Father Macris Park

What was here before?

The Egbert family were a prominent family and early settlers who once owned and lived on this site. Govert Egbert, family patriarch, arrived in New Amsterdam in 1660 on the ship “Spotted Cow”  The earliest mention of the Egbert family on Staten Island connects to Tunis Egbert, who bought land in 1698 and sold some to John Androvat in 1699. Tunis's will, dated July 6, 1721, lists his seven sons and four daughters.

How did this site become a park?

The park site was acquired as part of the Clove Lakes (now Staten Island) Expressway in 1958. It was planted with grass but remained largely undeveloped until the park was built in 1999. The project added new softball and soccer fields with bleachers, security fencing, a flagpole, a drinking fountain, walkways, grading, drainage, and plantings. The centerpiece of the park is an ornamental fountain decorated with dolphins.

The park was dedicated to local beloved pastor, Father Macris, in 1994.

What is this park named for?

Reverend Spyridon Macris (1932-1989) was the former pastor of Holy Trinity-Saint Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church in Bulls Head.

A native of Brooklyn, Father Macris graduated from P.S. 24 and Boys High School. In 1957 he received a Bachelor of Arts degree in theology from the Holy Cross Greek Orthodox Theological Seminary in Brookline, Massachusetts. He continued his studies at the University of Athens in Greece, the General Episcopal Theological Seminary in Manhattan, and St. Vladimir's Russian Orthodox Seminary in Crestwood, New York.

Macris was ordained a deacon on June 10, 1961, and a priest on Pentecost Sunday, June 18, 1961. His Holiness, Patriarch Dimitrios I, bestowed upon him the title of Protopresvyteros of the Ecumenical Patriarchate on April 15, 1984. He was a member of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocesan Spiritual Court, the Greek Orthodox Presbyters Syndesmos of New York, and the Staten Island Clergy Association. He was also on the Staten Island Higher Educational Committee.

Father Macris served the Greek Orthodox community as pastor of the Holy Trinity-Saint Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church of Staten Island for 24 years, from 1965 to 1989. While at Holy Trinity, he helped to increase membership from 185 to 600 families and was involved in building the Holy Trinity Church known for its Byzantine iconography. Father Macris died in 1989.