As one of the founding members of Holy Trinity Mission Church in Kingsport, TN, Dr. Stephen J. Yallourakis was invested as an Archon in 2005 and conferred with the offikion, Aktourarios. He has served on the National Council since 2006.

In 2006, Dr. Yallourakis, and his wife Dr. Anna, offered donations for the restoration of the historic Transfiguration of Christ Our Savior Monastery on the island of Halki. However, on November 13, 2007, eight officials of the local Ministry of Forestry in Turkey threw away roof tile, broke all the windows and window frames of the historic monastery, which had survived numerous fires and earthquakes throughout hundreds of years. The officials threatened the residents and demanded that they abandon their homes because the houses were being demolished. In response, Drs. Yallourakis, provided additional financial support towards the vandalized monastery’s renovation, remarking, “We here in the U.S. enjoy all of our freedoms and believe all people should enjoy basic unalienable rights given to us by our Creator. The Ecumenical Patriarchate, founded by the Apostle Andrew, is the Sacred See for 250 million Orthodox Christians around the world. We pray for a positive resolution to this tragic event and anxiously await the repair of the damage which has destroyed our beloved Monastery.”

Serving the Church locally and nationally, he has been a member of Leadership 100 since 2000 and, alongside his wife, spearheaded the first Leadership 100 initiation program in the State of Tennessee. He has participated in several Archon pilgrimages including, “The Return of the Relics of Saint John Chrysostom” to the Phanar in 2006 and to Rome in 2004 for the Feast of Sts. Peter and Paul, led by His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew. After a trip to the Phanar in 2004, Drs. Stephen and Anna made it their personal mission to educate the Orthodox community about the Ecumenical Patriarchate. In 2007, they set in motion the religious education publication, First Among Equals and in 2012 donated a national mailing of this publication to be sent to all parishes, clergy, Sunday school educators and Archons nationwide. The following year, donations were made so that the publication could be placed in nearly 160,000 issues of the Orthodox Observer.

Archon Yallourakis received his BS and DDS from Case Western Reserve University in 1985 and his M.D. from Vanderbilt University Medical School in 1989. He also received Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery training form Vanderbilt in 1991 and currently maintains a private practice for the last 20 years.

He and his wife Dr. Anna, have been married 23 years, and maintain dual residence in Kingsport, TN and Los Angeles, CA. They have two children, Michael Grant, 18, and Stephanie Katherine Grant, 13, who are both actively pursuing and working in the entertainment industry in Los Angeles.