CHURCH OF THE HOLY TRINITY
COMMITTEE ELECTIONS
Sunday 22nd May 2016 Voting from 10.30am-12.45pm.
Election Information, Meet the Candidates
We need you to show your support and vote for us and for the new
candidates who have kindly put their names forward. Please note each
Church Member can only vote for a maximum of 8 candidates on the
voting ballot otherwise their ballot paper will become void.
Stephen Papadopoulos, Current Chairman
Having been brought up in Brighton, my family’s legacy lies in our Church and
its future therefore means a great deal to me. And even though the church
building that we see before us today is very different to that of which I
attended when I was a young boy, I can say with pride that Christian values
remain the heart and soul of our community. The church, philanthropic and
school committees, together with our priest, Archimandrite Germanos and His
Eminence Archbishop Gregorios of Thyateira and Great Britain, have worked
together to build a community for us and for future generations to be proud of.
But, as with everything, there is always room for improvement, and I have aspirations to make it
better. As many of you know, we are looking to build a hall at the back of the church, a perfect
venue for charity events and an area for the children of the school to learn, sing, dance and play.
With your vote, we will achieve our exciting development programme and together we will build a
bright future for our church and school. Thank you all for your valued and continued support.
Zacharias Koullas, Current Treasurer
I began my career as a hairdresser in London and moved to Brighton 30 years
ago. With the help of my wife we bought and ran our own hotel, I am now
retired. I have been a Church Committee Member for eight years and I am
proud of our achievements despite the arson attack in 2010. I am asking for
your trust and support to continue as a member of the Church Governing
Committee. There is still so much more to be done and I believe together with
your help and support we can achieve and leave a legacy for our future
generations to be proud of.
Flora Papanicolaou-Hood, Current Secretary
I have lived in Brighton since I was a very small child, Brighton is very special
to me, as is our Church. My parents and grandparents were respected
members of our Church and the Greek community. As a child I attended our
Greek School and as I became older I would volunteer to help with the many
Church functions. As a career I have worked in and owned Catering
establishments and rental properties, I still enjoy small property development
opportunities. I have in the past been a Foster Carer, social care for the
vulnerable is something that is very important to me. I believe that our Church and School have a
great future, however it needs many helpers, committed and dedicated members and volunteers. I
am very proud of our achievements so far and hope I can be part of the team to continue our goal
for the next phase, which is to build our community hall and accommodation for our Priest.
Adamos Papadamou, Current Committee Member
I have been a long standing member of this community for the past 39 years. I
pride myself on my integrity, honestly and compassion but I will let others be the
judge. My main mission is to bring everyone together as a united family, to be
one. The Greek community is important as a collective rather than a individual. I
can wholeheartedly say how proud I am to be part of the Greek and Cypriot
community of Brighton and surrounding areas. We need to bring together all the
generations, to keep our customs, traditions and rich heritage both Greek and
Cypriot alive. We have our school in which we can nurture our young. We must reform to push the
church forward. Breathe new life into the community. We must actively encourage the young men
and women to take an active part in our community. The essence must be on the young. The
church, in Brighton, is built on the foundation of ideas of three men Adamos Christophorou, George
Antoniades and my father in law Zinon Christodoulou. Their goal was to build a community that
would be a second home for all. So that it would be a home for those that had left their motherland.
Now 50 years later, with many leaving their home in Greece and Cyprus due to economic problems,
they can find comfort in our community. Together we can build a community to be proud of for the
future.
Andreas Archontides, Current Committee Member
I am a retired Chartered Consulting Engineer and since 2008 I have been a
Committee Member of the Church and Greek School. I devote most of my time
to help the Greek community in the area of Sussex. I aim towards a well
supported and united community that caters for all its members. I hope we
succeed in the goals we have set as a community and I strongly believe that our
efforts will ensure a prosperous future for the generations ahead.
Andrew Sparsis, Current Committee Member
I was brought up in Brighton living with my parents & grandparents. Much of my
time was spent with my Grandfather, Father Andreas the Greek Orthodox Priest
of Brighton for some 40 years. I spent much of my childhood weekends at church
helping my granddad and grandma. Spending so much time as a young boy at
church sometimes felt wasted. As an adult the memories, sounds of a church fill
me with pride and strength. Much of who I am today is built on these memories. I
am sure I share similar memories with so many others in our church and Greek &
Cypriot communities. Our history and culture are linked together just like our childhood memories. I
am extremely honoured that I have been given the opportunity to work with the community to uphold
our traditions and beliefs so our children can have the same happy memories we have today. The
Church and School are direct links to our heritage, culture and way of life. I believe passing this on
to our children is one of the greatest gifts we can give them. I hope you would support my fellow
committee members and myself to continue to work for our community. I hope my skills in running
Proto Restaurant Group and my construction company will be helpful to the committee.
Costas Papanichola, Current Committee Member
I am a retired Hotelier, my wife and I have raised our three children in Brighton
and this Church is very special to us. My wife is a member of the Philanthropic
Committee and together we help and support our Church when we can. I would
like to continue to support our Church as a Committee Member. I believe our
Church has a bright future and I look forward to the next project planned, to build
our community hall and accommodation for our Priest.
Nektarios Makratzakis, Current Committee Member
I am a Dentist and I am a hands on Manager in my own practices. I am currently
on the Church and School Committees. My children attend our Greek school
and I am very proud of the schools achievements, our team at the school are
extremely dedicated. I am proud of what we have achieved as a Church
Committee and wish to continue my work with both committees.
Zinon Papadamou, Current Committee Member
With a family's rich history of involvement in the Greek Orthodox Church which
spans back to when it was founded by my Grandfather and 2 others, to the
present day where I have served since the age of four helping the Priest to now
serving on the current church committee. I very much believe in ensuring that
our Greek heritage is continued so that the youngsters of the community can
experience the upbringing that I enjoyed. As a safety professional I am able to
apply my knowledge to ensure our congregation and especially our students are
able to pray, learn and enjoy our wonderful building in a safe environment.
We are very grateful for the new candidates who have put their names forward.
NEW CANDIDATES:
George Afentakis
My current position is as a Catering Manager. In the past I have been the
President of Chamber of Commerce for the South of England, a Governor at
All Saints School in Dorset. I have worked in Dorset Council and have also
organized the Greek Wine Festival in England for the last 6 years. I have put
my name forward as a Candidate as I would like to work with people of the
community to promote our Greek culture.
Dimitris Karapiperis born in March 1966 in Pireas Greece. I came to UK in
1983 and started my own business in 1985 a video club shop. In 1987 I began
purchasing properties for investment and over the last 5 years I have also been
a general builder. I have run all my businesses very successful. In the past 3
years my 2 children have been attending the Greek school and I would like to
see it go from strength to strength. I would like to help the Greek/Cypriot
community, school and church in any way I can and that's the reason I have put
my name forward to be considered as a Committee Member.
Emmanuel Lazanakis. I am a 39 year old Dentist and have been living and
practicing in Brighton for 15 years. I married with 3 young children who currently
attend the Brighton Greek School. I am an active member in the community and
teach Greek Dancing voluntarily to the children and adults of our community. My
wife has been a member of the school committee for several years. I grew up in
South Africa where I was also an active member of the Greek community. As a
student I was on the committee of the Students Hellenic Association at Wits
University, and in 1999 served as president of the National Association of Hellenic Youth and
Student Organisations of South Africa (NAHYSOSA) which represented 2500 Greek students and
youth throughout South Africa. The same year I represented South Africa at the SAE (World Council
of Greeks Abroad) youth conference in Alexandria. I have a wealth of experience and many new
ideas, which coupled with my enthusiasm, make me eager candidate for our church committee.
Michael Nektarios Inkpin-Leissner. I am from Germany. I was born as a
Roman Catholic but some sad incidences led me to the true Orthodox Christian
Faith. As the City of Brighton and Hove gave me a new home over 10 years ago,
our Greek Orthodox parish gave my Faith a new home. I am most grateful to
serve the Lord in the Sanctuary and help Father Germanos the best I can. Last
year in May I was elected City Councillor of Brighton and Hove. I am Member of
the Planning committee. My experience could help the community with planning
applications for extensions of our buildings. I am the Armed Forces Champion for
the city, appointed by the Lord Lieutenant of East Sussex. By mentioning this I would like to show
you that i believe in communities and with the Lord's help I hope to be a good support for our
Parish. Our Parish is growing. Not only with people from Greece and Cyprus, but as well from other
Orthodox countries. And from converts like myself. Wouldn't it be good to give us a voice in the
committee as well?
Michael Stylianou. My career began in Television and Broadcasting for
which I was involved for 30 years. I later worked in Catering and am now
retired. This Church is very important to me and my family, my wife is a
member of the Philanthropic Committee and I have always helped the Church
Committee in the past and now that I have a little more time I would like to be
more involved.
Ilias Triantafyllou. I am a dental surgeon and have been part of the Brighton
community for the last fifteen years. For the first ten years of my presence in
Brighton I had a very active presence in the church and community. The last few
years, for personal reasons, I chose not to participate so actively. I did, however,
offer my help every time I was asked and every time I felt the Greek community
needed it and could benefit from it. By putting my name on the ‘candidates’ list, I
am making myself and my powers available to the community confirming my
continuing support at a time I feel it is urgently needed.