WELCOME—The Rev. Gary Kyriacou of St. Demetrios Greek Orthodox Church in Camarillo says although the church has its roots in Greece, “Being Greek is not the important part here. Loving Christ and being Christian is the important part.” BILL SPARKES/Acorn Newspapers Before the Rev. Gary Kyriacou arrived at St. Demetrios Greek Orthodox Church in Camarillo, his early experience as a priest was “baptism by fire.”

He was ordained Sept. 9, 2001, and gave his first mass as an assistant priest at a church in Oakland on Sept. 11, just hours after the terrorist attacks.

“It was actually a confirmation as to why I became a priest, to help people practice faith in times of peace and war,” Kyriacou said. “It’s easy to profess faith during easy times and find calm after the storm. The point of life is to be calm during the storm and be able to navigate your life when times are difficult.”

Kyriacou said he remembers watching the news that day and wondering what kind of world his children would grow up in and prayed for the Lord to use him.

Three years later, in the summer of 2004, Kyriacou was sent to the Camarillo church to replace the Rev. Cyril Loeb, who was set to retire. Kyriacou said he was incredibly excited to lead the parish because Loeb had laid a solid foundation with many opportunities for expansion and progression.

“He tilled the soil and prepared it so any young, motivated priest would be able to do great work,” Kyriacou said. “I felt like there were a lot of seeds that could be planted.”

St. Demetrios is the only Greek Orthodox church between Northridge and Santa Barbara and is a family-oriented parish, the priest said.

“It’s more than just a Sunday church; it’s a support group and source of strength for people,” Kyriacou said.

Sunday services include Orthodox study and Sunday school with Divine Liturgy at 10 a.m., but there are many other events throughout the week.

Each month the church feeds about 300 homeless individuals at the Ventura County Rescue Mission, and the grandparents of the church host Greek dance lessons for the community at no charge.

The church hosts weekly meetings for Bible study sessions, baking groups, Boy Scout and Cub Scout troops, a women’s group, potlucks and barbecues to create a family atmosphere.

“Everyone here is related somehow through blood or through a spiritual relationship,” Kyriacou said.

That doesn’t mean church members are all Greek, he said.

In fact, fully Greek families are a minority, with the majority consisting of blended Greek members and individuals who aren’t Greek in heritage.

“Being Greek is not the important part here,” he said. “Loving Christ and being Christian is the important part.”

Church and state are not separate in Greece, so the culture and religion are intertwined, he said.

For example, the Greeks incorporate symbols of the circle in their dancing and daily life because of the spiritual significance of eternity. When dancing, Greeks will often circle something three times to represent the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

“The culture and faith go hand in hand,” Kyriacou said. “Like the fingers on a hand, you can’t separate them.”

After the Western Catholic Church of Rome broke apart from the Eastern Orthodox Church in 1054, the differences between the Catholic and Greek Orthodox faiths became more engrained.

For example, unlike Catholics, followers at St. Demetrios believe the Virgin Mary is holy but still born of sin, use icons to enhance prayer but do not worship them and don’t believe one person such as the Pope can have ultimate authority.

Greek Orthodox priests can also have a wife and children if they are married before they’re ordained.

“We’re established on Scripture and tradition, and it’s a Christcentered church,” Kyriacou said. “We invoke saints but don’t worship saints. We ask them to pray for us as we would ask anyone to pray for us.”

St. Demetrios was founded in 1970 as the Greek Church of Ventura County and found a home in 1977 by purchasing the Oxnard Air Force base chapel at the Camarillo Airport.

The parish became the St. Demetrios Greek Orthodox Church in 1980, and in 2004 members purchased land to build a new church, a meeting hall and chapel on a 4-acre parcel near Santa Rosa and Woodcreek roads.

The Camarillo City Planning Commission recently approved the building design, and construction is set to begin in spring 2012.

Kyriacou said the new building will help membership grow from the current 600 and be a future landmark of Camarillo because of its architecture.

“This will be an authentic Orthodox worship space,” he said. “It will be a good witness to Byzantine architecture and will be a beautiful building.”

Members of the church are slowly raising money to cover the building costs. So far they’ve raised half a million dollars and still need to raise $2.5 million more. Parishioners donate to the church and raise money through fundraisers during the year.

One of the biggest fundraisers for the church is the Ventura County Greek Festival each June.

The festival runs over the course of three days, with dozens of Greek food booths, church tours, activities for children, live music and Greek dances.

This year’s festival garnered a record attendance of 10,000 people, and Kyriacou said he is enthusiastic about the festival’s 35th anniversary in 2011.

“It gives us an opportunity to share our faith and the culture aspect as well,” he said. “The tradition of Greeks is to share the bounty given by God with everybody. I was raised that there’s room at the table for anyone who needed a place to sit.”

St. Demetrios Greek Orthodox Church, 400 Skyway Drive, hosts a 10 a.m. service Sunday mornings.

For more information about the church, call (805) 482-1273 or visit www.saintdem.org.