Helen Creticos
Theodoropoulos, Ph.D.

Helen Creticos Theodoropoulos

Helen's parents were among the founding fathers and mothers of Sts. Peter and Paul Greek Orthodox Church in Glenview, Ill., which she has attended since she was a little girl, and where she currently worships with her family. Her studies at Holy Cross School of Theology encouraged the growth of her participation in her home parish, where she has taught Bible study for young adults and began the first Church Summer Vacation Program for children. She has led retreats in her parish and in the diocese, and has also lectured about the Orthodox Church to both Orthodox and non-Orthodox groups. She frequently reads at services and has occasionally preached sermons.

Deep within the heart of the Church, in the place where sorrow and joy meet and where our bitter tears are kissed away by a mother’s love, we encounter the Most Holy Mother of God. The Church in its devotion to the Ever-Virgin Mary has always known that she is a mystery and a gift given to us by God. The Theotokos is a mystery that can be experienced and encountered, and yet never explained or described in words of logic and science, and she is a gift that brings radiant joy and comfort in the midst of darkness and need. Through the centuries the Church has expressed its love for her through countless hymns, has praised her in its most exquisite poetry and song, and has portrayed her in its most beautiful and beloved icons. No other saint is the subject of so much devotion, and no other saint has so many miracles attributed him or her.

Helen Theodoropoulos: Thank you for graciously agreeing to share your experiences with the St. Nina readership. Presbytera Gallos, what was your earliest experience of Church life and how did you become involved as such an active participant?

One of the most extraordinary Orthodox women of the twentieth century, Sophie Shidlovsky Koulomzin, experienced and helped to shape the life of the Orthodox Church throughout some of its most turbulent decades and critical periods. Although she counts herself first as mother and grandmother, she is also known and loved as teacher and educator, responsible for the religious education of countless Orthodox children both in the United States and abroad.