Parish Clergy

Fr. Don Augusta

daugusta1@comcast.net
cell: (860) 306-7230

The following is a brief review of my personal history, theological education, and pastoral background.

I was born and raised in Ohio and graduated from Champion High School in 1960. My initial collegiate studies began in Mechanical Engineering. In 1963 I enrolled at St. Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary in Crestwood, New York as a “pre-theological” student and in 1967 earned a bachelor’s degree in philosophy from Iona College in New Rochelle, New York. In 1970 I graduated from St. Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary with a Master of Divinity degree.

In August 1970 at Christ the Savior Orthodox Church in Paramus, New Jersey, I married the former Janet Kunsaw of Fair Lawn, New Jersey. And in October 1970 at St. John the Baptist OCA church in Warren, Ohio I was ordained to the priesthood by Archbishop John of Chicago. I served the first 25 years of priesthood in OCA parishes in Willimantic, Norwich, and Hartford, Connecticut. During most of this time while serving in small parishes, I held secular jobs in teaching, offset printing, and graphic design working at Connecticut Community Colleges and retired after 23 years of service at Middlesex Community College in Middletown, CT.

In 1995 while working full-time at Middlesex Community College as a graphic artist, I was received into the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese as a “part-time” assistant to the late Archpriest Chrysostom Maniudakis at St. George Greek Orthodox Cathedral in Hartford, CT. I continued as a priest with a secular vocation for 10 years at St. George Cathedral and then in 2005 was assigned Proistaminos at St. Basil Greek Orthodox Church in New Haven, CT where I continued for 14 years until I retired from fulltime parish ministry in December 2019. I retired from my secular job at Middlesex Community College in July 2009.

So at present I am a priest for 50 years, 25 with the OCA and 25 years with the Greek Archdiocese and now am retired and available to assist parishes as a substitute clergy in the area. I am 77 years old and in good health and plan with my Presbytera to do some traveling during our retirement years. Presbyter Janet retired as an elementary school teacher after 36 years of teaching. Our son Joseph lives near us in West Hartford and our daughter Catherine Johnson lives in Pittsburgh, PA with her husband Marcus and our two granddaughters Abigail and Emelia. We travel to see them and visit with family and friends in the Ohio area.

In Christ,

Fr. Don Augusta


“Welcome to St. Demetrios, Deacon Demetri Belsito. We are so blessed to have you with us. Axios!”

Father W. Demetri Belsito is an ordained Deacon in the Greek Orthodox Diocese of North America. He completed the Diaconate Program at the Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology in Brookline, Massachusetts, in 2009, and earned his Master of Divinity from the same institution in 2024.

Father Demetri holds a Master’s Degree in Social Work (MSW), obtained in 1995, and a Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in Social Work, earned in 2016, both from the University of Connecticut School of Social Work. He is a Licensed Master Social Worker (LMSW) and currently serves as a Social Work Supervisor for the Connecticut Department of Children and Families (DCF). His professional background includes six years as a substance abuse counselor and over three decades of dedicated service in the field of child welfare, having worked with DCF since 1991.

In addition to his professional responsibilities, Father Demetri is actively involved in higher education. He teaches at St. Joseph’s University in West Hartford, the University of Connecticut School of Social Work, and serves as an adjunct professor at Southern Connecticut State University and Sacred Heart University in Fairfield. He has led numerous academic courses, workshops, and spiritual retreats for participants of all ages.

Father Demetri frequently offers lectures and presentations on Orthodox Spirituality, Iconography, the Lives of the Saints, and the Fathers of the Church. He has also participated in Orthodox Prison Ministry alongside Father Nicholas Lassios.

For the past twenty years, Father Demetri has faithfully served at Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church in Waterbury, Connecticut, where he has been responsible for catechetical instruction, working with new converts, and leading parish outreach efforts.