St Nicholas Nursing Home Ltd manages a 73 bed facility comprising of the 43 bed East Wing (formerly called the nursing home) and the 30 bed West Wing (formerly the Hostel) catering to the Greek elderly. The East Wing was built in 1981 and refurbished in 1995 and the extension completed in 2005 and the West Wing in 1992. Both are located on the one site and situated a few minutes from the city centre. Residents are predominantly from a Hellenic background, however from time to time non-Greek residents reside at St Nicholas. The facility operates under the auspices of the Greek Orthodox Church of St George and residents maintain strong spiritual links with the Church and the greater Greek community. An audio-visual link exists to the St George Church to enable residents to continue actively participating in spiritual life.
Pastoral Care
Our Orthodox Christian Ethos
Meet Fr Stavros Karvelas
As Senior Manager Resident Experience, Fr Stavros seeks to provide pastoral care to residents, their families, and staff members. He supports community outreach and engagement and facilitates the Eastern Orthodox Mission and Hellenic Ethos of St Nicholas for the spiritual and cultural benefit of our residents.
Born in Sydney and raised in Canberra, Fr Stavros completed a Bachelor of Civil Engineering Degree with the University of Technology Sydney, and worked in Local Government Engineering for several years. He was also actively involved in the Greek Community of Canberra and Sydney, participating in both faith and cultural groups. In 2000, Stavros graduated from St Andrews Theological College with a Bachelor of Theology. A year later, he was ordained to the priesthood by the late Archbishop of Australia Stylianos Harkianakis and has served in various Parishes and Communities in Sydney and Brisbane.
During his years of active ministry, Fr Stavros has also served as a University Chaplain at Macquarie University and a Prison Chaplain with NSW Corrective Services. Stavros has a passion for the Greek Community of Brisbane in helping to foster deep social and spiritual connections over a multi-generational spectrum. Fr Stavros is married to Stella and has two teenage sons, Alex and Stephen.
Meet Fr Stavros Karvelas
As Senior Manager Resident Experience, Fr Stavros seeks to provide pastoral care to residents, their families, and staff members. He supports community outreach and engagement and facilitates the Eastern Orthodox Mission and Hellenic Ethos of St Nicholas for the spiritual and cultural benefit of our residents.
Born in Sydney and raised in Canberra, Fr Stavros completed a Bachelor of Civil Engineering Degree with the University of Technology Sydney, and worked in Local Government Engineering for several years. He was also actively involved in the Greek Community of Canberra and Sydney, participating in both faith and cultural groups. In 2000, Stavros graduated from St Andrews Theological College with a Bachelor of Theology. A year later, he was ordained to the priesthood by the late Archbishop of Australia Stylianos Harkianakis and has served in various Parishes and Communities in Sydney and Brisbane.
During his years of active ministry, Fr Stavros has also served as a University Chaplain at Macquarie University and a Prison Chaplain with NSW Corrective Services. Stavros has a passion for the Greek Community of Brisbane in helping to foster deep social and spiritual connections over a multi-generational spectrum. Fr Stavros is married to Stella and has two teenage sons, Alex and Stephen.
As an essentially Faith-based and philanthropic society, we have a mandate in fulfilling a Christian calling to care for the marginalised of our community. This ideal is encapsulated in Jesus’ teaching, “I was naked and you clothed me. I was sick and you looked after me. I was in prison and you came to visit me” Matthew 25:36
The Greek Orthodox Church is an integral part of the culture and ethos of the Greek People. Greeks living in the Diaspora like Australia have always been committed to caring for their parents and grandparents who have, in-turn remained close to their Greek Orthodox familial customs. The decision therefore, of a Greek family or any close family for that matter, to place an elderly parent or parent into aged-care, removing them from their home and customs, is always a difficult one.
The Greek Ladies Philoptochos Association of St George under the vision and leadership of the late Very Reverend Fr Gregory Sakellaridou foresaw the need of an aged care facility that was spiritually and culturally specific to the needs of the aging Greek Community of Brisbane. From their decades of hard-work and sacrifice, St Nicholas Nursing Home and following, St Nicholas Aged Care Limited was born to fulfil this vision – a home away from home in the heart of the Greek Community of Brisbane, providing the best possible quality of care for our ageing parents in a cultural setting they know and understand.
