Message from Father Andreas Vithoulkas
Proïstamenos and Archiepiscopal Vicar of the Saint Nicholas National Shrine
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Dear Friends of Saint Nicholas,
We have important news about the Saint Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church and National Shrine. With thanks to George Mihaltses for his service to the Parish, on Monday, September 12, His Eminence, Archbishop Elpidophoros of America welcomed Demetri Papacostas and Dimitrios Katsiklis to the Archdiocese of America, where they received their respective appointments as Parish Council President and Head Cantor of the St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church and National Shrine. Below is some biographical information about each person, to give you a chance to get to know them.
Demetri Papacostas Demetri is very involved in our Orthodox and Hellenic community. He is on the Board of Trustees for International Orthodox Christian Charities (IOCC), Hellenic College Holy Cross (HCHC), and the Hellenic American Association for Professionals in Finance (HABA). He works for a fintech firm in NY, where he has been for 13 years and runs a Market Specialist group focusing on commodities and corporate risk. Previously he worked for major financial institutions: at JPMorgan Chase heading the FX Derivative Structuring Group and the FX Sales group. Demetri also teaches a Futures & Options Course at City University’s Colin Powell School for Civic and Global Leadership to graduate and undergraduate students. He has published the definitive book on FX, FX Options, and the fascinating way individuals engage with the market: Foreign Exchange Options and Risk Management: Market Dynamics, Models and Human Behaviour, with his co-author Francesco Tonin. He and his wife Susan have raised three children and live in Westchester NY.
Dimitrios Katsiklis hails from Volos, Greece, and is a professional Master Chanter and Teacher of Byzantine Music Psaltic Art, a researcher in the field of Byzantine Musicology, holding a diploma in, Byzantine Music, a BSc in Pastoral Studies, a M.A in Theology & Byzantine Musicology with major in the Athonite Chanting Tradition, and an MBA with minor in Maritime Shipping. He has served as a chanter and master chanter at many churches throughout the Orthodox world for more than 25 years, including the St. Nicholas Cathedral in Volos, Moni Petraki and St. Savvas in Athens, and at St. Anthony’s Monastery in the USA. He also teaches Byzantine Music at the Archdiocesan School of Byzantine Music. He has had a parallel career in corporate finance, investor relations and business development for more than 15 years. He is married to Maria Sarri-Katsiklis from Volos, Greece and they are the proud parents of 4 children.
With these two dynamic individuals coming on board our team, the future is bright for the Saint Nicholas National Shrine.
Faithfully in Christ,
Father Andeas Vithoulkas