Board of Directors
Metropolitan Nicolae, PhD, President, was born in Constanţa, Romania, on April 15, 1967, the son of Nicolae and Victoria Condrea. He felt a calling to service in the Orthodox Church at an early age. With the view of becoming a priest and entering the monastic life, Nicolae was admitted to the Andrei Saguna Faculty of Theology in Sibiu, Romania. After successfully completing four years of course study, Nicolae successfully defended his thesis entitled "The Eucharistic Theology of Metropolitan John Zizioulas" and received his Licentiate in Theology.
From 1992 to 1994, Nicolae was a professor of theology in Bucharest. He also continued his education during 1993 and 1994 in the doctoral program at the Andrei Saguna Faculty of Theology, concentrating his studies in the area of Moral Theology. In 1994, having received a scholarship to study at the Faculty of Theology, he entered the Marc Bloch University in Strasbourg, France, and received a diploma from the D.E.A (intensive study) program. He continued his doctoral studies at the Marc Bloch University and received the degree of Doctor in Theology on November 10, 2001.
While studying in Strasbourg, he combined the theory with practical experience, leading to his entry into the clergy. In the spring of 1997, he was ordained a deacon and then a priest by Metr. Serafim of Germany and Central Europe. With the metropolitan's blessing he also founded and served the parish of the Lord's Nativity in Stuttgart, Germany.
After receiving his doctorate, Fr. Nicolae returned to Romania. On December 18, 2001, Fr. Nicolae took his monastic vows at the Monastery of Radu Voda in Bucharest. Additionally, he held the position of Patriarchal Secretary.
On March 9, 2002, Fr. Nicolae was elected by a special Congress of the Romanian Orthodox Archdiocese in America and Canada to fill the vacant Archiepiscopal throne of the Archdiocese. On March 13, 2002, the Holy Synod of the Romanian Orthodox Church confirmed unanimously his election. At the same time the Synod raised Fr. Nicolae to the rank of archimandrite.
The consecration and installation of Abp. Nicolae was held at the St. John the Baptist Church in Montreal, Canada, on July 14, 2002.
Taken from https://orthodoxwiki.org/Nicholas_(Condrea)_of_Chicago
Dr. Anthony Kroll, Ed.D, Vice-President, is an Educational Consultant and an Assistant Superintendent of Specialized Programs at Mundelein CHSD 120. Dr. Kroll earned a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Illinois in Science, Chemistry, and Physical Science. He received his Master’s degree in Educational Leadership and Administration from Northern Illinois University and earned a Doctorate in Curriculum and Instruction from Loyola University. He has served on the Parish Council and Stewardship Committee of St. Sophia Greek Orthodox Church in Elgin, where he and his beautiful family are long-time stewards. Dr. Kroll has also served on the Board of Education for the Guardian Angel Orthodox Day School at St. John the Baptist in Des Plaines, IL.
Daniel N. Christus, J.D., Treasurer, is a patent and trademark attorney with forty years of legal experience. Nearly thirty-five of those years were with two Chicago firms: a medium sized intellectual property law firm, and a major international AmLaw 50 firm. He is a double graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, receiving a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemical Engineering and a Juris Doctor degree. He has litigated intellectual property cases and has obtained patents and trademarks on behalf of large and mid-sized American and foreign companies, engaged in a wide variety of markets and industries. Dan is admitted to practice in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, and in many United States District Courts and Courts of Appeal. Dan served as president of the Hellenic Bar Association of Illinois in 1997-1998. He was a member of the Parish Council of St. Andrew Greek Orthodox Church of Chicago for twelve years. He and his wife Demetra have been married for thirty-five years, and are the parents of four adult children, and the grandparents of two boys.
Karen Nawas, MEd, Secretary, is a member of Saint George Antiochian Orthodox Church, Cicero, Illinois, and has served in Christian Education for a total of 25 years,15 years of which she served as the Principal of the Sunday School. In addition, she has written a 3 year Orthodox Curriculum covering the Old Testament, New Testament, and Practicing the Faith. She also serves on the Parish Council at Saint George, with the Pastoral Ministry, Vision and Development, and Fundraising.
On the national level, Karen Nawas was the chair of the Saint George Diamond Jubilee Celebration hosting the Fall Board of Trustees Meeting of 2023, welcoming his Eminence Metropolitan SABA of North America on his inaugural visit to Chicago. She is the Vice Chair of the 2025 Archdiocese Convention and a member of the Order of Saint Ignatius.
Professionally she has a Master's in Education in Curriculum and Instruction from Boston University. Mrs. Nawas has taught in both the public and private sector Pre-K through 8th grade, served as Assistant Director at the Boston University Early Childhood Lab School, and has written and taught early childhood enrichment courses locally.
Mrs. Nawas has been an advocate for the youth, education, and raising up a new generation of Orthodox leaders. She has been involved in other classical tradition grass roots schools both at the high school and elementary school level. Mother of four children, she and her husband Dr. Sammy Nawas, have made classical education and faith a priority in their children's upbringing. They are mission minded supporters of small schools that raise joyful, well prepared students to succeed in college and professional life ready to excel and serve family, faith, and community through integrated curriculum, unlocking each student's individual potential.
Anthony Fred Chapekis, J.D., is a member of St. John the Baptist Greek Orthodox Church in Des Plaines, Illinois, and has served as President of the Parish Council and in various other positions during his long tenure on the Board. He was a founder of the Guardian Angel Orthodox Day School and a founding Board Member of the St. Iakovos Retreat Center within the Metropolis of Chicago. In addition, he served as legal counsel for the Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Chicago for over twenty years under Metropolitan Iakovos, of blessed memory. He also was one of the founding members of the Ascension Greek Orthodox Church in Lincolnshire and served as the church’s President of the Parish Council.
On the national level, Anthony Chapekis has been a member of the Archdiocesan Council for the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America for over twenty years. In 2003, he received his investiture as an Archon of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of the Order of St. Andrew the Apostle. He was invested as a Senator for Orthodoxy and Hellenism by the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese in 2021. Mr. Chapekis is a member of the Board of Trustees for St. Tikhon’s Orthodox Theological Seminary.
Mr. Chapekis has practiced as an attorney in Chicago, Illinois, for over forty years and is the founding partner of the law firm of Chapekis, Chapekis & Schmidt. He was admitted to practice before the United States Supreme Court in 1997, in addition to state and federal courts within the States of Illinois and Florida. He served as President of the Hellenic Bar Association and is a member of the Illinois State Bar Association and the Chicago Bar Association.
Nadia Evmenenko
Rev. Fr. John Kennerk, is the rector of Christ the Savior Orthodox Church (OCA) in Chicago, Illinois. He received his Master of Divinity Degree from St. Tikhon's Seminary in 2017. He also received a Master's in Art History from the Art Institute of Chicago in 2007. Fr. John and his wife Michelle have five young children and reside downtown.
Judge Paul C. Lillios served on the bench for over twenty years as a United States Administrative Law Judge, retiring as the Associate Chief Administrative Law Judge of the United States Social Security Administration. Judge Lillios now practices law, counseling corporate clients, conducting internal and EEO investigations and presiding over commercial arbitration hearings. He is an Archon of the Ecumenical Patriarchate and has been a member of the Archdiocesan Council of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America for twenty-five years where he also serves as Chairperson of the Legal Committee for the Archdiocese. Judge Lillios also served for six years as a trustee of Hellenic College/Holy Cross Seminary in Brookline, MA and held an appointment as adjunct Professor of Law at the John Marshall Law School (now the University of Illinois Chicago School of Law) for over a decade teaching courses in federal courts and administrative law. Judge Lillios received his Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Iowa and his Juris Doctor degree from Creighton University School of Law, Omaha, Nebraska.