From St. Athansios to St. John The Theologian

Father Peter "Hello Mel, this is Father Peter.", came a call the other day from my old friend Fr. Panagiotis "Peter" Lekkas. My response was that he must have known that I had circled the church parking lot several times this past week looking for him. "Where did you look?" he asked. Why at St. Athanasios, I replied. No wonder he said, I am now at St. John the Theologian Cathedral in Tenafly.

Fr, Lekkas had been at St. Athanasios Greek Orthodox Church in Paramus for several years. An old friend of mine, we go back to the days when he used to live in Wildwood where I first met him. He shocked me when we first met in Paramus in 2004, last I heard, he was at a church in Astoria, NY. He is now at the Greek Orthodox Metropolitan Cathedral of Saint John the Theologian, 353 East Clinton Avenue in Tenafly.

Of course I had to go out there to see him and the beautiful church to which the bishop had reassigned him. One might know that I picked the slipperiest, slidingest snowy day we have had. It made the return trip take 3 times as long. Seeing my longtime friend was well worth it! Seeing that gorgeous cathedral from the inside made it even more so.

Father Peter took me on a tour of the church and later we sat in his office recalling old times. He invited me to attend a Sunday service where, he said I would understand more of it than I did at St. Athanasios. He also invited me to attend the church festival and carnival held in the latter part of May.