‘Praying for a miracle’: Utah parishioners mourn cancer diagnosis for Greek Orthodox priest of 35 years

Source: The Salt Lake Tribune

June 5, 2016

After doctors eliminated the cancer-ridden connective tissue in Jim Aerakis' leg, his Greek Orthodox priest joined him to celebrate.

Rev. Matthew Gilbert and his 42-year-old parishioner toasted their health two weeks ago in the last of the prayer-and-coffee meetings that became ritual after Aerakis' November diagnosis.

They were unaware that the same disease also had swiftly and aggressively targeted Gilbert, 58, who would be diagnosed with late-stage bone cancer on June 28 after a week of searing stomach pain and doctor visits.

"Three weeks ago, he was completely normal," said Denise Gilbert, his wife. "It's beyond anything we could have imagined." Gilbert was too weak to speak, she said.

Parishioners of Utah's Holy Trinity Cathedral are mourning after their leader's final service before leaving for treatment near Phoenix. On Sunday, Aerakis said, Gilbert expressed concern for his wife and six children. He urged his congregation to forgive.

Gilbert struggled to speak as pain radiated through his body. The cancer also has spread to his kidneys, liver and other organs.

"We're praying for a miracle, but [we are] also resigned to the fact that whatever God has written cannot be undone," said Denise Gilbert.

Parishioners this weekend received a letter from officers in the Denver office of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, asking them to keep the Gilbert family in their prayers.

"This is, of course, a very tragic circumstance," wrote Metropolitan Isaiah of Denver. No plans to instate an interim reverend have been announced.

"We're still a little bit upside down with all of this," said Ted Sargetakis, co-president of the Salt Lake City parish council, the congregation's legislative body. "It's shocking and very deeply sad."

Meanwhile, Gilbert's congregation is recalling his trips to monasteries in Arizona and in Greece, where he asked monks to pray for members of his parish who were in crisis. He also picked up oils to anoint them in the faith's tradition.

The pilgrimages were appreciated. Dino Tsortanidis, 50, of Salt Lake City, said he believes Gilbert's prayers in 2002 cleared the blockage in his arteries that doctors thought would cause a stroke — and helped his wife become pregnant at age 46 and give birth to a healthy baby girl.

Gilbert has focused more on fostering close relationships with parishioners than on wowing audiences with his sermons, Tsortanidis and Aerakis said. The priest of 35 years helped Aerakis' father cope as he successfully fight stomach cancer eight years ago.

The Aerakis family is "so, so sad," said Kathy Aerakis, Jim's mother.

Even though tensions between the parish council and some Utah clergy divided the church in recent years, said former council President Philip Floor, "I'm sure he would not want to dwell on that aspect of his time in Salt Lake City."

The division took a toll on Gilbert, who retained his job after some of his counterparts were removed from the church payroll.

On Sunday, one of his last words was about forgiveness," Floor noted. "That's primary in our faith, is to forgive."

For nearly two decades, Gilbert has kept constant contact with parishioners he believes may need his help, calling and visiting their homes, said his son Anthony Gilbert, 23.

He isn't pushy, his son said, but if he felt a family needed him, "he would leave in the middle of the night."

Gilbert has "been a blessing for our family," said Kathy Aerakis. "We will pray for him. You never know — miracles do happen."