Father Christos P. Kanakis, born in San Francisco, California, and raised attending Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church in San Francisco, California, where Father Anthony Kosturos of blessed memory inspired him to pursue the priesthood. After earning his bachelor’s degree in Philosophy and Religion at San Francisco State University in 2006, he graduated from Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology in Boston, Massachusetts, receiving his Masters of Divinity in 2009.
In 2009, His Eminence Metropolitan Gerasimos assigned Fr. Christos to St. Anthony Greek Orthodox Church in Pasadena to commence his ministry as the Pastoral Assistant. On June 6, 2010, His Eminence Metropolitan Gerasimos ordained Fr. Christos to the Diaconate in the parish where he grew up, Holy Trinity in San Francisco, to serve Saint Anthony in Pasadena as a Deacon until his ordination to the Priesthood at Saint Anthony on January 16, 2011, as the second priest.
On Sunday, March 10, 2013, Fr. Christos was appointed as the Pastor of The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary Greek Orthodox Church in Long Beach, California.
Deacon Evangelos, born in Krania, Grevena, Greece, and relocated to Toronto, Canada, at the age of eight, settled in southern California in 1989 upon marrying. Since then, he and his family have actively stewarded Assumption Church in Long Beach, CA. Previously, he served on the Parish Council, directed the Sunday School, and volunteered for the Food Festival. 