Born : November 26, 1930

Died : September 21, 2011 

The Rev. Dr. John Theodore Tavlarides, who guided St. Sophia Cathedral for nearly 55 years, died  Sept. 21 while vacationing in Ocean City, Md. He was 84.

He had been hospitalized for a heart ailment at a hospital in nearby Berlin, Md., when he passed away.

Fr. Tavlarides arrived at St. Sophia Jan. 9, 1956, as assistant priest and the first American-born priest to serve Washington's oldest Greek Orthodox congregation. He was named dean in 1960.

In a Washington Post story by Matt Schudel, Fr. Tavlarides was described as "an innovative and sometimes controversial leader, as he guided his congregation through a sometimes tempestuous period  of growth and cultural change."

"No single priest of the Cathedral has ever, or will ever, influence the course of St. Sophia's history to the extent that Father John did," St. Sophia's current dean, Fr. Steven P. Zorzos, said in a statement. Services at St. Sophia were conducted primarily in Greek before Fr. Tavlarides introduced a bilingual liturgy in 1%1. The change provoked controversy in some circles, but Fr. Tavlarides recognized that many of his parishioners were native-born Americans who spoke English as a first language and, in some cases, knew little or no Greek.

Nonetheless, he emphasized the church's Hellenic heritage by instituting classes - many of them taught by his wife, Harriett - for the study of the Greek language and Orthodox traditions. Byzantine music and Greek chanting were a regular part of the cathedral's religious services.

''We want to be eternal first and contemporary second," Fr. Tavlarides told The Washington Post in 1977. One of Fr. Tavlarides' signature achievements, according to the statement from Fr. Zorzos, was an educational program called "Inquiry Into Orthodoxy," offered primarily to adults and to people interested in converting to the faith. Fr. Tavlarides led the 10-week lecture series for 50 years.

He also participated in many ecumenical efforts in Washington, including presidential inaugurations and the Pageant of Peace, an organization that sponsors the annual lighting of the National Christmas Tree on the Ellipse. In the 1960s and 1970s, Fr. Tavlarides spearheaded an ambitious remodeling of St. Sophia, which was founded in 1904 and has been at its present location at 36th Street and Massachusetts Ave. NW, since 1955. .

Scholars from the Byzantine Collection at the Dumbarton Oaks Research library and
Collection in Georgetown helped direct the restoration, which was meant to evoke the authentic feel of a Byzantine-era church. St. Sophia's interior was refurbished with iconography, frescoes, mosaics, marble, colored windows and an elaborate gold-covered ceiling. The handmade chandeliers alone took four years to complete.

The restoration, which spurred a Byzantine revival movement at other churches, transformed St. Sophia into one of the country's most striking and ornate houses of worship of any faith.

"Our ceremonies and symbols are intended to assault all the senses," Fr. Tavlarides told The Post in 1983, "allowing Christ to enter through sounds, sights, scents and tactile impressions.

Fr. Tavlarides was born Nov. 26, 1930 in Stamford, Conn. His father worked as a cook and was a chanter at a Greek Orthodox Church across the street from the family home. After completing High school in Stamford, Conn. he entered Holy Cross School of Theology and earned a diploma in theology in 1953. He also took graduate courses over the years at General Theological Seminary in New York, and at Wesley Theological Seminary, American University and Catholic University of America, all in Washington.

He received a doctorate in ministry in 1996 from St. Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary in Crestwood, N.Y., in Westchester County. He married Harriet Anastasiadis of Wheeling, W.Va., in July  1953, and was ordained to the diaconate that August.

In October of that year, he was ordained a priest by Archbishop Michael. He received the following offikia: confessor, protopresbyter of the Ecumenical Patriarchate from Archbishop Iakovos, Proto-presbyter of the Ecumenical Throne from Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew. Immediately following his graduation for Holy Cross, he served Holy Trinity Cathedral in New York for 2½ years before going to Washington.

Fr. Tavlarides officially retired as dean emeritus on Jan. 9, 2011. He was succeeded by Fr. Zorzos who came to St. Sophia as assistant priest in 1984. Because of delays resulting from Pope Francis' visit to Washington, the funeral was held Monday, Sept. 28 with Archbishop Demetrios officiating, assisted by  Fr. Zorzos and 20 other clergy.

Survivors include his wife of 62 years, Harriett Anastasiadis Tavlarides of Washington; five children, Nia Stratos of Vienna, Va., Theodore Tavlarides of Springfield, Va., and Christopher Tavlarides, Mark Tavlarides and Demetri Tavlarides, all of Washington; a sister, Mary Kyriakoudis of Washington; and three grandchildren.