Meet our Chaplains
Costa Englezos
Chaplain – Community Churches of Victoria
Whilst teaching for 18 years at RMIT Business, Costa ran weekend orientation camps for local and international students, developed student mentor programs and founded SLAMS (Student Learning Advisor Mentors).
His passion in life is to love God and to demonstrate that by loving and serving people. In particular, that means helping to meet the needs of students as the “whole person” – academic, personal, practical, emotional, and spiritual.
Costa has served with a number of Christian bodies over the years (Presbyterian church, Brethren church, The Navigators, and Christian Union), but the “denominational tag” is not important to him since he calls himself a CHRISTian not a CHURCHian.
Rev Helen Summers
Chaplain – Interfaith (Brunswick Campus)
Rev Helen Summers is an Interfaith Minister who studied in New York and was ordained in 1997. Helen brings many years of experience in education and pastoral care to the role of chaplain.
As an Interfaith Minister, Helen embraces the deep truths found at the heart of all authentic spiritual traditions that give meaning to life, and the shared wealth of spiritual practices that help us evolve and grow. Helen is deeply respectful of the commitment to common values of peace, compassion, wisdom, service, and above all, love, which is found in all traditions. Interfaith Ministers acknowledge the One Spirit that resides in all.
Sheik Riad Galil
Chaplain – Islamic
Riad Galil has been serving as the Imam of the West Heidelberg Mosque for the past 15 years. He is an educationalist by profession, working at the secondary and tertiary levels. Interfaith dialogue is so important to him as he is a member of the Jewish Christian Muslim Association (JCMA) and the Knox Multicultural Advisory Committee, Publicity Officer at the Knox Interfaith Network and Executive Member of the Victorian Board of Imams. In 2011 he received a Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) for services to the Islamic community and the promotion of interfaith relationships.
Swami Sunishthananda
Chaplain/Monk – Ramakrishna Hindu
Swami Sunishthananda is the Resident Monk In-Charge of Vedanta Centre of Melbourne. He is a monk of the Ramakrishna order. He joined the order in 1991. He served as Principal of various secondary schools run by Ramakrishna Mission in India and as the Manager of Swami Vivekananda College, Nandi Fiji. He shares the insights of his tradition on campus through guided prayer and meditation, study of spiritual texts, and informal discussions. Swami makes himself available for personal interviews, meditation instruction, and spiritual guidance.
Other Chaplains
Rabbi Boruch Broh – Jewish
Sr Delma Lamb – Catholic
Mahir Murad – Catholic
Fr Nicholas Pearce – Catholic
Yassin Aman – Islamic (Bundoora campus)
Chaplaincy administration
Laura Kretiuk – Chaplaincy Administrative Officer
