Fr. Dimitrios Gagastathis is Numbered Among the Saints
The Holy Synod of the Patriarchate of Constantinople has canonized the man affectionately known as Papa Dimitri.
JULY 9, 2025 — Fr. Dimitrios Gagastathis (+1975), a married priest and the father of nine daughters, has been officially canonized by the Holy Synod of the Patriarchate of Constantinople under the Presidency of His Holiness Patriarch Bartholomew. Papa Dimitri, as the people affectionately called him, will be commemorated on January 29, the day of his repose.
An official communication from the chief secretary of the Synod states:
“During the second session, following a proposal by the Canonical Committee, the priest Dimitrios Gagastathis, of the Holy Metropolis of Trikki, Gardiki, and Pyli, was added to the Hagiologion (List of Saints) of the Orthodox Church of the East, having distinguished himself by his Christ-like virtues of mercy, philanthropy, and absolute devotion and trust in the will of the Lord.”
In March, the Holy Synod of the Church of Greece accepted a proposal for canonization from the Metropolis of Trikki, Gardiki, and Pyli, and submitted a request to Patriarch Bartholomew.
A statement at that time said that Papa Dimitri was “a priest of prayer, humility and unceasing ministry,” and that, “the fame of his holiness remains alive, and a multitude of believers continue to resort to his prayers.”
Many of his contemporaries attested to his holiness, including St. Amphilochios of Patmos (+1970), Blessed Elder Philotheos Zervakos (+1980) and Blessed Elder Aimilianos of Simonopetra (+2019), with Elder Aimilianos saying:
“His life flowed naturally, in simplicity and ingenuousness of heart; at the same time, though, it was a continuous journey, an ascent towards God, a constant experience of God’s revelation. Papa Dimitri lived in a world of miracles; his life can credibly be explained only as a continuous intervention of Divine Grace.”
A notable aspect of Papa Dimitri’s life was his courageous opposition to German occupying forces and godless communism during the occupation of Greece by Italo-German forces and the following Greek Civil War in the 1940s.
“One Sunday, while I was serving,” one passage on his life says, “a fearful thought crossed my mind prior to the Doxology: the Church was being actively threatened by communism. This thought brought to mind the Holy Gospel passage, ‘I lay down my life for the sheep.’”
Often reasoning with the occupying forces without sacrificing the teachings of the Gospel, one story came after Papa Dimitri had prayed at the Church of the Archangels, asking them to “tone down” the ferocity of the German soldiers. Papa Dimitri then walked alongside some of the soldiers, telling them that the village was “being good” and did not harbor any communist guerillas. He appeased the Germans by telling them that they are “a strong and educated nation” who the people “expect a greater example of self-control” from. The Germans then went away without bothering anything.
As Papa Dimitri had been under the threat of execution, which he was delivered from, the people were shocked to see him ringing the church bell on Sunday morning.
“They took me for a fool for not capitulating to the atheistic guerillas, as they did,” he said. “Instead, I persisted in proclaiming to the villagers: ‘Communism abolishes Church, Country, and Family.’ ‘Understand, all you nations, and submit yourselves, for God is with us!’ and ‘Hear, you at the ends of the earth: God is with us!’”
When pressured by the Greek communists to preach for them, Papa Dimitri told them that he wanted to die as a real priest – not as a clown. Refusing to take the job, he said that he was ready to die for Christ any time they wish.
The whole village was on his side, and the communists once again went away empty-handed. “Do you see that our Faith is alive?” Papa Dimitri asked.
However, the communists would not leave him in peace.
“My safe havens at night were the ‘caves and holes of the earth,’ the barns, the graveyard, the ossuary, and of course, the Church of the Archangels. I would sleep like a cat beneath their icon. I kept saying to them, ‘You are in charge! Keep me from all danger!’”
Despite this persecution, Papa Dimitri did not blame the communists, calling them his children. He was insistent that the cause of his punishment was his sins, and that we have all strayed from God in one way or another and need to repent. “Truth will eventually conquer and reign,” he said.
A book titled, “The Amazing Life of Papa Dimitri: The Man of God” can be purchased from Jordanville’s Holy Trinity Church Supplies and Bookstore website here or on Amazon here.
A few of the sayings of St. Dimitrios Gagastathis:
“Upon hearing that I have left this world, do not become grief-stricken, but rather be happy because the Church will have ridden herself of the most sinful and unlearned priest of this generation.”
“It is a terrible thing: The people here have forsaken the Church and go off to work in their fields on Sundays – to pick cotton. The fields are full and the churches are empty. They are after chrysos (gold) and not Christos (Christ).”
“I would like to know what those clergymen who collaborate with the Pope and the heretics believe… they who work every day in the sanctuary of the Lord. Do they act only in name, and not in reality? It is beyond me.”
St. Dimitri, Man of God, pray for us sinners!
