| Nicholas Salamis | |
 | |
| Birth: | 13 August 1897 Samos, Principality of Samos, Ottoman Empire (now Greece) |
| Death: | 15 October 2005 Montreal, Quebec, Canada |
| Age: | 108 years, 63 days |
| Country: |  GRE CAN
|
| Centenarian | |
Nicholas Constantine Salamis (Greek: Νικόλαος Σαλάμης; 13 August 1897 – 15 October 2005) was a Greek Orthodox priest of the Eastern Orthodox faith who witnessed almost a century of Greek emigration into Canada.
Biography
Salamis was born in Samos, Principality of Samos, Ottoman Empire (now Greece) on 13 August 1897, the son of Constantine and Marigo. When he was age five, his father died, leaving the family destitute. His mother raised her two sons and one daughter on money earned by renting out a mule for conveyance to local villagers.
Salamis' mother was determined to educate her sons. She enrolled both her boys in the high school on the other side of the island where Nicholas received his training in commerce. Seventeen years old and armed with his certificate, Nicholas first immigrated to America, then settled in the Greek community of Montreal in 1919.
Study
At age 35, Salamis returned to Athens to study theology. He had decided to become an Orthodox priest. In 1938, he became Father Nicholas Salamis and spent the first seven years of his priesthood at St. George Greek Orthodox Church parish in Toronto. In 1945, he was transferred back to Montreal.
Pastoral work
By his own count, Salamis performed over 10,000 religious ceremonies during his service to the Greek Orthodox community of Canada.
Salamis became the rock of the community over the next forty years, watching over his flock from the time they arrived as desperate new immigrants, scared and clinging to the safety of their community. He shepherded the children of these immigrants as they became members of the greater Canadian society, learning the official languages, getting the education that their parents so desperately wished for them.
Personal life
He married Efrosini Vergou in 1938. The couple had two children: Marika Asimakopulos (1939–2011) and Constantine Salamis (1941–2004). His wife died in 1985.
He became the oldest known living man in Canada, following the death of 108-year-old Lazare Gionet on 1 April 2005.
Salamis died in Montreal, Quebec, Canada on 15 October 2005 at the age of 108 years, 63 days. He was survived by his daughter Marika Asimakopulos; two granddaughters Anna and Julia; one great-granddaughter Clara; one daughter-in-law Corinne Salamis; two nephews Constantine B. Salamis and Reverend Evangelos Georgiades and one niece Marika Panagopoulos.
Following his death, 107-year-old Harold Dunichand became the oldest known living man in Canada.
Gallery
References
- Rev Fr Nicholas Constantine Salamis Find A Grave
- Nicholas Salamis Obituary Montreal Gazette, 17 October 2005
- Pillar of Greek community dead at 108 CBC News, 17 October 2005
- Statement from Hon. Eleni Bakopanos (Ahuntsic, Lib.) on the death of Father Salamis 38th Parliament of Canada, 19 October 2005
- Century Man: The Father Salamis Story A Scattering of Seeds (The Creation of Canada), 2 April 2010 (Archived)
- Very Rev. Fr. Nicholas Salamis Greek Orthodox Church of Canada, 1 July 2011 (Archived)
| Canada's Oldest Living Man Titleholders (V • E) |
|
Joseph Saint-Amour • Unknown • Eli Lindsay • Stuart Bott • Unknown • John Jamieson • William Heron • George Ives • Chester Pushie • Arthur Nash • Tokusuke Oyakawa • Theodore Remfert • James Grant • Romeo Tremblay • Raphael Cree • John Gard • Montague Little • Lazare Gionet • Nicholas Salamis • Harold Dunichand • Ernest MacPherson • William Thomas • Leon Robitaille • Johannes Markusson • David Wiener • Sam Baker • Joseph Ernest Poupart • Zoltan Sarosy • Robert Wiener • Ja Hyung Lee |
