Born in 1928 to Greek immigrants in Lackawanna, New York, Likoudis’ upbringing began in the Greek Orthodox Church. However, he experienced a profound intellectual transformation at the University of Buffalo’s Newman Club, where he encountered the writings of St. Thomas Aquinas, Christopher Dawson and other Catholic luminaries. Likoudis converted to the Catholic faith in 1952. This marked the beginning of his lifelong mission, much like his hero St. Leopold of Castelnuovo, to foster unity between the Catholic and Orthodox Churches.
Likoudis’ contributions as a scholar and author were vast, including his renowned works Ending the Byzantine Greek Schism and The Divine Primacy of the Bishop of Rome and Modern Eastern Orthodoxy. These books, celebrated for their depth and clarity, addressed theological and historical challenges with the goal of reuniting the two great Christian traditions. He completed this trilogy on the Byzantine tradition with Eastern Orthodoxy and the See of Peter: A Journey Towards Full Communion (2006). Likoudis’ impact on Catholic ecumenism was recognized in 2002 when he received the Blessed Frederick Ozanam Award for Catholic Social Action from the Society for Catholic Social Scientists, and in 2020 he was awarded an honorary doctorate of divinity by Sacred Heart Major Seminary.
His most celebrated book, The Pope, the Council, and the Mass: Answers to Questions the Traditionalists Have Asked, co-authored with Kenneth Whitehead, was a powerful defense of the Second Vatican Council and the liturgical reforms of Pope St. Paul VI.
One-year Death Anniversary
By Andrew Likoudis
Today marks one year since my grandfather, theologian James Likoudis, 95, passed into eternal life
Living with him through my junior and senior years of high school shaped me in ways I’ll never forget. Over his nearly one hundred years, he was a steady light in my life.
He would drive me to school each day, and around the breakfast or dinner table I’d listen to him lecture about the liturgy, abuses in the Church, dissenting theologians, and why unity under the Church’s authority mattered so much. He made clear how when we refuse to be guided by the Church, we get ourselves into all sorts of trouble.
also witnessed his constancy in prayer. Each day, without fail, he prayed the Rosary, and his devotion to the Eucharist and the saints continues to inspire me.
He took me to parishes outside the county because he valued beauty in worship so highly, and afterward we’d stop for donuts at Walgreens or go to breakfast with his friends.
Living with him and my grandmother taught me about responsibility, culture, and to see the faith lived out concretely. I’ll never forget my grandfather and grandmother teaching me when I was very young, how to make prayer hands. They disagreed about whether hands should be folded or kept straight and would quibble about this. I never saw them fight…
He appeared on national programs from Geraldo to Mother Angelica Live, and his Journey Home episode with Marcus Grodi still inspires many to embrace the Catholic faith. He combined a deep knowledge of history and firmness on doctrine with genuine respect and dialogue with the Orthodox. The numbers aren’t clear, but it is surely in the hundreds, if not thousands, whom he helped bring into the Church. I myself have heard nearly a hundred testimonials.
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+ Wikipedia page, Dr. James Likoudis
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