Chicago, September 13, 2016
William Kallas, newly appointed Metropolis of Chicago Registrar at St. Demetrius Greek Orthodox Church in Hammond. (Jim Karczewski / Post-Tribune)
Registrar William Kallas of the Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Chicago opens a tiny hand-carved wooden box and the sweet and savory scent of myrrh emanates from the cotton stored inside.
"St. Demetrios was a soldier in the Roman Empire. He was caught trying to practice the Christian faith," said Kallas, standing in the sanctuary of the St. Demetrios Greek Orthodox Church of Hammond — where he has attended since childhood.
In a quiet and friendly voice, he retells the story of St. Demetrios, the myrrh and the patron saint of the Hammond church. The saint was stoned and killed in the city of Thessalonica in Northern Greece when he chose to continue teaching and pursuing his faith in Christ. He is honored there still. Kallas brought the myrrh-scented cotton in 2014 from Thessalonica as a gift to the church. The cotton had absorbed the scent of the myrrh from relics of the saint at the Church of St. Demetrios there.
In June, Kallas, 26, was named Registrar for the Metropolis of Chicago which oversees 58 parishes in northern Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin and central Missouri. Kallas is located in the Metropolis office in Chicago.
"Different parishes will send paperwork in and I will review it and create the license to permit the church marriage and send it back to the parish. I keep statistical records for how many were baptized, married, and how many died for all 58 parishes in the Metropolis," said Kallas, who is the assistant to Bishop Demetrios. "I assist him with any work he has and I travel with him to many of the parishes every Sunday and assist him with the services."
He said he especially enjoys returning to his home church in Hammond, where only 16 years ago at the age of 10, he served as an altar boy.
He was introduced to the Greek Orthodox church by his paternal grandparents.
"My grandmother was very involved in the church and I would go to help her. Over the course of time, she became ill, but I would go by myself," Kallas said. "I would ride my bike or walk to church and it started from there. I developed responsibility within the church."
As he developed responsibilities, he stayed involved and committed to the religion.
Kallas graduated from Gavit High School and went on to graduate from Manchester College (now Manchester University) in 2012. He considered applying to law school, but he said he realized it wasn't the right fit for him.
William Kallas, newly appointed Metropolis of Chicago Registrar discusses the area the Chicago Metropolis covers. (Jim Karczewski / Post-Tribune)
"I felt I could do more within the church. I was able to get the blessing to go to the school," Kallas said. He attended Hellenic College Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology in Brookline, Mass.
"You always know at a young age, but it is whether or not you are ready to accept it," Kallas said. "There's time needed to discern the calling and then to understand what the calling is. I knew at a young age it was something I wanted to pursue, but I was in college before I could take the steps necessary to walk the path."
According to Kallas, there's not a timetable for ordination. The pathway to priesthood involves a spiritual evaluation process and is dependent on when his superiors feel he is ready. The hierarchs will consider the education, experience within the church, their own meetings with the candidate. At a certain point, a decision is made by the hierarchs to ordain the candidates.
Kallas, who is an identical twin, reflects on the diverse paths he and his brother, Charles, have chosen. Charles served as a sergeant in the U.S. Army and was in Afghanistan for a year tour of duty.
"Our family is very service-oriented," he said. Their father owned a dry cleaning business and emphasized to them the importance of giving back to the community in some way. "We had different reasons for our directions. These are two types of service to our community."