Fr. Stephen was born and raised in Buffalo, NY. He attended Canisius College in Buffalo, NY and received a Bachelor of Science degree in 1990 with a major in accounting. He then entered Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology and received a Master of Divinity degree in 1994. The following year he furthered his study in modern Greek attending the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece. Upon returning to the United States, he became the Program Director of the Saint Nicholas Ranch and Retreat Center in Dunlap, CA. After two years at the retreat center, he went back to Buffalo and worked for HSBC Mortgage Corporation as a Mortgage Analyst for seven years. On June 6, 2004, he married Athena Mermigas, of Buffalo, NY; a longtime friend from his home parish.  He was ordained to the Holy Diaconate on October 23, 2005 and to the Holy Priesthood on November 13, 2005. He was first assigned to the Saint Demetrios Greek Orthodox Church in Baltimore, MD for two years as an Assistant Priest. On September 15, 2007, he was assigned to the Dormition of the Virgin Mary Greek Orthodox Church in Winchester, VA as Presiding Priest. In July 2012 he took a leave of absence from full time ministry to return to Buffalo to care for family. Over the next seven years, he worked at Citibank as a Data Entry/Quality Control Specialist. He also served as a substitute Priest in various parishes during this time. Returning to full time ministry on April 15, 2019, he is now the Presiding Priest of the Saint Catherine Greek Orthodox Church in Ithaca, NY.