Fr. Vassilios Lokis

Fr. Lokis served as priest from 1936 - 1943. He spoke German, French, Turkish, and Greek fluently. He was known as a brilliant orator and capitivated his audiences with stories of his travels.

Prior to serving at Annunciation, Fr. Lokis served as an assistant priest at Holy Trinity. He was sent to Holy Trinity to serve with Fr. Tsapralis, eventually taking over as priest after Fr. Tsapralis' retirement.

In 1936, Fr. Lokis lead a movement to unite both churches and the upheaval that resulted would be remembered decades later. An election was held for unification, specifically, to unite the churches and close Holy Trinity and the vote was "no". The case was taken through the courts. These events lead to Fr. Lokis and Fr. Tsapralis moving to Annunciation. In addition, a significant number of Holy Trinity parishoners left Holy Trinity and joined Annunciation.

During the later part of World War II, Fr. Lokis was sent to Washington to be trained by the OSS (later the CIA). He was sent to Northern Greece and was an allied spy. After the war he returned to New York.

Formal Portraits. Click on the image to see a larger view.