Priestly Presence
St. Elias finally gets a full-time priest
For the first time in many years, St. Elias the Prophet Church has its own priest. The Rev. Andonios Callozzo was hired recently to be the full-time spiritual leader of Dubuque’s tiny Greek Orthodox parish.
Callozzo, an animated, effusive man with intense brown eyes, lives at the church parsonage on Rockdale Road. He has lived and worked mostly in the Chicago area, but has also pastored parishes in Colorado, Idaho and New Mexico. He and his wife, Rosalie, raised three children. After her death, he returned to the monastic life.
Callozzo, 62, converted from his Italian family’s Roman Catholicism to Orthodoxy at the age of 12. He is a man of many interests and talents, among them, painting traditional detailed Orthodox icons. He speaks fluent Greek and Italian and is less fluent in four other languages.
“It’s been difficult for us to maintain an ongoing spiritual presence only having a priest for the weekend. As lay people, we did what we could, but having Father here will make us a more cohesive religious community,” said Mantea Kapatanakes Schmid, a member of St. Elias.
News You Can Use
What: Greek Night Gala
When: Oct. 8, 6:30 p.m. cocktails, 7:30 p.m. dinner.
Where: Grand River Center
Who: Sponsored by St. Elias the Prophet Greek Orthodox Church
Cost: $75 per person
For more information, call Mantea Schmid at 563/556-4358
For years the parish relied on priests who came for Sunday divine liturgy from great distances, often from Chicago.
Ed Dissell, parish council president, said the church members are having to re-learn what it’s like to have a full-time pastor.
“We adapted to the situation as best we could, but all of us have a lot to learn about our traditions and beliefs. It’s an exciting time for us all,” he said. Dissell is especially enthusiastic about the religious education classes, for both youth and adults, Callozzo is starting.
“We have a lot of kids in the parish now and we’re looking toward their future,” Dissell said.
“For most of his life my son did not have a full-time priest and it had a negative impact on him. You’re on your own except for Sunday service.”
Besides establishing Sunday school classes and adult catechism groups, Callozzo plans to encourage congregation-wide singing during services, use as much English as Greek in his services and have the parish’s male children all serve as altar boys to include them more intimately in the divine liturgy.
“It’s kind of been on-the-job training. They have been isolated, like many small parishes are,” Callozzo said. “These parishioners are thirsting for knowledge of their faith.”
The parish realizes it will be a struggle to support a full-time priest, but is ready to take on the challenge, said Dissell.
In the past, St. Elias’s annual Greek Festival raised funds to run the parish, including paying for a part-time priest. The project got to be too big an undertaking for the small parish.
This year, St. Elias will try something new on Oct. 8 at the Grand River Center – an evening of Greek food, live music and culture named, “An Event of Olympic Proportions.”