Reverend Charles J. Simones

Father Charles J. Simones, retired priest of St. Sophia Hellenic Orthodox Church in New London passed away on Tuesday, April 11, 2023 at Lawrence and Memorial Hospital in New London.

Father Simones was born on January 3, 1932 in Lewiston, Maine, the son of the late Demetrios and Alice Lambrew Simones.

He was a 1951 graduate of Edward Little High School in Auburn, Maine. He graduated from Holy Cross Seminary in Brookline, Massachusetts, in 1958, with a Bachelor of Arts degree. He received a Master’s in Education from Trinity college in Hartford in 1972.

Father Simones married the former Joan Canacaris of Bath, Maine in Portland, Maine, on September 28, 1958. They enjoyed 64 years of marriage together.

Father Simones served two parishes for a total of 48 years: Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church in Quebec City, P.Q, Canada.(3 years), and St. Sophia Hellenic Orthodox Church in New London, Connecticut (45 years). The family has resided in Waterford for the last fifty-five years.

Father Simones was honored with the title Sakellarios on April 16, 1967, in Lewiston, Maine, and was named a Protopresvyteros by the Ecumenical Patriarch Athenagoras on May 5, 1983.

Father Simones translated three books on the Elder Porphyrios. The first one is entitled “Elder Porphyrios, Testimonies and Experiences”. The second one is entitled "The Divine Flame Elder Porphyrios Lit in My Heart.” The third one is entitled " Miraculaculous Occurrences and Counsels of the Elder Porphyrios.”

Father Simones retired from his post at St. Sophia Church in 2006. He was honored on October 8, 2006,by parishioners and friends for his forty-five years of dedication to the parish at St. Sophia Hellenic Church  and forty-eight years in the Greek Orthodox priesthood. He served the Three Hierarchs Chapel on the University of Connecticut campus at Storrs, Connecticut, for several years after his retirement.

He is survived by his wife, Joan; his son Gregory Simones; his son Thomas Simones and his wife Genesis; his grandsons, George Simones and Dimitri Simones, and his former daughter-in-law Katina Simones. He was predeceased by his grandson, Constantine Simones.

Visiting hours will be held at St. Sophia Hellenic Orthodox Church, 200 Hempstead St, New London, from 4 until 6 pm, Thursday, April 20. A memorial service will be held at 5pm. A Matins and Divine Liturgy will be held at the church on Friday morning, April 21, from 8 to 10 am. A visitation will take place from 10 am until the start of a Paschal Funeral for a Priest at 11 am. In lieu of flowers, donations in his memory may be directed to St. Sophia Hellenic Orthodox Church.