Metr. Dimitrios of Xanthos Reposes at 88 in Florida
A humble pioneer of Orthodox unity and missions in America has fallen asleep in the Lord.
ST. AUGUSTINE, FL — Metr. Dimitrios (Couchell) of Xanthos reposed on February 19, 2026, two days after his 88th birthday, leaving behind a legacy that quietly shaped the course of Orthodoxy in America.
Upon learning of his passing, Abp. Elpidophoros of America said, “Our beloved Metropolitan Dimitrios served our Church in America with unwavering love, deep devotion, and heartfelt zeal. He guided our Church forward—strengthening our youth, advancing our missions, and fostering ecumenical outreach. May his memory be eternal, and may we faithfully continue along the path he so thoughtfully set before us.”
Born James Couchell in Greenville, South Carolina, he graduated from Holy Cross in 1963 and studied at Yale before joining the Archdiocese under Abp. Iakovos. In a memorial reflection, Matthew Namee wrote that when Couchell asked about his new assignment, he inquired, “What do you want me to do?” Iakovos replied, “What do you want to do?” Couchell answered, “I’d like to do campus ministry.” The response: “Well, then your job is to do campus ministry.” Namee noted that for seven years he traveled from campus to campus, looking for Orthodox students “regardless of ethnicity or jurisdiction.” Besides founding Orthodox Christian Fellowship (OCF) through his campus ministry work, he was also the first editor of the Orthodox Observer.
Namee also recounted that while serving as president of SYNDESMOS, the World Fellowship of Orthodox Youth, his vice president was then-Archimandrite Kirill Gundyaev, now Patr. Kirill of Moscow. In 1981, he took over the struggling St. Photios Shrine in Florida and made a bold agreement: if he eliminated its debt, he could also run the Mission Center. As Namee wrote, “After three years, the Shrine was paid off.” For years, “the Shrine effectively subsidized the Mission Center.”
Reflecting on a recent encounter, Namee described the hierarch as “quiet and unassuming, walking slowly with his cane,” adding that he “was perhaps the greatest man in the building.”
Previously, the UOJ reported that Patr. Daniel commemorated Grandpa Dobri on eighth anniversary of his repose.
