Metropolis of Boston Ministry Award Recipients


Metropolis of Boston Ministry Award Recipients Chosen by Their Communities
June 12, 2005 will mark the 19th time that Greek Orthodox faithful of New England will have gathered together to celebrate faith and honor individuals who have labored tirelessly on behalf of their communities and metropolis. HCS will endeavor to post the announcements of chosen recipients as this information is released to the press. According to His Eminence Metropolitan Methodios, the annual awards dinner is a celebration of "discipleship," for we are all "Disciples of Christ," in a statement released to the Hellenic Voice recently. Among those chose for these distinguished awards are the following individuals. Click on each name to view the information released by the Metropolis Office: Argiropolis, Angie Cosmopoulos, Georgia Mitchell, Aspacia "Esther" Pappas, Tasie Tikelis, Virginia E.

MITCHELL, ASPACIA "ESTHER" Aspacia "Esther" Mitchell was selected by the St.. Sophia Parish in New Longon CT. Born in Hartford, CT, she grew up in the Church community. A Philoptochos woman par excellence, she has served the philanthropic arm of hte Church in America on all levels--the local church, the metropolis and the national board. On all levels, she has shared her time and talents serving on various committees including the Philoxenia House of the Metropolis, Boston Children's Medical Fund Luncheon and similar events throughout the archdiocese, the Celebration of Philantrhopy Luncheon, which honored Meteropolitan Methodios' 20 years ministry in Boston, the Biennial Clergy Laity Philoptochos Committees, the St. Basil Academy Committee and much more. She has chaired the food festival at St. Sophia where she also co-chaired the dedication of the Venetos Center in 1972.
She has fond memories of hosting Archbishop Iakovos and Metropolitan Ezekiel, both of blessed memory, in her home. Mitchell's enthusiasm for volunteerism also extends to the community-at-large. She has logged thousands of hours of volunteer service to Lawrence and Memorial Hospital in New London and has served as president of the Women's Auxiliary. She is also a member of the Dione Chapter of the Daughters of Penelope, where she served as president for six terms. These are just a few of the many volunteer positions she has held throughout the years. Return to top of page
PAPPAS, TASIE Tasie Pappas has been a member of St. Demetrios Church in Fall River since 1951, the year of her marriage to William N. Pappas. Since that time, she has been involved with both the Philoptochos Society and the St. Demetrios Parish Council, including serving on the board of directors of the council and most recently, vice president of the Philoptochos Society. Born in Lewiston, ME, she moved to Lefkas, Greece at the age of 3 with her parents and siblings. After Germany and Italy invaded Greece in 1941, she served with the Red Cross for many years as a volunteer. She also actively participated in the resistance movement (supporting thte EDES, Ellinikos Dimokratikos Ethnikos Stratos) against the Germans and Italians and later against the communist rebels during the Greek Civil War. During her time in the resistance movement, she witnessed many atrocities, including her brother, Louis, being captured and held prisoner by the rebels and having to flee her home and go "undergroun" for several months hiding from the communists who were looking to capture her as well. She returned to the United States in 1946.
Mrs. Pappas worked with her husband who owned Nick's Coney Island Hot Dogs restaurant in Fall River, until he passed away in 1979. After that, she ran the business single-handedly until her retirement in 1989. Since then she has continued her involvement with the church, the Philoptochos and Pan Macedonian societies and leads a very active life spending much of her time with her daughter, Genevieve and traveling each year to visit family in Greece. Return to top of page
COSMOPOULOS, GEORGIA Georgia Cosmopoulos is the choice of the St. Demetrios Parish in Weston, MA. A steward of the community for 43 years, she has chanted with the choir for 28 years, served as president of the Philoptochos and faithfully works with other volunteer parishioners serving food at the Salvation Army Soup Kitchen once a month in Framingham. When her three children were younger, Cosmopoulos coached the girls' batsketball team of the parish. Many players, now adult young women, have fond memories of not only her coaching, but also her enthusiasm and interest in all the players. During the past 12 years, while chanting in the choir and being a Philoptochos member, Cosmopoulos has directed four musicals, a variety show and a mystery dinner show at St. Demetrios, raising more than $20,000 for the many charities of the parish Philoptochos.
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TIKELIS, VIRGINIA E. Virginia E. Tikelis, a devoted, lifelong steward, was chosen by the Sts. Peter and Paul Church in Haverhill. She is an active and integral member of the Philoptochos Society Elpis and seved as its first president, elected in 1976 when two groups merged to create the Philoptochos Chapter. She dynamically spearheaded projects to reach the philanthropic goals of the Philoptochos. She recently became a driving force behind the addition of an elevator in the church and was at the forefront of a successful drive to increas membership that was relized and continues to support the vibrant efforts of the parish. Tikelis, who has also served on the auditing committee of the parish, has and continues to co-chair many events.
She is a member of the Massachusetts Association of Certified Public Accountants and has served as a director of the Boston chapter of the American Society of Women Accountants and director of the Steven Bennett Home for the Aged. In 1949, she was the first woman accountant in the city of Haverhill and continues in her beloved kprofession maintaining relationships from the first day in her career. Tikelis is the wife of the late Peter J. Tikelis; mother of Kristina T. Hanges and grandmother of Nicholas Hanges, a junior at the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester. Return to top of page
ARGIROPOLIS, ANGIE Angie Argiropoulos was the choice of the Taxiarchae Parish in Laconia, NH. Born in Concord, NH, her parents were among the founding members of the parish and she is a lifelong steward of the Taxiarchae Church, one of the smallest communities in the Metropolis of Boston. As such, she has a special affection for the church family where she shares her God-given talents. A member of the Philoptochos for at least 55 years and currently a member ofg the parish council, she has worked tirelessly to support the philanthropic ministry of the community. Throughout the year, she serves on the festival and bazaar committees and constantly helps to promote Orthodox Christianity in teh area. In the community-at-large, she is the treasurer of the Laconia Women's Club, for which she has chaired fashion shows and other functions. She is also a tireless worker for the Lakes Region Scholarship Fund. Like all stewards in small parishes, Argiropolis wears many hats to complete the tasks for the historic Taxiarchae Parish.
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For more information about the Metropolis of Boston, HCS readers are invited to view articles under the Archdiocese News and Information and the Boston Metropolis News sections of our archives at http://www.helleniccomserve.com/contents.html. For those readers who are interested in learning more about Eastern Greek Orthodoxy both in the U.S. and abroad, we recommend visiting the excellent, award-winning website of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America at http://www.goarch.org and the site of the Ecumenical Patriarchate (of the Eastern Orthodox Church) at http://www.ec-patr.gr/ and also reached via http://www.patriarchate.org.

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