Parish Clergy
Rev. Presbyter Gustavo Gregory Alfonso - Interim Priest
Fr. Gustavo was born in Cuba in 1959. His family came to Miami as exiles the following year. He was raised Roman Catholic and converted to the Orthodox faith in 2001. He was ordained deacon in January 2008 and served at St. Andrew Greek Orthodox Church in Miami for five years. He was ordained to the holy priesthood in November 2012; served as associate priest for eight years at St. George Antiochian Cathedral in Coral Gables and again at St. Andrew for five years. He has been a "supply" priest on-call and filling-in on Sundays at different parishes when the priest is away. He refers to himself as the "traveling priest," having served at most Orthodox Parishes south of Melbourne, FL. He has also served as interim priest at four parishes throughout the years; his longest interim assignment was at St. Philip Antiochian Orthodox Church in Davie, FL for two years.
Fr. Gustavo retired from his lay profession as supervisor at the Miami-Dade County Office of the Property Appraiser in January 2022 and moved with his Presbytera Margarita to the west coast in 2024. They have an adult son and daughter, both in Miami. Fr. Gustavo feels blessed to be a member of the Annunciation parish and to serve the community to the best of his ability until a permanent priest is assigned.
Rev. Protopresbyter Dean Nastos, Proistamenos - Retired
Fr. Dean was born in Athens, Greece and came to America as a very young child. He grew up in Chicago, Illinois. After High School he attended Hellenic College in Brookline, MA where he graduated and received his Bachelor of Arts Degree. He attended Holy Cross School of Theology in Brookline, MA where he graduated and received his Masters of Divinity Degree. Fr. Dean was married in 1984 to Presvytera Carolyn and they have 2 adult sons.
Fr. Dean was ordained a Deacon on December 23, 1984 at the Assumption Church of Chicago by His Grace Bishop Iakovos of Chicago. Fr. Dean was ordained a Priest on May 26,1985 at the Assumption Church of Chicago by His Grace Bishop Iakovos of Chicago. Fr. Dean began his Priesthood as the assistant Priest of the Assumption Church of Chicago on June 1, 1985.
Over the past 35 years, Fr. Dean has been instrumental in beginning Orthodox Christian Fellowship programs-- while a Proistamenos at St. John the Baptist in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, he began the OCF Program at the University of Iowa. He also began a Soup Kitchen in the church hall in Cedar Rapids before moving it to a public building in Downtown Cedar Rapids. Additionally, he ministered to the students and faculty after the tragedy at Virginia Tech University. Fr. Dean has created the Orthodox Christian Fellowship at Florida Gulf Coast University. He strives to meet the needs of both the young and older members of the parish.
Fr. Dean also served the Parishes of Wilmington, DE before coming to Florida. Holy Trinity, Roanoke, VA. He was made a Protopresbyter in 2006.
After having faithfully serving the Annunciation parish for fourteen years, Fr. Dean is retired effective January 1, 2026.
Fr. Deacon John L. Howard
Deacon John was born to Victor and Elaine Howard in Charleston, WV, on August 1st, 1960; the youngest boy in a family of six children. He was raised into a struggling middle class family where he was taught that God, the Orthodox Church, and family were of primary importance. This atmosphere of love, kindness, concern for others, and hard work put him on a career path toward medicine. He is board certified in Diagnostic Radiology and has a sub-specialty board certification in Vascular and Interventional Radiology. He met his wife, Lanette, in 1975 and they married on February 20th, 1988.They have three beautiful adult daughters, Brooke, Amanda, and Tara.