Protopresbyter Reverend Father Demetrios Partsafas

Protopresbyter Reverend Father Demetrios Partsafas passed away peacefully surrounded by his family at the age of 82 on Thursday October 5th, 2023, after a long battle with Alzheimer’s. Father will be forever remembered by his loving wife Irene, his children Socrates, Maria (Jorge), Stella (Nick) and Nectaria; grandchildren Dimitri, Amelia, Apostoli, Stelio, Yianni, Irini, Alexandra and many extended family, friends, parishioners, and fellow brothers in Christ.

Protopresbyter Reverend Father Demetrios Partsafas, the middle child of Socrates and Maria Partsafas, was born on October 27, 1940, in Kokkari, Samos. Father Demetrios grew up on the island of Samos until 1954 when he left Samos for Montreal with his mother and two siblings to join his father, who had immigrated to Canada in 1951.

As a teenager in Montreal, Fr. Demetrios attended high school at night and worked during daytime to help his family. Young Demetrios served as an altar boy in Sherbrooke and attended St. George’s Greek Orthodox Church on Coté street.

Fr. Demetrios made the decision to enter priesthood in his early 20s and with the assistance and guidance of the Metropolitan Athenagoras of England, he returned to Greece and studied theology at the University of Thessaloniki. After graduating in 1967, Fr. Demetrios met Irene Hatzioannou, also from Samos. They married in 1968 and in the spring of 1969, the newly married couple moved back to Montreal.

Upon his return to Canada, the late Bishop Theodosius ordained Fr. Demetrios on July 6, 1969, as deacon at his home parish, St. George’s, and the next day, on July 7, 1969, Fr. Demetrios was ordained as a priest. In late July 1969, Fr. Demetrios was appointed as parish priest of St. Demetrios Greek Orthodox Church in the small town of Waterloo, Iowa, where he served for the next 5 years.

While in Waterloo, Father Demetrios and Presbytera Irene started their family and they

welcomed into the world their son, Socrates in 1969, followed by their twin daughters Maria and Stella in 1972. Their fourth child, Necktaria, was born in Vancouver in 1980.

In the spring of 1974, while in Chicago for the Clergy-Laity Conference of the Greek Orthodox Diocese of America, Fr. Demetrios met two representatives from the Hellenic Community of Vancouver, Tom Karras and Georgios Christocostas. During the conference, these two gentlemen approached the newly appointed Bishop of Canada, His Grace Bishop Sotirios of Toronto (now His Eminence Archbishop Sotirios) to ask if he would consider transferring Fr. Demetrios to Vancouver.

As a result of these discussions at the conference, Fr. Demetrios came to Vancouver in September 1974 to meet with the Board of Trustees. Upon his return to Iowa and by invitation of the Board of Trustees of the Hellenic Community, Fr. Demetrios and his young family arrived in Vancouver on September 22, 1974.

Two years after arriving in Vancouver not only was Fr. Demetrios involved in the fundraising efforts for the church iconography and furniture but became involved with the fundraising efforts for the construction of the Hellenic Community Centre. During his 40 years at St. George’s, Fr. Demetrios continued his work to beautify our church by leading the fundraising efforts for both additional iconography and carpet replacement in 2012.

Fr. Demetrios was a central force in the Hellenic Community of Vancouver for over four decades. Under his direction, countless young men served the altar as altar boys during the Divine Liturgies and other important feast days. He also was responsible in leading a robust Sunday School program with very dedicated volunteers who taught the youngest members of our community about our faith. After completing Sunday School, the youth of our community entered GOYA (Greek Orthodox Youth Association) and Fr. Demetrios ensured that the youth remained close to the church and engaged in their community. Most recently, Fr. Demetrios was involved in supporting Camp Metamorphosis. He was also an advisor to our Greek language program where thousands of students studied our language, culture, and religion.

In addition to his extensive work with the youth, Fr. Demetrios had other significant highlights during his tenure including hosting the World Council of Churches in 1983, welcoming His All Holiness Bartholomew in 1998, and hosting two Clergy-Laity Assemblies of our Holy Metropolis in 1985 and 2013.

Fr. Demetrios was also very active in many programs that brought families closer to the community including the Healthier, Safer, Family and Community initiative in the 1990s and the establishment of a Mother’s Day Walk the proceeds of which were donated to the BC Children’s Hospital. Fr. Demetrios organized numerous visits to the local monastery of St. John the Forerunner in Washington State and led a group to the Holy Land. During his time at St. George’s, Fr. Demetrios was elevated to the office of Economos and then Protopresbyter by His Eminence Archbishop Sotirios.”

Reading of the Gospels will be at 5:00 pm on Monday, October 23, 2023. Trisagion Service will follow at 7:00 pm.

Divine Liturgy will be at 8:30 am on Tuesday, October 24th. Funeral Service will follow at 11:00 am.

Presided by His Eminence Archbishop Sotirios of Canada.

Burial to follow at Forest Lawn Memorial Park, 3789 Royal Oak Ave. Burnaby, BC.

The Family would like to express their gratitude to all the Doctors, Nurses, and staff at the Richmond General Palliative Care Unit and to the Homecare workers of Vancouver Coastal Health.

Thank you also to all our extended Family and Friends for all the love and support to our father and our family throughout his journey.

In lieu of flowers and in memory of Father Partsafas please donate to the Greek Orthodox Church of your choosing.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.MountPleasantFuneral.com for the Partsafas family.