It is with great sadness that we announce the repose of the +Priest Alexis Tinker. Fr. Alexis reposed in the Lord on Friday afternoon. Fr. Alexis was the parish’s third full-time rector, and under his guidance, our current ‘log-cabin’ temple was designed, selected, and erected. (Father is pictured above celebrating the blessing of the ground for our church.) You may read about his time at St. Andrew’s, as well as about the other priests who served St. Andrew’s over the years, at our Former Pastors page. The biography has also been reprinted below. Fr. Alexis’ time with us was characterized by warmth, love, and support for a small but burgeoning parish, and now we pray for his salvation and for the comfort of his family. The funeral arrangements are as follows. All services will be held at Holy Trinity Church, East Meadow:
Tuesday, August 30
2:00 PM • Reception of the Body into the Temple, followed by a Panikhida.
2:00 PM – 5:00 PM • Visitation hours
6:00 PM • Order of the Funeral for a Priest
Wednesday, August 31
11:00 AM • Liturgy of the Departed, celebrated by His Grace Bishop Michael. Burial will follow at Saint Charles Cemetery, Farmingdale NY.
Grant rest eternal in blessed repose, O Lord, to the soul of your servant, the Priest Alexis, and make his memory to be Eternal! May his soul dwell with the blessed! Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia.
Priest Alexis Tinker
Rector, 1982 – 1984
Fr. Alexis Tinker was Rector during an important period in the life of the Parish, in which a new log-structure Church was selected, obtained and put into use. In addition to his duties as pastor, Father was also employed as a full-time secondary school teacher in East New York.
Father Alexis was born on March 23, 1930, and ordained in 1965 at St. Nicholas Orthodox Cathedral (Antiochian) in Brooklyn, NY, where he continued to serve as an assistant priest for many years. At the same time, Father assisted at a nearby Greek Orthodox Church (Zoodos Peghe) on 18th Street. After lengthy service in these Churches, Father began a new ministry out of his home in West Hempstead, NY, and this developed into Holy Annunciation Church (later named St. John Church), now located in Uniondale, NY. Father Alexis then served as an interim priest at Holy Trinity Church in East Meadow, NY, for a period of three months, before being assigned to St. Andrew’s in Dix Hills, NY. At the beginning of this assignment, he had served these various churches a total of seventeen years.
Living in West Hempstead with his wife, Lourice (Larisa), Fr. Alexis commuted to St. Andrew’s, which at that time was the furthest most eastern Orthodox parish on Long Island. His ministry carried him even further east, as far as Riverhead, to which he traveled periodically to bring Holy Communion to Paul Malushizky’s mother, who was living in a nursing home at that time. He also recalls offering prayers at the repose of Helen Campo’s beloved husband, Justo.
During Father Alexis’ time as pastor, acquisition of the new Church building came about. The log-style Church, originally proposed by David Linke, was ideal because it was economical and consistent with the desire of the congregation for a traditional structure. Father Alexis recalls asking John Protopapas to design a roomy Sanctuary area for ease when censing, something that every priest who has served here is sure to have appreciated. The new Church was put together by a father-and-son team, which traveled for this purpose from the Adirondack region, where the supplier was located. One evening, after the installation of the new Church building, the parishioners decided it was time to move and formed a procession of sorts, each person taking a liturgical item and carrying it to the new location (across the parking lot from the old “Church,” currently the Parish Hall). After the procession to the new Church, Vespers was served and then a meal.
In May, 1982, Father Alexis was reflecting on Pascha when he wrote the following:
“Dear Friends, I have just celebrated my second Pascha with you. No use talking about it. I’ll savor the memories and relive the experience until the Lord calls me to a heavenly Pascha. And even after that, I’ll remember. I can’t get over how you are able to pull a rabbit out of a hat and surprise me anew. Just when I think I had you all figured out! Maybe I’m not used to your style. I love it! I love it! What a beautiful Agape you made! What generosity, concern, love, community. What a bunch you are! And I thank you for the outpouring of yourselves on behalf of one another. The Lord looks down and sees that, and loves you for it.”