Fr. Panagiotis Sotiras (Fr. Pete for short) was assigned as the Pastor of St. Basil’s, Stockton on Sept. 1st, 2012, arriving with his wife, Presvytera Angie and their son Justin Paraskevas. The Sotiras’ showed up on the scene with excitement and eagerness, ready to grow in Christ with the parishioners of St. Basil’s.
Fr. Pete was raised in Novato, CA where he attended the Nativity of Christ Greek Orthodox Church. During that time, he was involved with various youth ministry programs such as: GOYA, Sunday School, Acolyte service and basketball. His priest growing up was Fr. Constantine Efstathiu, who faithfully served the St. Basil’s community from 1967-1984, and who still remains his mentor.
Fr. Pete received his bachelor’s degree in History from UC Berkeley (Go Bears!) in 2001 and then attended Holy Cross Greek Orthodox seminary, where he received his Masters of Divinity in 2005. From 2002-2008 Fr. Pete served in the capacities of counselor, co-director and director at St. Nicholas Ranch Summer Camp for youth. Following seminary, Fr. Pete served as the Metropolis of San Francisco Youth and Family Ministries Director for three years. In 2008, he was ordained to the Priesthood, being assigned to Holy Cross in Belmont where he was the Assistant Priest up until he was reassigned to St. Basil’s.
Some of Father’s interests include reading, drawing and rooting on his favorite Bay Area sports teams: the Forty-Niners, Cal Bears, SF Giants and Warriors. Above all, he enjoys spending time with his family.
To reach Fr. Pete, you may contact him at (209) 478-7564 or via e-mail at: frsotiras@gosaintbasil.org.
Dear Friends,
It is with great excitement and joy that I warmly welcome you to our St. Basil’s web-page. Many people have offered their time and talents to make this site a reality and I want to thank them for their efforts.
It is absolutely essential that we as a parish do everything we can to offer the healing, restorative and loving message of Jesus Christ to as many people as possible. Obviously, more and more people rely on the internet to get their information. St. Paul, the great Apostle to the Gentiles, would not have been able to spread the Good News of Christ to as many people as he did without the great and efficient highways of the Roman Empire. We at St. Basil’s seek to imitate St. Paul by utilizing the cyber highways afforded us by our digital age to connect as many people as we can to Christ and His Church.
This parish is named after St. Basil the Great, a 4th c. Church Father who developed a new city in his day in Caesarea in Cappadocia. This city was in fact a great philanthropic and spiritual center providing healing, restoration and renewal to all those who went there. Worship, religious education, and care for the sick and needy were all part of this center.
St. Basil’s Basiliad of the 4th c. is what St. Basil’s in Stockton strives to be. Our goal is to offer healing, restoration and renewal to all those who come here. Just as the Basiliad had worship and religious education, so does our parish. Just as the Basiliad ministered to the sick and needy, we too strive to minister to those who are spiritually sick and needy. St. Basil’s offers a variety of ministries and programs throughout the week, tailored to meet the needs of the different segments of our community: our families, seniors, youth, young adults, spiritually needy and sick.
It is my hope that this web-page will connect you to the healing, restorative and saving message of Jesus Christ that is found here at St. Basil’s in Stockton.
With love in Christ,
Fr. Panagiotis Sotiras
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