St Andrew’s Greek Orthodox Church parishioners speak out after Father John Christodoulos double life exposed

Parishioners have spoken out after their Sunday church service following revelations their Greek Orthodox priest was being investigated over donations and a double life.

Father John Christodoulos in Adelaide. Picture: Supplied

Parishioners from St Andrew’s Greek Orthodox Church in Noarlunga have defended a priest after revelations he has been regularly meeting other men via a gay sex app and was being investigated over donations.

The Greek Orthodox Church has launched an investigation after being advised Father John Christodoulos, one of its most senior priests, has obtained hundreds of thousands of dollars in donations from devout elderly parishioners while living a double life flouting the teachings and rules of the church.

Expected to be living a celibate life as a single male priest, on Saturday The Advertiser revealed Archimandrite John Christodoulos – until this week SA’s second-highest ranking official in the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese – has been regularly meeting other men via a gay sex app.

Father John Christodoulos with the communion chalice at St Andrew. Parish Picture: Supplied

Father John Christodoulos chatting with another man on Grindr Picture: Supplied

Father Christodoulos, also known as Father John Vasilaris, who on Tuesday left Adelaide to run a large parish at Fawkner in Melbourne, was until Friday active on gay meeting app Grindr – providing graphic descriptions of sexual encounters and desires with men and sending pornographic photographs to potential dates.

But his former parishioners defended the man and denied the allegations on Sunday.

“He’s a good person,” one parishioner said after the Sunday service at the church in Noarlunga.

“He’s extremely well thought of as a priest, especially in this parish,” another said.

Father John Christodoulos. Picture: Supplied

Father John Christodoulos chatting with another man on Grindr Picture: Supplied

Father Christodoulos was a parish priest at the Greek Orthodox Parish of St Andrew Noarlunga, where he was based from 2020 until his recent promotion to a much larger parish in Melbourne.

Fellow priest at the Noarlunga church Father Mark, who declined to provide his surname, was in “shock” at the allegations.

“It is stupid, I cannot believe it,” he said.

He denied the allegations were true, stating Father Christodoulos was “too old for something like that”.

Father Mark, who spent four years with Father Christodoulos at the church, said his behaviour was always “appropriate”.

“If someone is gay you cannot hide it,” he said.

He said the accusations “were not small” and if they were true “he would be disordained”.

On Sunday morning, the church was packed with dozens of people and the carpark was nearly full. Father Mark said the matter was not mentioned during the service.