kezios as a member of the Planning Commission which plans for the future development of the City It adjudicates issues of planning and zoning which are brought before the Commission.

In retirement he has continued translating liturgical services especially for the Ecumenical Patriarchate. Two of note are the Sacred Service of the sanctifying of the Holy Chrism for the Sacrament of Confirmation which takes place at the Ecumenical Patriarchate during all of Holy Week; and the complete edition of all the Sacred Services which were celebrated during the Holy and Great Council in Crete in 2016.

On October 6, 2020, the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America announced that His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew together with the Holy and Sacred Synod, accepted the proposal of the Holy Eparchial Synod of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America for the election of three Auxiliary Bishops, Spyridon (Kezios) as Bishop of Amastris, Timothy (Bakakos) as Bishop of Hexamilion, and John (Constantine) as Bishop of Phocaea.