About Us

A vibrant Christian community

Saint Anthony Greek Orthodox Church is a vibrant Christian community serving Orthodox Christians in the San Gabriel Valley and greater Pasadena area. Over 300 families make Saint Anthony their Christian home for faith, spiritual growth, and fellowship. We are a worshiping family dedicated to serving Christ and reaching out to those in need. We celebrate the Divine Liturgy each Sunday at 10 am, and all other major Feast Days throughout the year. We invite and encourage you to come worship with us.

Who We Are

We are a family oriented community offering a variety of ministries for all ages. At Saint Anthony’s there is something for everyone, and we invite you to “Come and See” what we have to offer. Our ministries include Church (Sunday) School, monthly Fellowship Nights (for everyone), Philoptochos outreach (Friends of the Poor), Bible Studies (day and evening), Orthodoxy 101, Youth & Young Adult Ministries (Orthodox Youth Fellowship groups, Greek Folk Dance groups), Moms and Tots, a senior citizens group (VIPs), Greek School classes and more! Come and be a part of a fulfilling, growing, and vibrant community.

In Christ,
Fr. Peter Stratos – Pastor

Clergy

CHURCH TOUR

Vistors Guide

What is the Orthodoxy

Our Core Values

Some important things to remember about what we believe!

The Nicene Creed

I believe in one God, Father Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible.

And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, begotten of the Father before all ages; Light of Light, true God of true God, begotten, not created, of one essence with the Father through Whom all things were made. Who for us men and for our salvation came down from heaven and was incarnate of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary and became man. He was crucified for us under Pontius Pilate, and suffered and was buried; And He rose on the third day, according to the Scriptures. He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father; And He will come again with glory to judge the living and dead. His kingdom shall have no end.

And in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the Creator of life, Who proceeds from the Father, Who together with the Father and the Son is worshipped and glorified, Who spoke through the prophets.

In one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church.

I confess one baptism for the forgiveness of sins.

I look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the age to come.

Amen.

The Lord's Prayer

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name. Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen.

The Jesus Prayer

“Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner.”

Prayer rule

A prayer rule for one who is on the path of a God-pleasing life and may include memorizing the Psalms. It may include replacing long prayers with short ones and the use of a prayer rope. It may not be static.

It is good to have a prayer rule on account of our weakness so that on the one hand one does not give in to laziness, yet on the other hand restrain any enthusiasm to its proper level. The greatest practitioners of prayer kept a prayer rule. They would always begin with established prayers, and if during the course of these a prayer started on its own, they would put aside the others and pray that prayer. If this is what the great practitioners of prayer did, all the more reason for us to do so. Without established prayers, we would not know how to pray at all and would be left entirely without prayer. Check out this video about starting a prayer rule!

Meet Our Priest

Fr. Peter Stratos

Reverend Fr. Peter Stratos, Protopresbyter has been the Proistamenos of Saint Anthony Greek Orthodox Church since 2006. He also has been serving as the Greek Orthodox Vicar of Los Angeles and Orange Counties since 2019.

Fr. Peter has always had a deep, abiding love for Christ and His Holy Orthodox Church; and a fervent desire to share Christ’s love and the Good News with everyone, young and old, with Christians, and with those searching for Christ and His Truth.

Over the past 24 years of his ministry, Fr. Peter has been blessed to serve at St. Nicholas in Northridge (4yrs), St. Nektarios in Covina (2yrs), and at Saint Anthony for 18 years. Fr. Peter taught at St. Nicholas Parochial School, served at all the Holy Liturgies, services, countless Sacraments, visited the sick, blessed many homes, advised GOYA and Sunday School. He planned and organized the Consecration of St. Nektarios Church and Shrine, furthered iconography work, and grew the Wednesday Paraklesis Service attendance.

The Liturgical, Sacramental and teaching life and work continues at Saint Anthony, where Fr. Peter also helped lead the Parish endeavor to raise funds and build a new, modern Community Center -Trinity Ballroom and Classrooms; hosted the National St. John Chrysostom Oratorical Festival; led two Pilgrimages to the Holy Land with His Grace Bishop Spyridon of Amastris in 2012 and with His Eminence Archbishop Nikitas of Great Britain in 2018.

Reverend Fr. Peter, a mentor in his own right, instructed and guided two exceptional young graduates of Holy Cross Seminary: Reverend Fr. Christos Kanakis, now Proistamenos of Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Long Beach and Reverend Fr. Christopher Retelas, now Proistamenos of St. John the Baptist in Anaheim.

Fr. Peter is blessed to work with many wonderful and committed lay leaders at Saint Anthony who work to provide successful programs and ministries for Christ’s Church and the community beyond our grounds: the Parish Council, the Philoptochos Society with their magnificent annual Christmas Benefit Luncheon and countless good works and assistance to their community, Serving Meals at Union Station, the Church School, Bible Studies & Studies in the Faith, Pasadena Greek Fest, the St. Anthony Golf Tournament, VIPs, IOCC, the Chanters, a dedicated Office Manager, Custodian and staff, all GOYA Programs, HOPE & JOY, the Greek Dance Program, the Myrrh Bearers, Little Lambs, Bible Studies, the Kouvouklion Preparation for Pascha, the Prosfora bakers, the Mageiritsa Dinner, and Greek Language School.

In addition to Fr. Peter’s dedicated ministry to his parishes and the faithful, he has also served beyond his own parishes. Fr. Peter served for 12 years on the Board of the Greek Orthodox & Cultural Foundation of Southern California, 2 years on the Metropolis Strategic Plan Committee, 4 years as Metropolis of San Francisco Syndesmos Treasurer, 5 years on the Folk Dance Federation Board, and 18 years of continuing service on the San Francisco Metropolis Council.

At the Divine Liturgy of the Feast of Saint Anthony in 2024, His Eminence Metropolitan Gerasimos of San Francisco bestowed the rank of Protopresbyter upon Fr. Peter, marking 18 years of Fr. Peter’s service at St Anthony with the beautiful and faithful people of this vibrant community. Fr. Peter and Presbytera Aida’s sons have grown up with the children of Saint Anthony, and are now adults with their own careers, while Presbytera continues to teach the High School Sunday School class. The parishioners of St. Anthony are truly the beloved family of Fr. Peter, Presbytera Aida, Peter and Nick.

It may be fair to say that the humble beginnings of a son of extremely faithful parents, who owned a Greek Restaurant in Charlottesville, Virginia, prepared him well with a tremendous work ethic, and an unfailing love and desire to serve Christ, His Church and people- with a very joyful heart.