News
OCA Scholar and Church Representative Dr. Constantine Kallaur Dies at 92
Dr. Constantine Kallaur, the last surviving member of the OCA delegation that received its Tomos of Autocephaly in 1970, leaves a legacy of scholarship and decades of service to the Church.
SOUTH CANAAN, PA — Dr. Constantine H. Kallaur, a longtime member of the Orthodox Church in America’s (OCA) Department of External Church Relations and Professor Emeritus of Nassau Community College, fell asleep in the Lord on October 27, 2026, the feast of St. Olga of Alaska. He was 92 and was surrounded by family.
Kallaur played a significant role in the OCA’s international church relations, accompanying hierarchs and other church dignitaries on trips abroad as a translator and consultant. He was the last surviving member of the delegation that traveled to Moscow in May 1970 to receive the Tomos of Autocephaly, formally recognizing the OCA’s self-governing status.
Born in Horodno, Poland, now part of Belarus, on February 3, 1934, Kallaur immigrated to the United States in 1950 during the upheaval of World War II. He studied at Columbia University and St. Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary before earning a master’s degree from Hofstra University and a doctorate in Russian language and literature from New York University.
He spent much of his academic career at Nassau Community College in Garden City, New York, where he headed the Language Department and taught Russian literature and philosophy. Fluent in Russian and German, he frequently served as a translator at educational, social, and ecclesiastical gatherings.
Kallaur and his wife, Arlene, were known for their hospitality and steadfast support of the Church, welcoming clergy, hierarchs, and visitors and assisting those in need. He also represented the OCA at Pan-Orthodox and ecumenical events and served on numerous church committees and commissions.
He is survived by Arlene, their three sons and nine grandchildren, as well as his sister and brother. Funeral services will include a Panikhida in Charlotte on November 2, a funeral service at St. Tikhon’s Monastery in South Canaan, Pennsylvania, on November 6, and a Panikhida followed by burial at St. Tikhon’s Cemetery on November 7.
Previously, the UOJ reported that Orthodox mission pioneer Dan Christopulos fell asleep in the Lord.
Read also
