Clergy 

Rev. Dr. Christopher Flesoras is the pastor of Saint Anna Greek Orthodox Church in Roseville, a parish of the Greek Orthodox Metropolis of San Francisco. 

Father is a graduate of Hellenic College (BA in Religious Studies), Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology (MDiv), Northeastern University (MS), the University of California, Davis (Ph.D.) and Air University (Master of Military Operational Art and Science with a concentration in Joint Warfare).

He was married to Kristen Kyriazis, of blessed memory, on October 13, 1996, at Saint Sophia Cathedral in Los Angeles. His Eminence Metropolitan Anthony of San Francisco, also of blessed memory, ordained him to the Holy Diaconate at his home parish of the Annunciation in Modesto, California, on November 17, 1996, and then to the Holy Priesthood on February 2, 1997, at Holy Cross Church in Belmont, California where he would serve until his assignment to Saint Anna Church in June of 2001. On February 27, 2023, Father was distinguished as a Protopresbyter of the Archdiocese of America by His Eminence Archbishop Elpidophoros.

Father was commissioned as a Chaplain (1LT) with the California State Military Reserve and attached to the 115th Regional Support Group of the Army National Guard in 2010. Four years later, he was released to the California Air National Guard, commissioned as a Chaplain (Captain), and attached to the 162nd Combat Communication Group. He now serves in the 195th Wing of the Air National Guard, which is headquartered at Beale AFB. Father was promoted to the rank of Major in December 2019.

Father Christopher served as an Adjunct Professor at William Jessup University from 2011-21. He also served as the Associate Dean of Students at Hellenic College Holy Cross in Brookline, Massachusetts, for the 2021-22 and 2022-23 academic years.

He is a US First Responder with International Orthodox Christian Charities (IOCC) and is a Senior Fellow (Class XXII) of the American Leadership Forum.

He resides in Roseville with his children.

Rev. Fr.  Seraphim Ivey was ordained to the Holy Diaconate on April 14, 2018, and to the Holy Priesthood on April 15, 2018, by His Eminence Metropolitan Gerasimos of San Francisco at the Parish of St. Anna.  He is a 2017 Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology graduate. He began his ministry as a Pastoral Assistant on January 1, 2018. With the approval of the Eparchial Synod and the blessings of His Eminence Metropolitan Gerasimos, he was ordained to serve as the second full-time priest at our Parish.

Father Seraphim grew up semi-locally, having been born and raised in Grass Valley/ Nevada City for most of his life. Upon graduating from high school, he attended a handful of junior colleges before ultimately attending U.C. Santa Cruz, where he received his B.A. degree in continental philosophy, with an emphasis on ancient Greek philosophy. A decade later, after having worked in many occupations, ranging from construction to social work, Father returned to graduate school and received multiple subject teaching credentials from Cal. State Sacramento, with the intention of teaching elementary school.

During this time, he was seeking for a new church to attend. After many years of searching, he found Orthodoxy and then, eventually, St. Anna Parish as well, where after a period of time, he was formally received into the faith (spring of 2009).  After a 5 year “discussion” with Fr. Christopher, he decided to attend Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology in order to ascertain how he might best serve the Church. Over the course of the next 4 years, he was allowed to explore and develop his spiritual interests, all with the continued hopes of discerning what his future role might be regarding serving the Orthodox Church.

Father Seraphim was married in 2015 to Renee Kyriazis of Redondo Beach at the Church of St. Barbara in Santa Barbara.

Rev. Deacon Joseph Ruocco-Brown was born in San Jose, California, spending his early years in Strongsville, Ohio. However, he returned back to California at a young age, settling in the rural town of Petaluma in Sonoma County. One of three children born to Donald and Francis (Ruocco) Brown, he was reared in a loving and devout Roman Catholic family.

During his high school years, under the spiritual direction of his parish priest, he prayerfully considered affiliating with a monastic brotherhood. After high school graduation, he was prepared to attend the Benedictine Monastery and Seminary at Mount Angel Abbey in Oregon. However, this plan was providentially interrupted when he met Anna, his wife of 34 years. Joseph and Anna Moller were wed on June 3, 1978. They have been blessed with six children and eight grandchildren.

Desiring to more completely serve God and being struck by the beauty of the Byzantine Liturgy and her theology, Joseph petitioned the See of Rome to be accepted within the Greek Melkite Catholic Church, which was granted by then Cardinal Ratzinger, now Pope Benedict. Their prayerful journey continued for some time, most notably under the spiritual direction of Rev. Constantine Efsthathiu of the Nativity of Christ Greek Orthodox Church in Novato. Joseph, Anna, and their children were received into the Holy Orthodox Church on January 5, 1991, at the Parish of the Protection of the Holy Virgin Orthodox Church in Santa Rosa, California.

Once acclimated to the Orthodox Church, his spiritual father, the Rev. Michael Margitich, encouraged him to study for the Holy Deaconate. With the blessing of His Grace Bishop Tikhon, he attended the Diocese of the West Late Vocations Program in Berkeley and San Francisco, which at that time was directed by the now-retired Metropolitan Jonah Archbishop of Washington and New York and Metropolitan of All America and Canada. After much study, he successfully passed the Deaconate Examination required by the Orthodox Church in America. Then, with the blessings and encouragement of his Spiritual Father, Joseph petitioned His Grace Bishop Tikhon for ordination to the Holy Deaconate.

On June 14, 1997, sub-deacon Joseph was ordained to the Holy Deaconate at the oldest Orthodox parish in the contiguous United States, the seat of the Orthodox Church in America Bishop of San Francisco and the West, Holy Trinity Cathedral in San Francisco. Deacon Joseph was assigned to the Protection of the Holy Virgin Orthodox Parish and St. Seraphim of Sarov Orthodox Church in Santa Rosa. He faithfully served there for five years. Upon relocating to the Sierra Foothills community of Grass Valley in 2002 for work, Dn. Joseph served at the Elevation of the Holy Cross Orthodox Church in Sacramento. Although Deacon and his family began attending St. Anna Parish shortly thereafter, he was officially released and incardinated into the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America on September 15th, 2008, placed under the Omophorion of His Eminence Metropolitan Gerasimos of the Metropolis of San Francisco and assigned to St. Anna Greek Orthodox Church in Roseville.

Deacon Joseph is employed in the secular world as a Process/Manufacturing Engineer. He has been employed with various companies such as Hewlett-Packard, Parker-Hannifin, and Cisco Systems and is currently employed with NVision in Grass Valley.

Staff

In 2001, Mrs. Morfoula Lenakakis began volunteering at the Parish to assist the recently assigned Fr. Christopher. Shortly thereafter, Morfoula became our part-time Secretary and remains an invaluable Parish Office and Administration member, especially with her bookkeeping proficiency.

A native of Roseville, Morfoula is a first-generation Greek American of parents who came to the United States in 1955. She is married to Stelio, whom she met in 1978. Two weeks after they met, they were married! They just celebrated their 38th wedding anniversary.

Morfoula and Stelio have 3 sons, Yianni, Angelo, and Athamie. Yianni, their oldest son, is married to Dawn, and they have two children, Stelio and Kyriaki. Angelo, their middle son, was tonsured Father Agathon, a monk at St. Anthony’s Monastery in Arizona. Athamie, their youngest son, is married to Marina, and they also have two children.

In addition to her responsibilities at the Parish, Morfoula also helps manage her husband’s landscape and maintenance company, which they have owned for over 35 years.

Anna Lagios Tsu received her bachelor’s degree in Environmental Protection from U.C. Berkeley in 1986 and then worked and traveled across the States and the world for several years before returning to school and earning a Master’s in Traditional Chinese Medicine from the Pacific College of Oriental Medicine in San Diego (a four-year professional program) in 1999. She is in private practice as a licensed acupuncturist, with offices in Sacramento and Roseville. After much seeking, Anna found the Orthodox Church late in life and was Chrismated at Saint Anna in 2017. As an adult convert, she knows firsthand the importance of early instruction and training in the Orthodox faith. She is honored to assist in transmitting some of the depth and strength of Orthodoxy to our younger parishioners, both those born in the faith and recent converts. In 2019, she assumed responsibility for our Youth Religious Education Program.

Jennifer Finney, together with her husband Larry, of blessed memory, served as our adult catechists.

They are the parents of four adult children and five grandchildren (so far).  They came to Orthodoxy from Protestant traditions in 2011. Both are natives of Northern California who have lived and worked in the area for their entire lives. 

Their embrace of the Orthodox faith has brought them to the role of facilitating the parish's course of education for those wishing to know more about Orthodoxy.

For general inquiries, please contact office@saintanna.org