DULUTH — Sometimes it takes 20 years for an idea to be realized.
A new book by Patra Sevastiades, of Duluth, and a Greek Orthodox bishop, Demetrios Kantzavelos, “Grace Unbound,” has roots in a friendship from 20 years before.
Two priests from the Greek Orthodox church met back in 1997-98. One,
Philemon Sevastiades,
then based in New York, soon became the full-time priest of
Twelve Holy Apostles Orthodox Church
in Duluth. The other, Demetri Kantzavelos, then the chancellor of the Diocese of Chicago, soon became Bishop Demetrios of Mokissos.
Contributed / Ma Chang
Contributed / Patra Sevastiades
The two quickly became fast friends and would talk on the phone frequently.
“We would talk three or four times a day, as I think Patra (Philemon’s wife) might recall, and I felt bad for her because we were talking forever,” Kantzavelos said. “And around when we were talking about my activist work, he recommended that I write a book about it.”
The two worked on an outline for the book in the early 2000s, but Philemon died in 2004 before they could build any momentum for the book.
Approximately 20 years later, Kantzavelos was reminded of the book idea and started working on a new outline with the Rev. David Bissias, a longtime collaborator in Katzavelos’ activism work in Chicago.
“We put together an initial manuscript, which was much more academic. It wasn’t compelling,” Kantzavelos said. “So I gave that to Patra, and she helped me to find the compelling moments.”
Patra Sevastiades, Philemon’s widow, had worked in publishing for several years when she and her husband lived in New York. She’d worked as an editor and editorial director. It was actually thanks to her publishing job that she first met Philemon.
“I was intrigued by this man, who grew up near Detroit and in Athens and who told me he was going to become a Greek Orthodox priest,” Patra said. “So I was raised Roman Catholic, but converted to Orthodox Christianity when we married.”
Patra and Kantzavelos worked on the book together for two years. The book tells the story of Kantzavelos’s call to social activism in the areas of AIDS ministry and abolishing the death penalty.
“When I looked at that initial manuscript, the things that really jumped off the page were the stories,” Patra said. “So I asked if we could focus more on the story. It still raises the same topics, but more in story format so we can follow these narratives.”
One such interaction and narrative was about when Kantzavelos first became active in AIDS ministry in 1992. He visited a man named Bob, who was dying from complications due to AIDS. No priests from the man’s parish were willing to meet with him due to fear. Kantzavelos had compassion for this man and started a task force to minister to people with AIDS.
I sort of feel like I posthumously got to collaborate with my husband.
Patra Sevastiades, co-author, “Grace Unbound”
A few years later, another interaction with an individual in a difficult situation sparked more of the activist’s flame in Kantzavelos. The last person to be executed in Illinois was Andrew Kokoraleis, who was raised in the Greek Orthodox church. Kantzavelos met him just three weeks before he was set to be executed.
“People see the death penalty as just. I mean, you murder someone, you get murdered. But it’s not righteous and it’s fraught with error,” Kantzavelos said. “We’ve probably executed a number of innocent people; in fact, we know we have. That was the big push for me. Andrew opened my eyes to that.”
Kokoraleis’s appeal to the governor of Illinois for a stay of execution was denied. But Kantzavelos’s journey with advocacy to remove the death penalty was just beginning.
What do Patra and Kantzavelos think Philemon would think about their collaboration?
“I think he would be pleased to know that the idea had come to fruition. I think he’d be very proud and he’d absolutely love it,” Kantzavelos said.
Patra said they found his original handwritten notes from when he made an outline of the potential book with Kantzavelos, along with a few emails the two had written back and forth.
“It’s pretty neat. I sort of feel like I posthumously got to collaborate with my husband,” Patra said.
Copies of “Grace Unbound” can be found at Zenith Bookstore and the Bookstore at Fitgers in Duluth.
- What: “Grace Unbound” book release party
- When: 6-7:30 p.m. Thursday
- Where: Kitchi Gammi Club, 831 E. Superior St., Duluth
Teri Cadeau is a features reporter for the Duluth News Tribune. Originally from the Iron Range, Cadeau has worked for several community newspapers in the Duluth area, including the Duluth Budgeteer News, Western Weekly, Weekly Observer, Lake County News-Chronicle, and occasionally, the Cloquet Pine Journal. When not working, she’s an avid reader, crafter, dancer, trivia fanatic and cribbage player.
