High Profile: Father Alex Karloutsos Quietly Shares His Gifts with All

The Rev. Father Alexander Karloutsos is a fixture in the Hamptons. He is protopresbyter of the Dormition of the Virgin Mary Church, an Orthodox Christian church in Southampton.

Father Alex, as he is known to most, is the senior priest and is known by so many for his church’s plethora of charitable acts that include giving $2 million in donations to non-Eastern Orthodox churches and assisting the Navy Seals, a clinic in Congo and autism efforts.

“We try to communicate God’s love through Jesus,” says Father Alex, 78, who has been in ministry for 53 years. “All the years I’ve been a priest here, the needs are basically the same fundamentally, whether you are rich or poor. You need a place to feel you belong, a church family, someplace where you can experience love, great joy and even great sorrow. This is a sacred space.”

While he would likely keep many of his accolades private, there are some lights that he can’t hide under a bushel. He helped to build the chapel at Camp David and has advised eight U.S. presidents, four Democrats and four Republicans, starting with Jimmy Carter and continuing through Joe Biden. He was involved in building the St. Nicholas national shrine at Ground Zero, which was built after the terrorist attack of September 11, 2001. He is the former vicar general of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, from which he retired in 2021. And, most prestigious, he was honored with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor, by President Joe Biden in 2022.

He was in good company as other honorees at that time included Oscar-winning actor Denzel Washington, Olympic gold medal gymnast Simone Biles, Olympic and World Cup soccer champion Megan Rapinoe, former U.S. Rep. Gabby Giffords (D-Arizona), the late Steve Jobs and Gold Star father Khizr Khan. The Presidential Medal of Freedom is presented to those who have made exemplary contributions to the prosperity, values or security of the country, world peace or other significant societal, public or private endeavors.

And, during the COVID-19 pandemic, the congregation chose to serve those who serve. Southampton Hospital Medical workers administered 10,000 vaccinations at the church, and the women and men of the congregation volunteered to serve them meals. While Father Alex has even more honors that could be listed, he seems most proud of his service to his home church.

“Many have called our church building the best house in town,” Father Alex says with a smile in his voice. “We’ve built a church home where everybody feels comfortable. You don’t take your shoes off when you walk in, but you do walk into God’s love through its people.”

Father Alex started his career when he was ordained at 25 in a church in Chicago and oversaw the youth ministry. The archdiocese eventually put him in charge of the national youth ministry. While he has received many honors throughout his career, he says most come out of the blue.

“When you are serving, you don’t think of the honor,” Father Alex says with humility. “When you are doing the deed, you think about serving the people, serving God.”

While few would say he is slowing down, Father Alex has turned over some of the day-to-day tasks to his son-in-law, Father Constantine Lazaraskis, who is the church presbyter.

He may be sticking closer to home these days, but there are things that are occurring in society that cause him concern. One is the politicization of religion that is happening now.

“We are so immersed in politics that we think we are being religious, when we are not,” explains Father Alex, who was born in Greece and raised in the United States and is a “PK,” which is short for preacher’s kid. “We say ‘thy kingdom come, thy will be done.’ But what kingdom are we talking about? God’s kingdom? Some commit to a world view. We are religious when we are focusing on God. To use religion for political reasons does not make us a citizen of the kingdom in Heaven.”

Even with all that is going on in society at large, Father Alex still believes it is possible for those with differing opinions to still learn from each other. In fact, he practices that regularly at the church.

One project of which he is particularly proud is his Saturday Buddies Breakfast, which opens with current events and has included such guest speakers as New York Gov. Kathy Hochul; journalist and former Fox News host Bill O’Reilly; and Anthony Scaramucci, an American financier, author and entrepreneur. Also known as “The Mooch,” Scaramucci served as President Donald Trump’s White House director of communications for 11 days in July 2020.

“The whole idea is to be open to discourse, like they did in the Agora of ancient Athens,” explains Father Alex, who moved with his family to Southampton more than 30 years ago.

Todd Shapiro is an award-winning publicist and associate publisher of Dan’s Papers.