HIV/AIDS and the Death Penalty: One Priest’s Sacred Activism

HIV/AIDS and the Death Penalty: One Priest’s Sacred Activism
headshot of Bishop Demetri C. Kantzavelos
Demetri C. Kantzavelos, Bishop of Mokissos, has been an ordained clergyman for over thirty years and a bishop for the last seventeen. He retired from active ministry in early 2023 after a long career with the Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Chicago. Between 1992 and 2017, he was a dynamic leader in social activism, earning numerous awards for his groundbreaking AIDS ministry and his successful advocacy to abolish the death penalty in Illinois. His extensive interfaith, ecumenical, and Greek Orthodox networks, growing media presence, and broad social connections in Chicago have made him a recognized figure. He has been featured over a dozen times in outlets like the Wall Street Journal, the Chicago Tribune, the Philadelphia Inquirer, radio, and YouTube. His social and professional networks include many Greek Orthodox believers and extend well beyond the sphere of Greek Orthodoxy. Bishop Demetrios resides in Chicago, Illinois, and in a rural village in the Peloponnese region of Greece.
headshot of Gregory Pappas
Gregory Pappas is a cancer survivor, doggie daddy, writer, filmmaker, public relations professional, and event producer with clients and projects spanning the globe. He is the founder of The Greek America Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to philanthropy, culture, education, and community, as well as The Pappas Post, a widely read online publication covering Greek and diaspora news.