Our Priest

Father Elefterios Plevrakis was born and raised in West Palm Beach, Florida and attended church at St. Catherine Greek Orthodox Church. Most of his fondest memories growing up came from involvement in the ministries of the Church.  From a very young age, he served in the Holy Altar and became an avid member of the “Heart of Greece” dance group and a member of the Cretan Association. As he got older, Father took on leadership roles in the group as president and dance instructor. Being a son of immigrant parents, he worked extremely hard to inspire the youth and adults to continue to value the Greek culture and see its relevance in the mission of the Church.

Father Elefterios graduated from Newbury College in Boston, Massachusetts with a Bachelor of Science degree in Hotel and Restaurant Management and continued to earn a Master’s of Science degree in Leadership from Northeastern University. After working for a couple of years in the Hotel and Restaurant field, he realized that it was not the best fit for him. His desire to serve the church continuously pulled him in the opposite direction. Eventually, Father accepted his calling to serve the Lord and enrolled in the Masters of Divinity Program at Holy Cross Greek Orthodox Seminary in Brookline, MA in 2008 and graduated in 2012.

During his years at the seminary, Father Elefterios served as Neokoros at St. John the Baptist in Boston under the spiritual guidance of Father George Dragas. Although a very small community in numbers, the church was strong in its liturgical life and has had a tremendous positive influence on his development. The church members noticed his efforts and Father was nominated for and received the Ministry Award in June 2012 by His Eminence Metropolitan Methodios of Boston. Having lived in Boston for nearly ten years, he was also strongly connected to his Cretan roots by being a member of the PanCretan Association of America Rathamanthus-Ide, Cretan Chapter of Boston. He directed and choreographed the Cretan dance group whose youth members at the time had only a handful of kids.  With hard work and dedication, the group grew to fifty proud dancers within a few years.  

Soon after that Father Elefterios had the blessing to meet His Eminence Metropolitan Evangelos and established a spiritual bond which further led him to want to serve under his Holy Metropolis. Therefore, His Eminence ordained him to the Holy Diaconate on June 14th, 2015 at St. Luke Greek Orthodox Church in Broomall, Pennsylvania. On Sunday, October 1, 2017,  His Eminence Metropolitan Evangelos ordained Deacon Elefterios to the Holy Priesthood at St. Thomas Greek Orthodox Church in Cherry Hill, New Jersey on the honorable occasion of the church’s 50th anniversary alongside His Grace Athanasius of Western Kenya, Father Christoforos Economidis (proistamenos), and Deacons Philotheos and Bartholomew.  He was assigned as Proistamenos  to serve at his first parish, Sts. Mary Magdalene and Markella Greek Orthodox Church on Sunday, October 8, 2017 and continues his ministry there presently. 

Father Elefterios is married to Presbytera Efstathia and they have three children, Ekaterini, Kalliopi, and Nikolaos.