An outpouring of love and remembrance continues to surround the life of Archimandrite Father Nektarios Zorbalas, with a 40-day memorial service to be held this Sunday, 31 August 2025, at the Parish of Saints Constantine and Helen, Newtown.
Born Zacharias Zorbalas in 1935 in Antimacheia, Kos, Father Nektarios devoted his life to the service of the Church after migrating to Australia in the mid-1960s. Ordained in 1971, he began his priestly ministry in Innisfail, Queensland, before moving to Sydney, where from 1988 he served at Saints Constantine and Helen.
Over nearly four decades, he became a spiritual father to countless faithful and a driving force for mercy and social outreach.
Father Nektarios was particularly known for establishing the parish soup kitchen in Newtown – an initiative that has provided meals, compassion and dignity to thousands in Sydney’s inner west, regardless of background or belief.
Following his passing at the age of 89, tributes flowed from across Australia and abroad, with many remembering the beloved priest as a father figure and a vessel of divine love.
Father Nektarios’ memorial service will be followed by coffee in the parish hall, where family, parishioners and friends will gather to honour the memory of a man many in the community considered a “living saint.”
