8 East 79th Street, New York, NY 10075-0106
Tel.: (212) 774-0244  Fax: (212) 774-0589
Email: communications@goarch.org

Marissa P. Costidis, Coordinator
Email: marissa@goarch.org

Rev. Father Nektarios Morrow, Special Projects/Technical Assistance
Email: FrNektarios@goarch.org

Paul Zamora, Coordinator - Special Projects
Email: pzamora@goarch.org

Presvytera Haidee Marangos, Administrative Assistant
Email: haidee@goarch.org

The Department of Communications consists of the following:

• News & Information / Public Relations
• Greek Orthodox Telecommunications (GOTelecom)
• Orthodox Observer
• Archdiocese Web Pages

The Department of Communications facilitates the proper and coordinated communication both internally, within the Church in America and, externally, communicating the scope of the ministry and activity of the Archdiocese in a larger context to America and the world. The Department has the responsibility of assisting the Hierarchs, Clergy, Parishes, Departments, Organizations, Institutions, and Programs in receiving and communicating information in a timely and effective manner, critical to both the growth and support of every area of Church life.

The Coordinator of the Department is responsible for planning and coordinating the work of all the Communications offices of the Archdiocese to effectively describe and promote the ministries and the message of the Greek Orthodox Church in America. This includes planning, directing, and coordinating news media relations, identifying issues, events, or subjects requiring media attention, and prioritizing communications and public relations needs.

The Departmental Offices oversee the development and implementation of the Communications strategy in coordination with the communications staff seeking out new media and communications partnerships and opportunities and engaging and supporting the metropolises and parishes to cultivate their own media, particularly the internet, local TV, radio, and local media.

The Department of Communications has a vital role in the following basic areas:

1. Communicating efficiently the scope of the ministry and activity of the Archdiocese to all people associated with the Archdiocese, to adherents of the Orthodox Christian faith, to the leadership and members of other religious bodies, and to members of the media, to public officials, and to academic leaders on national and international levels;
2. Assisting the work of the Archbishop through coordinated planning and communication of his vision and goals for the Archdiocese;
3. Developing, evaluating, and modifying a continuous plan for communicating the work of the Hierarchs, Metropolises, Parishes, Departments, Organizations, Institutions, and Programs of the Archdiocese;
4. Providing technical and resource assistance to all of the above to enhance and coordinate their communication and work of ministry.

The Department of Communications prepares press releases, announcements, press kits; plans and arranges press conferences and other media events; plans and implements appropriate media strategies to achieve positive coverage of specific events; responds to all media inquiries; oversees web site information and content with regular updates of ministry pages and addition of links to/from the sites. In addition, the Department develops and maintains an internal communications program using email and/or newsletters.