Emmanuel A.D. Deligiannis

Dr. Emmanuel Alexander Dima Deligiannis was born in Braila, Romania to Rev. Alexander and Lucretia. After escaping communism, the family moved to Greece when Emmanuel was 16 years old. During this time, Emmanuel started to work at his father’s church, often substituting for him.

They lived on the beautiful Greek islands for 5 years, until the family decided that the United States of America was the land of opportunity. They moved originally to Oklahoma, where Emmanuel received his Bachelor of Arts from Oklahoma City University, and his Master of Arts from the University of Oklahoma. While studying for his degrees, Emmanuel worked in a pharmacy and as a salesman, where he earned the reputation of being the top salesman.

After visiting the Greek American churches in California a few times, Emmanuel decided that this was the state in which he wanted to live. So, he got a teaching job in California, and the entire family soon followed him, settling finally in the beautiful city of Orange. While teaching at Downey High School, Emmanuel sponsored the Young People’s Fellowship, a Christian club which was, at the time, the largest student club on campus. In addition to teaching high school, he also taught at California State University, Fullerton, and later at Azusa Pacific University. Emmanuel finished his education by earning his Doctorate Degree (Ph.D.) from the University of Southern California (USC), a fact he was very proud of.

Emmanuel pastored a number of churches and used his organization, Freedom To The Captives, to help sponsor hundreds of refugees from communist Romania. In the early 1980’s, he opened Cathedral On The Hill, a Romanian-American bilingual church in Corona, CA where he pastored full-time. He also remained active in the Greek Evangelical ministries.

Emmanuel served as an evangelist (having taken numerous trips to preach in Europe, Africa, and the Middle East), and he was the most passionate about spreading the message of Pentecost Sunday.

In his free time, Emmanuel enjoyed taking day trips and mini-vacations with his family. Some of his favorite places included Solvang, Cambria, San Diego, San Francisco, and San Juan Capristano.

Emmanuel leaves behind his niece, Alexia (who was like a daughter to him), nephew-in-law, Mike, nephews Alex, Theo, Emmanuel, Joseph, and John, nieces-in-law Melissa, Glenda, Cindy, and Andria, and grand-nephews and nieces Sophia, Olivia, Ella, Alexander, Nicholas, Noah, and Luke (two of whom also carry his name).