CLERGY


  • Rev. Fr. Tilemahos Alikakos, Protopresbyter

    fr.tilemahos@saintharalambosgoc.org

    Fr. Tilemahos Alikakos was born in Melrose Park, IL, in October 1972.  Between 1978 and 1987, the Alikakos family lived in Sparta, Greece.  Upon returning to Chicago, Fr. Tilemahos attended Rolling Meadows High School followed by Loyola University Chicago where he graduated Summa Cum Laude with a B.S. in Mathematics and Statistics in 1994. In the meantime, he attended the Saint Haralambos parish where he learned Byzantine chant with Mr. Bonanos. He then enrolled at Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology, earning his Master of Divinity in 1997 with highest honors.

    Fr. Tilemahos and Presvytera Georgia were married at Saint Haralambos Greek Orthodox Church in June 1997, and together they spent over a year assisting Metropolitan Nikitas  as lay missionaries at the Orthodox Metropolis of Hong Kong and Southeast Asia.  

    Fr. Tilemahos was ordained to the Diaconate on February 28, 1999, by His Eminence, Metropolitan Iakovos of blessed memory. On March 7th, 1999, he was ordained to the Priesthood by then Archbishop Spyridon of America. He was assigned as the associate priest of the Assumption Greek Orthodox Church in Chicago, in March 1999., serving with Fr. George Massouras of blessed memory.

    In June 2001, Fr. Tilemahos was assigned as the Proistamenos of Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox in Sioux City, Iowa, where he oversaw growth and progress in the community as it built stronger ties with the Metropolis family, participating and getting involved in the Metropolis Clergy Laity and other Metropolis ministries.   
    In August 2004, Fr. Tilemahos was assigned to the Saint Spyridon Hellenic Orthodox Church in Palos Heights, where he has served as the parish priest for seventeen years. By the intercessions of Saint Spyridon and the efforts of all the parishioners, the parish steadily grew in the number of faithful and in the ministries it offers.  Archangels Academy, the first bilingual Orthodox preschool in the south suburbs, was opened in 2005.  The Sunday School program expanded to over 140 students, while the Plutarchos Greek School grew to 125 students as it added Greek dance, multimedia learning, and the Junior High Ellinomathia Seminar.  

    Besides his parish duties, Fr. Tilemahos has also served in the position of OCF advisor at the University of Chicago, and a spiritual advisor of the Midwest Hellenic Dance Festival. Fr. Tilemahos is currently serving as a member of the Archdiocesan Council, the Metropolis Council, the Greek Education Committee, Spiritual Court, and the Finance Committee of our Metropolis.  

    Fr. Tilemahos lives in Orland Park with Presvytera Georgia and their four children:  Konstantine, Demetra, Marina and Katerina. 


    Schedule an appointment/confession                                                      

  • Rev. Fr. Constantine P. Botsis, EMERITUS

    fr.dean@saintharalambosgoc.org

    Fr. Dean celebrated his 40th anniversary as the priest of the Holy Taxiarhai and Saint Haralambos Greek Orthodox Church in 2022. Born in Holland, Michigan, and raised in Grand Rapids, he studied at Hellenic College/ Holy Cross School of Theology in Brookline, MA, receiving a Bachelor of Arts in 1971 and Master of Divinity in 1973.
    After graduating, he served for a year as lay assistant and youth director at St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church in Northridge, CA, with Fr. Spencer Kezios (now Bishop Spyridon of  Amastris), and later at the Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church with Fr. George Bartz, of blessed memory, in Akron, Ohio from 1974 to 1976.
    At the invitation of Bishop Iakovos (later Metropolitan Iakovos of Chicago, of blessed memory), he became the diocesan youth director and bishop's assistant in the Diocese of Detroit from 1977 to 1979. As diocesan youth director, he re-wrote the Archdiocesan YAL Guidebook that was released at the 1980 Clergy-Laity Congress.
    In 1977, Fr. Dean became a counselor at the Ionian Village, and served on the IV Staff for the summers of 1977, 1978 and 1979. While at the Ionian Village, Fr. Dean met Georgia Perros, his future Presvytera, and on February 10, 1980, the Feastday of St. Haralambos, they were married in Duluth, MN. They continued their affiliation with the Ionian Village in the summers of 1980, 1981, 1985 and 1993.
    When Bishop Iakovos became Bishop of Chicago in 1979, Fr. Dean came to Chicago and served as the Registrar, issuing and recording baptisms, weddings and divorces, a full-time position which he held until 1986. During that period, he was an organizer and founder of the Orthodox Christian Clergy Association of Greater Chicago (1980), which he served as president and secretary for many years. He was one of the founders of Orthodox Christian SYNERGY (1990), and he also served as the spiritual advisor of the Diocese of Chicago Young Adult League from 1986 to 1993.
    Fr. Dean was ordained to the Holy Diaconate in March of 1980 and served as the bishop's deacon until he was ordained to the Holy Priesthood in June of 1982. On August 1, 1982, Fr. Dean was assigned to our Holy Taxiarhai and St. Haralambos Greek Orthodox Church in Niles, IL. Working together with the building committee, the St. Haralambos Community Center was planned and designed, with ground-breaking taking place in June of 1983. The Thyranoixia of the new center was celebrated on June 3, 1984.

    Under Fr. Dean’s pastorate at St. Haralambos, groundbreaking for the new Holy Taxiarhai and St. Haralambos Greek Orthodox Church building took place in 1987, and the Thyranoixia took place on November 13, 1988; the ongoing furnishing of the church, including unique marble designs, carved woodwork and magnificent iconography continues to the present time. In fulfilment of the community’s long-standing desire, the new Community Life Center was officially opened in 2021, with gymnasium, and much-needed kitchen, meeting and storage areas to serve the ever-expanding needs of the community.

    Fr. Dean served as Secretary of the Spiritual Court for the Metropolis of Chicago from 1979 until 2019. In 1999, he was given the offikion of Protopresbyter of the Ecumenical Throne. He has served on the Archdiocesan Council, and as a member of the Board of Trustees of Hellenic College/Holy Cross School of Theology in Brookline, MA. In 2022, Fr Dean was chosen Niles Citizen of the Year.

    After 40 years, Fr Dean resigned as the presiding priest of our parish, but continues to serve many of its pastoral and organizational needs. He and Presvytera Georgia are the parents of three sons and their spouses, Spero and Tess, Costa and Haley, and Chris and Christina, and have two beautiful granddaughters.

  • Nicholas Harisiadis, Protopsaltis

    Born and raised in Constantinople. After grammar school and middle school graduated high school from the Theological School of Halki.

    Migrated to Greece for further studies and in 1977 to the United States. Married to Anna, also from Constantinople, and is a father of two married sons, one of them also a Protopsalti in Chicago, and has been blessed with four grandchildren.

    Found himself at the chanting stand (Αναλογιο) at four years of age. Has been blessed by the tutelage of great teachers among them the head chanter (Αρχών Πρωτοψάλτης) of the Patriarchate the late Basilios Nikolaidis who he had as a teacher for six consecutive school years. Currently resides in a Chicago suburb, semi retired, though devoted to serving St. Haralambos full time.