Father Apostolos Panos Passes Away

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August 19, 2021

Father Apostolos (Paul) Panos never stayed in one place for too long, but everywhere he went, he left something lasting. Whether it was helping restore a fire-damaged cathedral in Brooklyn, mentoring GOYA teens in New Jersey, or standing as a chaplain at Ground Zero, his work was grounded in compassion and purpose.

Born in Chicago on September 25, 1959, to Greek parents from Arkadia in the Peloponnese, Father Paul was shaped early on by the life of the Church. He worshiped as a child at Saint Nicholas in Oak Lawn and learned the Greek language at Homer Greek School. After high school, he took a different path—first studying at a technical school and working for General Motors. But it was during his time as a counselor at Camp Fanari, run by the Diocese of Chicago, that something shifted. The faith he had grown up with began calling him toward a deeper vocation.

With the blessing of Metropolitan Iakovos of Chicago, he enrolled at Hellenic College in 1982 and later continued his theological studies at Holy Cross Seminary in Brookline, Massachusetts. Even as he studied, he worked with troubled youth through the Massachusetts Department of Youth Services. That balance—of learning, faith, and service—would come to define his ministry.

Father Paul was ordained a deacon on January 1, 1989, and later that same year, he became a priest in the Holy Diocese of Toronto and Canada. He served parishes in Ontario before returning to the U.S. to serve communities in Duluth, Brooklyn, and Jamaica, NY. At each stop, he brought a pastoral presence and a steady hand, especially with youth programs and community outreach.

In Tenafly, New Jersey, at the Cathedral of Saint John the Theologian, he was appointed to help with youth ministry and re-establish the scouting program. He was elevated to the rank of Economos and began serving as a Navy Chaplain. Then, in Paramus, at Saint Athanasios Church, he led the parish through building projects and launched scholarship programs and cultural initiatives for young people. And after the September 11 attacks, Father Paul was among the clergy who ministered at Ground Zero as a chaplain.

Later assignments brought him to Union, Island Park, Schenectady, and finally to Saint Anthony’s, where he was welcomed by parishioners who had asked for his return. Even in the last years of his life, he continued to assist parishes across the New York and New Jersey areas, wherever help was needed.

Those who knew him will remember his voice—firm but kind—and his presence at youth basketball games, summer camps, and community events. He was the kind of priest who didn’t wait for people to come to him. He met them where they were, in church halls and hospital rooms, at city council meetings and community fundraisers.

Father Paul Panos passed away after a life fully given to others. His work crossed borders and decades, but at its core, it was always about one thing: serving people with faith, dignity, and heart.

May his memory be eternal.