ABOUT OUR CLERGY

Orthodox is not a name you call yourself; Orthodox Christianity is a life you live.

"Let us keep our love and Faith in the Risen Lord ever alive and burning with Holy fervor!"

FATHER JOHN STRATOS HONDROS

Father John Stratos Hondros has been the Presiding Priest since September 2002, at St. John the Baptist Greek Orthodox Church in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Father John attended the Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology, receiving a Masters of Divinity with Distinction in May 1986. He met Maria Brogolias in Dallas, Texas at the Greek Orthodox Young Adult League Conference, and they were joined in Holy Matrimony on February 22, 1987 at the Greek Orthodox Church of the Ascension in Oakland, California in a ceremony officiated by Bishop Anthony.

Father John was ordained to the Holy Diaconate on March 8, 1987 by Bishop Anthony at the Greek Orthodox Church of the Ascension in Oakland. Two weeks later, on March 22, 1987, Father John was ordained to the Holy Priesthood by Bishop Anthony at Assumption Greek Orthodox Church in Long Beach, California.

Father John has served for 36 years in four Parishes in the Metropolis of San Francisco:

April 1987 – August 1991: Holy Trinity Cathedral, Phoenix, Arizona, where he served as Assistant Priest under Father James Tavlarides.
September 1991 – April 1997: St. George Church, Eugene, Oregon, where he served as the first full-time Priest, leading the mission community in building its Church facility and achieving parish status.
May 1997 – August 2002: Church of the Assumption, Seattle, Washington, where he grew the youth and family ministries, and initiated planning and fund-raising for the new parish hall.

September 2002 – Present: St. John the Baptist Church, Las Vegas. During Father John’s tenure thus far: The parish celebrated the grand opening of the St. John Community and Education Center; he received the Offikion of Oikonomos from Metropolitan Anthony; the parish choir hosted on two occasions the Western Conference of the Federation of Greek Orthodox Church Musicians; in June 2005, Metropolitan Gerasimos, Bishop Anthimos, Bishop Ilia and Father John officiated the Holy Consecration of our beloved Church; Phases One and Two of the iconography project of St. John Church were completed in 2005 and 2006, and Phase Three (exedras) was completed in 2019. In 2009 the parish celebrated the 50th Anniversary of its 1959 incorporation in the State of Nevada, and in November 2019 the parish celebrated its 60th Anniversary in November 2019, during which Father John received the Offikion of Protopresbyter from Metropolitan Gerasimos. At the ordination of Deacon John Nixon on July 30, 2023, Fr. John was elevated to Protopresbyter of the Ecumenical Throne by Archbishop Elpidophoros. To date, Father John has mentored three assistant priests, Father Matthew Swehla, Father Seraphim Ramos, and Fr. Florin Ristache.

From 2008 to 2012, Father John was elected and served for two terms as President of the Metropolis of San Francisco Syndesmos, the Brotherhood of the Clergy in this Metropolis. During these years Father John also represented the Metropolis of San Francisco on the Archdiocesan Presbyters Council. Since this time he has served on the organizational committee for the National Clergy Retreats, which are held biennially.

Father John and Presvytera Maria are blessed with two children, Christopher (Darlene) and Marissa (Theodore), and one granddaughter, Kassiani Evdokia Hondros. Presvytera Maria serves regularly and tirelessly as chanter and partner in his ministry to our beloved parish. “An excellent wife is the crown of her husband.” (Proverbs 12:4)

FATHER FLORIN RISTACHE

Father Florin Ristache was Ordained to the Holy Diaconate on February 4 and to Holy Priesthood on February 5, 2023 at St. John the Baptist Greek Orthodox Church. Father Florin, Presvytera Alexandra, and their daughter Daria arrived in Las Vegas in August 2022 and have been a welcome addition to our Parish. In September of 2023 the Ristache family welcomed their new son Alexander Stavros into the world.

He began his ministry here as a Pastoral Assistant overseeing our many Ministries, particularly our Youth. Father Florin was born in Bucharest, Romania, where he completed his Orthodox Theological degree in 2010. After, he was accepted into the Pontifical Oriental Institute in Rome, Italy, where he received both a Master’s Degree and PhD in Ecclesiastical Studies and Patristic Studies; he defended his thesis in 2019.

Father Florin is fluent in Romanian, Greek, Italian and English; Presvytera Alexandra is fluent in Romanian, Spanish and English. The Ristache Family enjoys cooking, the outdoors, exploring new places, and spending time with Daria, Alexander and our Parish Youth.

“He said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Let us go together on this path, with humility, letting the Lord guide us to His Kingdom, which starts here and now – for He is among us and ever shall be."

"We see the world humanity has created, where God is 'erased,' and we know with greater certainly that Christ is the only Way, the Truth, and the Life."

DEACON JOHN ACHILLES NIXON

Deacon John Achilles Nixon was raised in the Greek Orthodox Church from infancy, baptized at Holy Trinity parish in Dallas, where his parents were previously married. As a teen in Fort Worth, he was active as an acolyte and reader at St. Demetrios parish. During college in San Antonio where he earned a B.A. in Religion from Trinity University, he was active in the choir at St. Sophia parish. He entered the seminary program at Holy Cross School of Theology and would be classmates and roommates with now-Father John Hondros.

Following earning his M.Div. at Holy Cross, John served as Pastoral Assistant/Youth Director at St. Catherine parish in Denver under Father Dean Talagan. Subsequently, John took up studies in community mental health counseling, earning an Ed.D. in Counselor Education at the University of Northern Colorado while remaining active as a parishioner at St. Catherine in Denver and in the pan-Orthodox activities there at the time. Desiring a clinical internship as a capstone to his doctoral program, he was selected for a one-year psychology internship program at the Northern Arizona University Counseling and Testing Center in Flagstaff, during which he completed his dissertation in the nature of supervision in pastoral counseling. In that year he led the Sunday Typica service and taught at the Orthodox mission there. For the next 17 years, he established his professional career in Phoenix as a Licensed Professional Counselor and on invitation became program faculty in the graduate counseling degree program at the University of Phoenix, Phoenix Campus, holding various positions over the years including Area Chair for the marriage and family therapy program and Clinical Director for the counseling skills clinic and internship program. He was active at Holy Trinity Cathedral in Phoenix and Assumption parish in Scottsdale.

Recruitment to Las Vegas brought John here in 2013, as Clinical Director at the University of Phoenix, Las Vegas Campus. Licensure as a Nevada Clinical Professional Counselor afforded him continuation of clinical practice. He immediately became active in parish life here at St. John. Following University of Phoenix’s nationwide restructuring, John was invited to a new position at the UNLV Counselor Education Program as Assistant Professor-in-Residence. In 2016 John married the former Ellyn Futral, whom he met at St. Demetrios parish during one of his previous annual holiday trips to Fort Worth to be with family.

Never having wished to be ordained as a monastic, now as a married man, by God’s grace, John was ordained to the Holy Diaconate on July 30 2023, and serves St. John while maintaining his lay profession