CLEVELAND (OH)
Msakoda53's Blog [United States]
October 1, 2025
By Orthodox Advocates
For immediate release: October 1, 2025
A prostitution sting in Ohio resulted in the arrest of a clergyman in the Greek Metropolis of Pittsburgh, Protopresbyter Dean Dimon. The cleric had been working at the Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church in Cleveland. According to the media advisory put out by the Ohio Attorney General, Dave Yost, Fr. Dimon admitted to a prior offense for solicitation. In response to the arrest, the metropolis put out a statement:
We are deeply disappointed to learn of the arrest of one of our priests in connection with alleged acts of solicitation. These alleged acts are abhorrent and stand in direct contradiction to the moral and spiritual standards we uphold as a Church and which we expect from our clergy. Upon hearing of the charges, we immediately placed Father Dimon on administrative leave, removing him from all pastoral and ministerial duties, while the justice system takes its course.
However, Orthodox advocates and survivors from Coptic Survivor, Prosopon Healing, and the Union of Christians of Croatia are concerned that those attending Fr. Dimon’s parish may have been endangered by the priest’s behavior, particularly since this does not seem to be an isolated incident. They have written to Fr. Dimon’s bishop, Metropolitan Sava Zembillas, asking if he was aware of the prior offense, and, if so, why the cleric was still in ministry. A copy of the letter, sent today by email, is pasted below.
Although seldom recognized as a major Christian faith in the United States, Orthodoxy is the second-largest branch of Christianity, smaller only than the Catholic Church. Like the Protestants, Orthodoxy is administratively divided in this country, although a loose federation called the Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops encompasses most of the Orthodox in the US. The Assembly includes the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, to which the Metropolis of Pittsburgh belongs.
If Metropolitan Zembillas was aware of Fr. Dimon’s earlier soliciting offense, it would not surprise the advocates and survivors. Prosopon, which provides resources to victims of clergy-perpetrated sexual abuse in Orthodox communities, maintains a database on abuse cases based on publicly available documents or media reports. It includes information from the old Pokrov website, which was active from June, 1999-March, 2020. Melanie Sakoda, President of the Board of Directors of Coptic Survivor, was one of the co-founders of Pokrov. Much of the material from the old Pokrov site is available here.
Abuse cases on Prosopon associated with the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese can be easily found by searching the database. There are 42 cases. A quick perusal shows that quite a few of the clergymen were removed from ministry in the wake of accusations and later put back into new positions. There are at least two, Fr. Demetrios Kavouras and Protopresbyter Demetrios Recachinas, who were arrested for solicitation. Metropolitan Zembillas was chancellor of the GOA when Fr. Kavouras was returned to ministry.
The advocates and survivors also recently spoke out on the Templeton Foundation awarding its 2025 prize to Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople (Dimitrios Archontonis), who spoke out on environmental issues but has been silent on clergy-perpetrated sexual abuse. See articles here and here.
Many Orthodox faithful do not believe that problems with clergy abusing both children and adults exist in the Eastern churches. The faithful often cite the fact that – unlike Catholic priests — Orthodox clerics can marry.
The advocates and survivors from Coptic Survivor, Prosopon and Union of Christians of Croatia await Metropolitan Zembillas prompt response to their questions. In the meantime, Melanie Sakoda says, “If Fr. Dimon’s previous encounters with the law were known to church officials, I hope that the GOA faithful will ask themselves if this is how they want their leaders to address these types of issues. If not, parishioners need to speak up, and keep speaking out, until they get the community they want and deserve.”
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Metropolitan Sava Zembillas
Greek Orthodox Archdiocese, Metropolis of Pittsburgh
SENT BY EMAIL: metropolis@pittsburgh.goarch.org
October 1, 2025
Re: Protopresbyter Dean Dimon
Dear Metropolitan Zembillas:
We know that you are aware of Fr. Dimon’s recent arrest for solicitation of prostitution, and that as a result, you have removed him “from all pastoral and ministerial duties, while the justice system takes its course.” However, as advocates and survivors we are writing you today to ask if you were also aware of this priest’s prior offense for solicitation? If so, we ask why Fr. Dimon was assigned to a parish in your diocese?
As you wrote in your statement to the media, “These alleged acts are abhorrent and stand in direct contradiction to the moral and spiritual standards we uphold as a Church and which we expect from our clergy.” We can only agree, which is why we are pressing the issue of whether or not you were aware of the previous offense. If you were, it seems irresponsible to have allowed him to have a parish in the Metropolis of Pittsburgh.
Obviously, a second offense would bring embarrassment and shame to your metropolis. But more importantly, it may well have put the faithful in Cleveland in harm’s way.
We await your prompt response to our questions.
Sincerely,
Melanie Sakoda
President of the Board of Directors of Coptic Survivor
925-708-6175 cell
Sally Zakharis
Executive Director, Coptic Survivor
407-758-4874
Katherine Archer
Executive Director, Prosopon Healing
Bojan Jovanović
General Secretary of the Union of Christians of Croatia
CC: Archbishop Elpidophoros Lambriniadis
Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America