Father Agathangelo Masteas has thrown open the doors of The Dormition of our Lady Church to the Greek Orthodox community - and everyone else.
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The Orthodox priest is filling a long standing gap in the religious community, which has been served irregularly by travelling priests over the last 20 years.
Parish committee treasurer Nick Georgiou said Father Masteus was a good man, and they were lucky to have him.
"It's great to have a parish priest again after a long time without one," he said.
"Our church is the focus of our community, and it's so important to have Father Agathangelos here to provide that care and support to our parishioners and celebrate the sacraments.
"The timing for his appointment couldn't have been better. Easter is such a big time of year for us - It's great to have a full week of services for the Holy Week."
Originally baptised Dimitrios, Father Masteas was given the name Agathangelo by the bishop who ordained him.
"It's two Greek words combined - Agathos, which means good, and Angelo, which means angel," Father Masteus said.
"I try to keep up to my name - it's a reminder."
His first posting was on the Holy Island of Patmos; the location where John the Apostle is thought to have written the book of revelations.
Over the next 30 years, he served parishes across Athens and Sydney, attaining the status of Confessor in 2002.
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Four years ago, Father Masteas's wife passed away suddenly.
"It took years for me to be able to talk about it," he said.
"I know it's going to be with me for the rest of my life - that's never going to change, so I needed a change."
At the time, Bishop Bartholomew, who looks after communities in Southern NSW, was trying to fill vacant position in many local parishes.
"The community needed something more stable, and when I was told about that, I said a change of scene would help me as well," he said.
"So here I am - serving the parishes of Wagga and Albury."
Father Masteas is serving alternate weekends at Wagga and Albury. While he acknowledges this is far from ideal, he says it is an improvement on the irregular services the two parishes have had in recent memory.
"It would be better if there was one priest for each parish," he said
"There just aren't enough priests to fill the positions in Australia though ... after a while, people start to get dusty, drift away and lose interest.
"So, I go where I am needed."
He is passionate about good works within the secular community too, and wants the local parish to do more outreach.
"There's a local multicultural festival, so I'd like to see our community represented there," Father Masteas said.
"We'd love to connect with the wonderful festivities of Wagga, but also to reach out to people who have financial problems, or disability.
"What's the point of me coming to church, and not being able to love my neighbour - especially when that person is in need?"
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