Dartmouth Greek Orthodox Priest Passes Away [PHIL-OSOPHY]

Rev. Constantine Bebis was a loving, kind and cultured clergyman of St. George Greek Orthodox Church, who helped make the SouthCoast a better place through his spiritual leadership since 1953. He fell asleep in the Lord on Tuesday, March 9.

Fr. Bebis was a ceaseless light that shined upon New Bedford and its people. Our entire family loved Fr. Bebis, beyond words. As he has with hundreds of other families, he married us, baptized our three children and became an essential and unforgettable part of our family's tapestry.

We had a genuine closeness, perhaps because I was a "pk," a preacher's kid. He'd enjoy coming to the Shawmut Diner after celebrating a weekday Liturgy, and we'd talk about everything under the sun, explaining some things in Greek and other erudite stuff in English. He was a brilliant, scholarly man of letters who served as a Delphic mentor for me.

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Fr. Bebis was fair-minded and reasonable and remembering that one of his favorite sayings was "panta rhei," an Ancient Greek expression that translates as "everything flows," everything changes, nothing stands still.

I can hear him now, schooling me that the philosophy of Heraclitus councils us that no man steps in the river twice, because it's not the same river, and he's not the same man. And when I didn't quite grasp what was meant, Fr. Bebis loved to enlighten and explain clearly through his wisdom and insight. Where can you find a treasure like him nowadays?

Fr. Bebis lived a full, rich life in the Lord. I respectfully embrace all his beautiful family and each of you who knew him. Throughout his life, he gave us reasons to be illuminants in a puzzling world.

And now, the time has come for that perpetual light that he shared with us all to shine eternally upon him.

Phil Paleologos is the host of The Phil Paleologos Show on 1420 WBSM New Bedford. He can be heard weekdays from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. Contact him at phil@wbsm.com and follow him on Twitter @PhilPaleologos. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the author.

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Filed Under: Dartmouth, Rev. Fr. Constantine Bebis, Shawmut Diner, St.George Greek Orthodox Church

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