From Aegina to Kuykendall Road
St. Nektarios Greek Orthodox Church sits on ten acres along Kuykendall Road in southeast Charlotte, a young parish that has grown into one of the active Greek Orthodox communities of the Carolinas. Chartered in 1998 by His Eminence Metropolitan Alexios of Atlanta, the parish is set apart by a relic of its patron, Saint Nektarios of Aegina, brought directly from Greece in October 2002 and enshrined in a special reliquary for veneration by Orthodox faithful from near and far. The community gathers in a sanctuary anchored by another piece of the church's distinctive heritage, an icon by the hand of Chrysanthos Karagiannakis, whose image of the patron saint greets visitors at the entrance.
The parish belongs to the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, within the Metropolis of Atlanta, an eparchy of the Ecumenical Patriarchate. Its archpastor is His Eminence Metropolitan Sevastianos of Atlanta, and the parish is bound by the 1996 Special Regulations and Uniform Parish Regulations of the Archdiocese and by its own local by-laws.
Worship in the Byzantine Tradition
Orthodox Christian worship at St. Nektarios centers on the Divine Liturgy, celebrated each Sunday morning at 9:15 a.m. Services follow the rich liturgical rubrics and chanting of the Greek Orthodox tradition, with music that is entirely vocal in the form of ecclesiastical Byzantine chant, aspiring to emulate the traditional forms found in Greece, Mount Athos, and the Ecumenical Patriarchate.
The Music Ministry directs two choirs, the Right Choir led by the Director of Music Ministry and Protopsaltis (chief cantor) Samuel Herron, and the Left Choir led by the Lampadarissa (secondary cantor) Konstantina Marinakos. On a typical Sunday the two choirs, made up of men, women, and children, sing antiphonally from the Solea. Services are conducted primarily in English, with some selections in Ecclesiastical Greek, Slavonic, and Arabic.
Those interested in joining the choir, whether adults or children, may reach out to the Director of Music Ministry directly. The parish maintains an extensive library of service texts, from the Divine Liturgy of Saint John Chrysostom and the Divine Liturgy of Saint Basil the Great through Paraklesis services, the Hours, Lenten services, and the full range of Holy Week texts.
Vespers, Matins, and Divine Liturgy services are streamed live on the internet, with a recent services archive available on YouTube and Facebook. Parishioners and visitors can also light a candle virtually through an online candle station.
Pastors Serving the Charlotte Parish
The parish is led by Protopresbyter Andreas Houpos, who began his ministry as proistamenos (pastor) at St. Nektarios in October 2020. Before moving to Charlotte, Father Andreas served as Pastoral Assistant at the Greek Orthodox Cathedral of the Annunciation in Baltimore, Maryland, and then at Saint Nicholas Greek Orthodox Shrine Church in Flushing, New York, where he was ordained to the Holy Diaconate in June 2017 and to the Holy Presbyterate in July 2017. A 2014 graduate of Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology, Father Andreas serves as a board member and chaplain for The Liturgical Arts Academy and on the Metropolis Council of the Metropolis of Atlanta. He and Presbytera Meredyth (Sophia) were married in 2005.
Presbyter Panayiotis Steele was assigned as the ephemerios (second priest) of St. Nektarios in March 2024, having previously served at Saint Sophia Greek Orthodox Cathedral in Washington, D.C., where he was ordained both to the Holy Diaconate and to the Presbyterate. A graduate of Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology in Byzantine Music and the Master of Divinity program, Father Panayiotis leads the weekly online study on the lives of the saints.
Protopresbyter Steve Dalber, retired from active ministry in October 2020, remains close to the community he helped found and shepherd for more than two decades. Ordained in 1994 and joining the St. Nektarios community in October 1998, Father Steve helped lead the parish from its earliest days.
Presbyter Paul Tsahakis, a founding member of St. Nektarios Church, serves the Sacred Monastery of Panagia Prousiotissa in Troy, North Carolina, and Saint Nektarios in Aegina, Greece. An orthopedic surgeon, he also serves Shelter Health Services in Charlotte and Saint Dionysios Hospital in Aegina, and is the founder of St. Hermione Home.
The Sanctuary, the Spiritual Life Center, and a Building Campaign
St. Nektarios is housed in a sanctuary and a Spiritual Life Center that together transformed the original ten-acre Kuykendall Road property into a thriving home for Orthodox worship and fellowship. The Spiritual Life Center houses the Narrow Path Orthodox Christian Bookstore on its upper level in the Fellowship Hall, open every Sunday after Divine Liturgy during the Fellowship Coffee Hour and on weekdays by appointment. The bookstore offers Orthodox reading materials, videos, CDs, icons, and special orders, and stocks selections for the parish Book Club.
A long-range capital effort, Building for Generations, is under way to build a new Ministry Center and to retire the remaining balance on the existing mortgage. The parish family has reduced the mortgage significantly, with campaign updates describing a balance now at $585,000, down from over $2.3 million when the Burn the Mortgage: Build the Ministry Center effort was launched. The Capital Campaign Committee, working with clergy and the Parish Council, has organized an executive committee, construction team, fundraising team, and communications team to carry the project forward. A campaign message reads, “Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father in heaven.”
Faith Formation for Adults
The Adult Religious Education program offers several ongoing studies in a steady weekly rhythm: a Men's Bible Study on Mondays at 7:00 a.m., a Women's Bible Study on Wednesdays at 10:00 a.m., an Open Bible Study on Wednesdays at 7:00 p.m., The Lives of the Saints on Tuesdays at 7:00 p.m. led by Father Panayiotis, and Becoming Orthodox on Fridays at 7:00 p.m., open to catechumens and the wider community. Most sessions are offered both in person and online through a parish Zoom link. An archive of recordings is maintained for those who cannot attend live. Father Andreas also hosts a podcast with Father Nektarios Karantonis on the lives of the Holy Apostles.
Youth and Family Ministries
The Youth Ministry welcomes young people from preschool through twelfth grade through three age-based groups: HOPE (Holy Orthodox Primary Education) for children in pre-K through second grade, JOY (Junior Orthodox Youth) for grades three through five, and GOYA (Greek Orthodox Youth America) for grades six through twelve, with separate junior and senior brackets. A rolling Youth Catechism program supports pre-K through twelfth-grade students through age-appropriate instruction in Scripture, Church teachings, traditions, worship, and the lives of the saints.
For boys and men, the Acolyte Service offers an opportunity to assist in the liturgical offices of the Church by carrying candles and processional crosses and fans, preparing and handling the incense burner, and attending to the holy chalice during Communion. An acolyte, from the Greek akolouthos (follower), must live a life reflecting the sanctity and seriousness of the service he renders to the Lord and to his Church. Men, and boys aged ten and up, may inquire with the clergy about serving. All adults working with youth must consent to a background check and complete youth protection training.
For girls in grades four through twelve, the St. Phoebe ministry nurtures and trains future servant-leaders of the Church through deep and meaningful engagement in the liturgical life of the parish. The St. Panteleimon Homeschool Academy provides local homeschooling families an opportunity to gather as a co-op once a week within the academic year. The St. Olga ministry supports pregnant and postpartum mothers, all caregivers of young children, and families experiencing miscarriage or infant loss through monthly meet-ups and outreach.
Cub Scout Pack 490 and Boy Scout Troop 490 are chartered by the parish and meet weekly on Sunday afternoons during the school year. In keeping with the parish's ecclesiastical heritage, Modern Greek language classes are offered for both youth and adults.
Life and Family
The Life and Family ministry gathers a wide array of support and care programs. Premarital preparation includes hosting the Preparing for the Journey of Marriage workshop, a one-day program required by the Metropolis of Atlanta for couples marrying in the Orthodox Church. The ministry also connects newly married couples and offers marriage counseling and relationship support, with attention to interfaith and mixed-faith Orthodox marriages.
Caring ministries include a Care for the Care Giver gathering, a Visiting Partners program for parishioners who cannot attend services, Grief Support (including neonatal loss through the Zoe Ministry), the FISH Food Ministry (Fellowship In Serving Hands), which provides frozen home-cooked meals for households in temporary need, and the Helping Hands ministry for minor repairs and yard work for the elderly and infirm. A Career ministry connects employers and employees within the parish, a Military ministry honors service members and veterans throughout the year, and a Life Balance program addresses physical and spiritual well-being.
Music and Liturgical Arts
Beyond the Sunday choirs, the parish takes seriously the educational work of learning Byzantine chant. Choir members commit to learning the hymns of the Church, to singing in tune, to reading English, and to engaging with Byzantine notation. The parish's Protopsaltis works with the ecclesiastical chant repertoire that draws on the traditions of Greece, Mount Athos, and the Ecumenical Patriarchate. Father Andreas also serves as chaplain for The Liturgical Arts Academy, a nonprofit that connects the parish to wider work in iconography, chant, and the visual arts of Orthodox worship.
Missions and Philanthropy
The Missions and Philanthropy Ministry carries the parish's reach locally, nationally, and internationally. Parish volunteers assist IOCC with a local annual Pan-Orthodox event and a domestic summer home building team. The Child of God Academy in Kenya is partially funded by the parish and the Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Kenya, supporting feeding and tuition assistance programs. The parish sends mission teams to OCMC teaching, youth, construction, and healthcare projects, to Project Mexico for home building in Tijuana, and to Samaritan's Feet for shoe drives and trips.
Local outreach includes the annual Crop Hunger Walk, Friendship Trays meal delivery, the Medical Mission Ministry, the MOM Free Dental Clinic, Prison Ministry at local jails, Second Harvest food delivery to the Matthews Help Center, and partnerships with St. Stephen's Camp and St. Hermione Home.
Philoptochos, Friends of the Poor
The St. Nektarios chapter of the Greek Orthodox Ladies Philoptochos Society was formed in 1999 and is led by a 2025-2027 board headed by President Madalina Lowen. The national organization, established in 1931 by Patriarch Athenagoras I, means “friend of the poor.” The parish chapter annually raises and distributes thousands of dollars to local, national, and international charities including the Allegro Foundation, Alzheimer's Association, A Child's Place, Baby Bundles, Carolina Breast Friends, Charlotte Rescue Mission, Crop Walk, Diakonia Retreat Center, Dove's Nest, Hemby Children's Center, Holy Angels of Belmont, Hospice of Charlotte, Juvenile Diabetes, Katrina Disaster Relief, Leukemia Society, Levine Children's Hospital, Loaves and Fishes, Love INC, Make a Wish Foundation, Matthews Help Center, Pajama Project, Parkinson Association of the Carolinas, Project Mexico, Roof Above, Samaritan's Feet, Salvation Army Center of Hope, Shelter Health Services, St. Anastasia Medical Fund, St. Peter's Soup Kitchen, St. Stephen's Camp, Susan J. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation, Thomasboro Academy, Thompson, and the USO.
The Continuous Care Collection supports homeless women and children in the Charlotte area year-round, with collection bins on the lower level of the Spiritual Life Center. The chapter also donates hundreds of Christmas gifts to inner-city children, hundreds of blankets to hospitalized youth, hundreds of sandwiches to soup kitchens, hundreds of snack packs to the homeless, plus gifts for poor new mothers, homeless women, and orphaned children.
Safety, the Sanctuary, and the Welcome Team
The Safety and Security Ministry monitors and assists with the safety and well-being of clergy, congregants, and guests on Sundays and at special feast day services. Volunteers apply, submit to background checks, and attend required training. The Sanctuary Captains oversee the safe and orderly flow of the congregation, opening and closing the sanctuary and supervising ushers. The Usher Team, also rotating Sundays, monitors candles, passes collection baskets, and helps with minor housekeeping at the end of services.
The Outreach and Welcome Ministry greets visitors and members to the Divine Liturgy every Sunday, providing information for those interested in membership or being added to the mailing list. Each potential member is called by a parish priest, then followed up twice to help assimilate newcomers. Newcomer Sunday introduces prospective members to ministries and answers general questions on membership. The Welcome Team also reaches out to interfaith couples, non-Orthodox, and inactive Orthodox, hosting open houses for Charlotte neighbors.
Sacraments and Inquirers
Baptisms are normally scheduled on Saturdays at 11 a.m., 2 p.m., or 4 p.m., or on Sundays at 2 p.m. or 4 p.m. The parish office, open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., handles scheduling and provides a Preparation for Baptism form along with a $50 sanctuary event support fee. The Marriage preparation process follows the Metropolis of Atlanta's Preparing for the Journey of Marriage workshop model, and St. Nektarios is one of the regional sites that host the workshops.
For inquirers and those exploring the Orthodox Christian faith, the parish maintains a substantial library of articles and references covering Orthodox history in America and the world, the Twelve Great Feasts, the Symbol of Faith, Holy Tradition, the Holy Bible, fasting, liturgical music, and the seven Sacraments.
Membership and Stewardship
St. Nektarios is a parish supported fully by stewardship, with no minimum pledge required for membership. Each member determines their own level of giving. To be a member in good standing, one must be 18 years of age or older, be an Orthodox Christian (or received into the Church through Chrismation), live according to the faith and canons of the Church, sign a stewardship pledge card, and abide by the Archdiocese regulations and parish by-laws. Voting at a General Assembly or in parish elections requires active participation in the liturgical life of the Church for at least six months.
The Parish Council comprises eleven servant-leaders led by President Chris Mortis, working with clergy, ministries, and parish committees to set the community's direction. Council members greet and usher during worship services and help organize church-wide events such as the Agape Picnic held each Pascha.
Communications, Sermons, and Livestream
A community calendar lists weekly services, Bible studies, youth events, Philoptochos meetings, and parish gatherings. The parish publishes a monthly newsletter and weekly e-bulletin, a Sunday Worship Missal, and special-edition publications tied to Great Lent, Pascha, and the annual stewardship campaign. Sermon audio goes back through 2011 and includes messages from founding clergy and visiting hierarchs. The parish livestreams services on a dedicated webcast page, on Facebook Live, and through the parish YouTube channel, with podcast feeds distributed through Ancient Faith Radio and the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese network.
St. Nektarios Greek Orthodox Church gathers at 5108 Kuykendall Road, Charlotte, NC 28270. The parish office is reachable at 704-708-4669 and office@stnektarios.org. The community's strapline, Building for Generations, expresses the shared conviction of a parish that has grown from a chartered community in 1998 to a multi-ministry Orthodox family, anchored in Byzantine chant, the Sacraments, and the prayerful presence of the patron saint's own relic.