St. Elias the Prophet Greek Orthodox Church Santa Fe NM

We are a parish of the Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Denver. St. Elias serves Santa Fe, northern New Mexico, and southern Colorado. Rev. Fr. Seraphim Johns is the Parish Priest. The church is located in the community of Eldorado, approximately 10 miles southeast of the Santa Fe city center. We invite you to also participate in this witness by joining the worship and fellowship of our parish.

 

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https://steliasnm.org/  

 

 

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Saint Elias the Prophet Greek Orthodox Church of Santa Fe, New Mexico is situated on a desert hillside 7,090 feet above sea level, making it the highest-altitude Greek Orthodox Church in the United States. Churches and monasteries named for Saint Elias (Elijah) are often found on high ground, commemorating the Old Testament figure's victory over the priests of Baal at Mount Carmel and his forty-day sojourn in a cave on Mount Horeb.

His Grace Bishop Kallistos of the Greek Orthodox Diocese of Denver designated Saint Elias the Prophet of Santa Fe a mission parish early in 1990. The Reverend Father Dimitri Callozo was assigned to serve as the first priest.

Founding members of the new parish were Alexander and Niki Constantaras, Frank and Alice Carris, and Peter and Dolores Ballas. Charter members included Khalil and Raoufeh Kassicieh and their daughter, May Kassicieh; Richard and Maria Paulson; D.J. and Margaret Nickles; Gus and Sylvia Foukas; Tom and Helen Skinas; Mike and Carrie Mellos; Efterpe Kalangis and her son, Sarando "Ike" Kalangis; Efthimios Maniatis; Ioanna Pavlakos and her sons, Costa and Nick Pavlakos; Panos Karalis; Phil and Jane Griego; John and Shirley Denko; Dimitri Alexandreas; and Chris and Millie Daskalos.

During the early years of the parish's existence, Divine Liturgy was celebrated in the library room of St. Bede's Episcopal Church of Santa Fe. On July 25, 1990, the Constantaras and Carris families donated 4.3 acres of land in Santa Fe's Dos Griegos neighborhood to serve as the site for Saint Elias the Prophet Greek Orthodox Church.

New Mexico architect Jorge de la Torre was commissioned to create the plans for Saint Elias. With input from Father Callazo and the parish members, he designed a Byzantine-style cruciform church crowned by a central octagonal dome.

Construction of the exterior shell of Saint Elias the Prophet began in the fall of 1992 and was completed in the spring of 1993.

The money needed to build the new church, $320,000, came from three sources: parish fundraising, a bank loan arranged by Ike Kalangis, and a "miracle" donation made by an anonymous individual. The miracle donation occurred on September 14, 1992 services were being held at St. Bede's for the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross. While parishioners were receiving their portion of prosphoron (blessed bread) and flowers, someone slipped into the room and placed a brown-paper bag in the collection tray for candles. The bag was later found to contain $20,000 in cash, the exact amount needed to complete construction of the building.

Work on the interior of Saint Elias the Prophet church began in 1993. Father Callozo, who was blessed with innate artistic ability, created the first icons and appointments. Additional work was done by Dr. Alexander Constantaras and architect Efthimios Maniatis. These two parishioners devoted much time and lab or to designing and fabricating the iconostasis (altar screen), the altar table, the stasidia (standing seats), the kathédra (Bishop's throne), and the stonework, tile mosaics, and marble floor.

To protect the iconography from candle and oil-lamp smoke and to prepare for the church's consecration, a narthex was added to Saint Elias the Prophet in early 2017. Father Dimitri Pappas was the driving force behind this project, leading the fundraising effort and working closely with Saint Elias parishioner Peter Grivas to oversee the construction and furnishing of the new space.

Saint Elias the Prophet is blessed to have a diverse ethnic makeup. Services are conducted in Greek, English, Spanish, Arabic, Slavonic, and Romanian. For many years, Dr. Alex Constantaras was the lead chanter, assisted by Qustandi Kassicieh, Mike Melos, Helen Skinas, and Betsy Robeson.