Father John Romas, who died on Jan. 24 at age 86, led the annual “Blessing of the Waters” ceremony at Pier 1 on the first Sunday after the Epiphany.
BY JOSEPH M. CALISI
Father John Romas, who lead the fight to rebuild the St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church at Ground Zero, succumbed to pancreatic cancer on Jan. 24.
Every year at Pier 1 in The Battery, “Father John” would lead the procession of the “Blessing of the Waters” ceremony on the first Sunday after the Epiphany on January 6th.
The ceremony revolves around the retrieval of a gold cross to celebrate the baptism of Christ in the Jordan River by St. John the Baptist. The swimmer who retrieves the cross hoists it in the air and swims back to the boat. For his efforts, he is rewarded with a small cross and a personal blessing from the priest to ensure good luck for the coming year. The ceremony concludes with the release of a white dove which symbolizes the Holy Spirit said to have appeared that day in the sky.
“Father John Romas was the pastor of the St Nicholas Church at the World Trade Center and when the church was destroyed on 9/11 he and his parishioners moved to St Constantine and Helen Cathedral in downtown Brooklyn where they were welcomed. I got to meet him only following 9/11 at the annual Diving for the Cross religious events on Epiphany,” said parishioner Greg Homatas. “He and Father John Lardas always lead the procession to the foot of The Battery and always blessed us with holy water during Epiphany. He was always very nice to talk to and approachable. He will be missed by everyone.”
Romas (Ἰωάννης Ραμπαούνης) was born in 1929 to Demetrios and Vasiliki Rambaounis (Ραμπαούνη) in Dorvitsa, Nafpactias, Greece. He arrived in the United States on August 29, 1952, and later that year married Lorraine (Ourania) Papachristou.
He followed his calling later on in life and was ordained a deacon and presbyter in 1984 in Greece. Following his return to the United States in 1987, Archbishop Iakovos assigned him as the Proistamenos of Downtown’s St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church, where he served until the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, destroyed the church.
Ramos is credited with keeping his flock together after its house of worship was destroyed, and for leading the charged to rebuild the church, which has been designated as a National Shrine of the Archdiocese, and is set to open at the eastern end of Liberty Park, on Liberty St., in the summer of 2017.
He was laid to rest Jan. 27 in a funeral service at the Greek Orthodox Cathedral of Sts. Constantine and Helen in Brooklyn, where he worked following 9/11.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made in memory of Father John to the St. Nicholas Rebuilding Fund or for the St. Nicholas kouvouklion used for the Good Friday Epitaphios.
He is survived by his wife of 64 years, Lorraine (Ourania) Papachristou and his family.
