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His Eminence Archbishop Elpidophoros of America visited the Annunciation Greek Orthodox Community in the Bahamas on the Sunday after Theophany, on January 11th, 2026.
After the completion of the annual Archiepiscopal visit in Tarpon Springs, this year marking the 120th consecutive celebration of the Great Feast of Theophany in Florida, this year, the Archbishop instituted visiting the Country of the Bahamas to celebrate the afterfeast with the Greek Orthodox Community of the Annunciation.
On Saturday, January 10th, the Archbishop met with 20 young adults and young professionals of the Community as well as 8 newly illumined Orthodox faithful and catechumens, to discuss their experiences in the life of the faith, their journey into Orthodoxy and the contribution of the Archdiocesan religious education programs, which are implemented by the Annunciation Greek Orthodox Community in the Bahamas. Later in the afternoon, the Archons of the Order of Saint Andrew of the Ecumenical Patriarchate participating in the festivities hosted a celebratory dinner in honor of the Archbishop. His Eminence Archbishop Elpidophoros expressed gratitude to the family of Archon Chris and Georgette Tsavoussis along with their daughter Alexia and her husband Jaime Liddell, as well as their sons Paul and Elias, for organizing and donating the reception, the accommodation and the transportation of Archbishop and his delegation.
Archbishop Elpidophoros congratulated the entire Community for being a beacon of the Orthodox faith in this proud Caribbean nation and wished them much progress in their future endeavors for the glory of God. The Archbishop was welcomed by the Proistamenos of the parish, the Rev. Protopresbyter Irenaeus Cox, Presvytera Alexandra, the Rev. Deacon Alexander and Diakonissa Patricia Maillis, Parish Council President Alexandra Maillis-Lynch, the Archon Markos and Maria Marinakis, Archon Joseph and Maria Kokolakis, Archon George and Doullie Zimmer, and the newly installed Archon Pericles and Christina Maillis, together with their families and supporters of the Community.
With warm hospitality, the entire Community welcomed His Eminence Archbishop Elpidophoros of America, His Grace Bishop Athenagoras of Nazianzos, the Rev. Protopresbyter Nikiforos Fakinos, the Rev. Presbyter Evangelos Morejon, the V. Rev. Archdeacon Dionysios Papiris, Presvytera Chrissy Fakinos, Presvytera Sofia Pimentel and Mrs. Fotini Ziliaskopoulos.
On Sunday, January 11th, His Eminence Archbishop Elpidophoros presided at the Divine Liturgy, in the filled beyond capacity Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church. The Archbishop delivered an inspiring homily stating that the Greater Sanctification of the Holy Water renews and blesses all of us, humanity, as well as the created natural world. His Eminence Archbishop Elpidophoros emphasized that the blessing we are receiving is a gift of the Trinitarian God towards the salvation of humanity and the preservation of our natural environment. The Archbishop elevated the young readers of the Community, Theodore Moree, Ignacio Pimental Seraphim Smith, Evangelos Fox, Elias Tsavoussis, and Pelopidas Tsavoussis, compelling them to continue cultivating their knowledge of Orthodox worship, diligently serving the Church.
Archon Pericles Alexander Maillis was invested and conferred with the offikion Protekdikos at the conclusion of the service. Archon Maillis is a lawyer, a farmer, a fisherman, a conservationist and a philanthropist. Born in 1951, the son of the Hon. Senator Alexander P. Maillis and Mrs. Cally A. Maillis, he was educated at Queen’s College, Nassau, Bahamas, with a Bachelor of Law (L.L.B. Hons.), at the University of Bristol, England and called to the English Bar at Lincoln’s Inn as well as the Bahamas Bar in 1973. With 3 years of service as Crown Counsel in the Attorney General’s Chambers, he continued as a Counsel in private practice.
Archon Pericles Maillis is happily married for 52 years to the former Christina Constantakis, and they have been blessed with 3 sons, Rev. Deacon Alexander II (an Orthodox clergyman and Attorney), George (Banker/Investment Manager) and Peter (Attorney), as well as 8 grandchildren. He was awarded the Bahamas’ Silver Jubilee Awards, for contribution in the sphere of the environment and also received the prestigious Ministry of Tourism Cacique Award for Eco-Tourism Development (1998). He is currently serving as Member on the Board of Bahamas Agricultural & Marine Science Institute (“BAMSI”). In 2022 he was awarded the Bahamas Order of Merit Honours; in 2023 he was on the King’s Birthday Honours and awarded the OBE (Officer of the British Empire) Award, (for service to the environment).
Pericles Alexander Maillis was appointed Honorary Consul for the Republic of Cyprus in Nassau and served in that role for more than 10 years. During this period, the Bahamas was a strong and friendly supporter of Cyprus in the U.N. and international circles and Cyprus greatly assisted the Bahamas in advancing its international goals, particularly in the Law of the Sea Convention negotiations and others – and the friendship as Commonwealth countries, continues. He has been active in the Bahamas National Trust for Places of Historic Interest and Natural Beauty (BNT) since 1973. He conceived and chaired the Bahamas National Trust (1989-90), the Adelaide Creek Wetland Restoration Initiative Project, which became a landmark National event. He was sent as a (Bahamas Government) observer delegate to the First Expert Biodiversity Convention Conference in Trondheim, Norway and returned home and fully briefed all key public service departments on their various roles (1993); later, he was a delegate to the First Small Islands Development Conference in Barbados in 1994 and the second Expert Biodiversity Convention Conference, which the Bahamas hosted in 1995, among many other similar initiatives and events.
The Archbishop congratulated Archon Maillis in the service of the Mother Church, as a philanthropist, a faithful Christian and an environmentalist. His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew has been a pioneering religious leader advocating the need to protect our natural habitat, the cosmos which is a “κόσμημα,” the jewel of creation. The phenomenal contributions of Archon Pericles Alexander Maillis are perfectly aligned with the Patriarchal commission to become good stewards of the created “πλάσις,” our planet which is God’s gift of wisdom and love.
As a manifestation of our love for the beauty of creation, the Archbishop led the procession of the clergy and the laity from the Annunciation Church to the pristine, turquoise Caribbean waters of Adelaide, where the Precious Cross was immersed and immediately retrieved by Aiden Dimitrios Robinson and the young divers of the Community. After the blessing of the Waters, Parish Council President Alexandra Maillis-Lynch hosted everyone in attendance to beautiful reception in the idyllic waterfront family property.
The entire visit of His Eminence Archbishop Elpidophoros of America to the Bahamas was an ode to the harmonious collaboration of people who love the faith, love each other and love our planet. His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch has called us to be in perfect harmony and peaceful coexistence, graced by the Great Sanctification of the Triune God, Whose Theophany was gloriously celebrated this year throughout the Holy Archdiocese of America, from Alaska to the Bahamas, reminiscing the extend of the reach of the Archdiocese in this continent.
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