Fr. Constantine Mathews

Fr. Constantine Mathews fell asleep in the Lord peacefully in Houston, Texas, on September 26, 2025.

Born in 1930 to Ioanna and Vasilios Apostolopoulos in the tiny village of Kerasia in central Greece, he lost his father at the age of 11 during the Second World War. Overnight, young Constantine became responsible for the care of his mother and his three younger siblings, including his infant sister – a responsibility he took seriously and that would in large part forge who he would become.

Profound deprivation, rampant disease and grave hunger followed, but with trust in God, Constantine and his family endured the Axis occupation and the subsequent Greek civil war, during which they were forced to flee their village carrying whatever they could as mortar shells fell nearby.

Despite such adversity, Constantine never wavered in his faith and never despaired. He worked the fields, he tended to the livestock and he did whatever was necessary for the family to survive. With the strong encouragement of his mother, Constantine also found a way to continue his education, taking small steps forward during incredibly challenging times. His intense focus on his studies – despite the difficult circumstances – led to a lifelong pursuit of knowledge and a devotion to educational excellence for himself, his family and his parish youth.

Constantine’s faith and love of Christ and the Church instilled in him a desire to join the clergy at a young age, but family responsibilities took precedence; those deep aspirations would have to wait. After completing his military service in the Greek military police’s elite ESA motorcycle unit, he joined his younger brother, Michael, in the United States in 1955, where he worked as a shoe repairman at “Mathews Head-to-Toe Service” in Middletown, Ohio, a family dry cleaning, hat re-blocking and shoe repair establishment. For almost a decade, he and his brother continued to provide for his mother and sisters in Greece, while he prepared himself for the priesthood by serving as the chanter at the local Saints Constantine and Helen Greek Orthodox Church and taking public speaking classes at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio.

In 1964, his calling to the priesthood finally led to his return to Greece, with a scholarship to the prestigious National and Kapodistrian University of Athens from the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of North and South America. As he was completing his studies and expecting to join the priesthood as a celibate clergyman, he was introduced to his lifelong companion and most steadfast supporter, Anna Hristoforides, the daughter of a priest from the island of Imbros.

Over the course of just a few months in 1969, he and Anna were engaged and married, he graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Theology and he was ordained to the priesthood. That Fall, the new couple arrived in South Bend, Indiana, where Fr. Mathews was assigned by His Eminence Archbishop Iakovos as the presiding parish priest of St. Andrew’s Greek Orthodox Church.

The community of St. Andrew’s embraced the family and, under Fr. Mathews’ leadership, they embarked on a successful fundraising campaign that led to the construction of a new church and community center. During this time, Fr. Mathews also continued to pursue his studies, earning a master’s degree in Liturgical Studies from the University of Notre Dame.

After almost nine years, the family moved in 1978 to Stamford, Connecticut, where Fr. Mathews was assigned as the presiding parish priest of the Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church. He would remain at the Annunciation for the next 33 years, singularly devoted to the spiritual enrichment of its families and the progress of the community. Under his spiritual guidance and leadership, the community grew and achieved numerous impressive milestones, including establishment of the annual Greek Festival and construction of the cross-shaped Byzantine-style church, which has become a landmark in Stamford. Above all, however, his primary focus always remained quietly ministering to those in need with compassion, understanding and love.

In his retirement years, Fr. Mathews continued his ministry as an assistant priest at the Annunciation Greek Orthodox Cathedral in Houston, Texas, where the entire community and its clergy welcomed him and Presbytera Anna with open arms and he became an integral part of parish life.

Fr. Mathews was an avid reader, lecturer and writer who published several books, including Eastern Orthodoxy Compared: Her Main Teachings and Significant Differences with Roman Catholicism and the Major Protestant Denominations (2006) and Dying and Life After Death: The Eastern Orthodox Perspective (2018). He primarily focused his writing on further educating the faithful, especially the youth, on the beauty, relevance and rich spiritual treasures of the Greek Orthodox Church. He also published Uprooted, a memoir about the early years of his extraordinary life, which recounted with equal parts gravity and levity many of his unique childhood experiences – including being forced to hide in caves from the Communist guerillas who were abducting Greek children from the villages and his adventures with his mule Marco, who he accompanied through the mountains of central Greece at the age of 16 when Marco was requisitioned by the Greek Army during the civil war.

Fr. Mathews’ life’s work lives on through his cherished grandchildren and through the Rev. Constantine Mathews Endowment for Excellence in Byzantine Christianity, which was established in his name in 2021 at his beloved alma mater, the University of Notre Dame. Among other achievements and honors, in recognition of his lifetime of service to the Church and his profound impact on its faithful, Fr. Mathews was bestowed the title of Protopresbyter of the Ecumenical Throne in 2011 by His Eminence Archbishop Demetrios of America.

Fr. Mathews is survived by his devoted wife, Presbytera Anna, his two sons, Vasilios and Nikiforos, his daughters-in-law, Katina and Lambrina, his five beloved grandchildren, Alexandra, Anna, Constantine, Jonathan and Luke, his brother Michael, his sisters-in-law Tzovana and Sue, and his sister Eleni, as well as several nieces and nephews. He was predeceased by his parents, his sister, Stavroula, his brothers-in-law, Haralambos, Hrysostomos, Demetrios and Efthymios, and his sister-in-law, Vasiliki.

The viewing will take place at 9:00 a.m. on Saturday, October 4, 2025, at the Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church, 1230 Newfield Avenue, Stamford, Connecticut, with the funeral to follow at 11:00 a.m. and the burial thereafter at Woodland Cemetery in Stamford. His Grace Bishop Andonios, representing His Eminence Archbishop Elpidophoros, will preside over the funeral service, assisted by Fr. Evan Evangelidis, Pastor of the Annunciation.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that you consider making a donation to the Annunciation of Stamford Capital Campaign, Inc., 1230 Newfield Avenue, Stamford, CT, 06905, which is completing Fr. Mathews’ vision, with grace, service and honor for the glory of God and his beloved Annunciation community.

† Eternal be his Memory †