Parish Leadership

Rev. Father Dean Kokanos
Presiding Priest

Father Dean Kokanos was born and raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where he attended college and graduate school, earning a Master of Music Degree from Carnegie Mellon University.  After pursuing a career in classical music, Fr. Dean attended Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology.  In 2013, Father Dean earned the Master of Divinity degree with High Distinction.

Following seminary Father Dean was ordained to the Diaconate and Priesthood by His Eminence, Metropolitan SAVAS of Pittsburgh and assigned to be the Assistant Priest at the Annunciation Cathedral in Columbus, Ohio.

In 2017, Father Dean was assigned to be the Parish Priest of the Presentation of Christ “Ypapanti” Church in East Pittsburgh.  Under Father Dean’s leadership, the parish founded an outreach ministry which included an on-site, year-round food pantry, hot meal distribution, and clothing pantry, as well as various seasonal outreach events and thousands of dollars a year for emergency relief. 

In September of 2022 Father Dean was assigned to be the Presiding Priest of the Annunciation.  Father Dean is grateful to God to serve the Akron community and lead the already thriving ministries of this parish.

In addition to his responsibilities at the Annunciation, Father Dean serves as the Spiritual Advisor to the Metropolis of Pittsburgh parishes of the Mid-Eastern Federation of Greek Orthodox Church Musicians (MEFGOX).

Since graduating from Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology with High Distinction, Father Dean has earned three units of Clinical Pastoral Education from the Center for Orthodox Spiritual Care at St. Athanasius College as well as an Executive Certificate in Religious Fundraising from the Lake Institute on Faith and Giving at Indiana University.

Father Dean is married to Presbytera Gabrielle, also of Pittsburgh.  They have two children.  In his free time, Father Dean enjoys sailing his “super snark” boat on the lakes of Northeastern Ohio and watching football.

To email Fr. Dean, click here.

Rev. Father Nick Manuel
Assistant Priest

Fr. Nick was born in Wilmington, Delaware in 1993. He is the youngest of four children. He grew up in Richmond, Virginia at the Cathedral of Sts. Constantine and Helen. Upon graduating High School in 2011 he attended Hampden-Sydney College in Farmville, Virginia. There, he received a Bachelor of Liberal Arts with a focus in Psychology. Following graduation at Hampden-Sydney, he sojourned north to Boston, and enrolled in Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology to follow his call to the priesthood.

In 2017, he met his wife, Demetria, of Saint Louis, Missouri, and married her two years later in January, 2019. He was ordained to the Holy Diaconate at Annunciation on December 5, 2019 by His Eminence Metropolitan Savas of Pittsburgh. Dn. Nick and Demi had their first child, John, in November of 2019!

On March 15, 2020 Fr. Nick was ordained to the Holy Priesthood by His Eminence Metropolitan Savas of Pittsburgh at Annunciation. In March of 2021, Fr. Nick and Presbytera Demetria welcomed their second child Eleutheria into the world! Fr. Nick is grateful and humbled to be here in Akron and serve at this vibrant and active community! Glory to God for all things!

Rev. Deacon Mark Studebaker
Deacon

Dn. Mark was born and raised in Indiana. He was brought up in the Disciples of Christ Church, where he first made his public profession of faith in Christ and was Baptized.

Dn. Mark graduated from Valparaiso University and from Indiana School of Medicine with an M.D. degree. He completed a residency in internal medicine at Akron City Hospital and a fellowship in Clinical Nutrition at the Medical College of Georgia. He practiced internal medicine in various settings in Northeast Ohio for ten years. For the last 20 years, he has been a medical director with a national health insurance company here in northeast Ohio.

Dn. Mark has been married to Nancy for 38 years, and they have four children and five grandchildren together. Together Dn. Mark and Nancy spent their first thirteen years together in various evangelical churches. However, God had other plans, and after a life-changing six-month journey, they were both Chrismated in the Orthodox Church. Dn. Mark completed a 2-1/2 year Late-Vocations program with the Cleveland Deanery of the Orthodox Church in America. He was ordained to the Holy Diaconate by the hand of Right Rev. Job, Archbishop of Chicago and the Midwest, in December, 1997. He has been assigned to Annunciation Church since May, 2002.