Archbishop Spyridon of America
Encyclopedia
Archbishop Spyridon of America (born George Papageorge) is a retired Greek Orthodox bishop
of the Ecumenical Patriarchate who was the archbishop of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America
from July 1996 to August 1999. Internal conflicts within the church caused his resignation in 1999, after which he went into retirement, without accepting his subsequent assignment as Metropolitan
of Chaldia
.
and was the son of Clara and Constantine George.
Spyridon attended elementary school in both Steubenville, Ohio
, and Rhodes, Greece
and graduated from Tarpon Springs
High School in 1962.
He studied at the Theological School of Halki where he graduated in 1966 and he then attended graduate school at the University of Geneva
in Switzerland
, specializing in The History of the Protestant Churches. Awarded a scholarship by the Ecumenical Patriarchate, he then studied Byzantine Literature at Bochum University in Germany from 1969 to 1973).
Following graduation, he served as secretary at the Permanent Delegation of the Ecumenical Patriarchate to the World Council of Churches from 1966 to 1977 and later served as secretary of the Orthodox Center in Pregny-Chambésy
, Geneva
where he was the director of its well-known news bulletin "Episkepsis". In 1976, Spyridon was assigned as dean of the Greek Orthodox Community of St. Andrew in Rome
, where he served until 1985.
, where Catholicism
is prominent, led to his 1984 appointment as Executive Secretary of the Inter-Orthodox Commission for the Theological Dialogue between the Orthodox and the Roman Catholic Church
es.
In 1985 the Holy Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate elected him titular bishop
of Apamea
, assigning him as an auxiliary bishop
to the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Austria and Exarchate of Italy
, as it was then known. In November 1991, upon the creation the Archdiocese of Italy and Exarchate of Southern Europe, the Holy Synod
elected Spyridon as its first Metropolitan
.
During the course of the four years he served as Metropolitan of Italy, Spyridon increased the prevalence of the Orthodox Church and contributed to Orthodox unity by incorporating various Italian Orthodox
communities. He gave particular attention to the Orthodox youth by creating the Union of Greek Orthodox Students of Italy and after centuries, he reintroduced Orthodox monasticism in Italy by reopening the Byzantine monastery
of Saint John Theristis in Calabria.
In 1992 he was appointed chairman of the inter-Orthodox Commission for the Theological Dialogue between the Orthodox Church and the Lutheran World Federation. He was Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew
's delegate to the Special Synod of the Roman Catholic Bishops in Europe which took place in Rome in 1991 where his address on the theological dialogue between Eastern Orthodoxy and Catholicism received much praise.
on July 30, 1996.
Spyridon stressed the importance of the Orthodox Church as a symbol of Greek-American pride. He took bold initiatives in dealing with vital matters affecting the Greek Orthodox Church of America
in terms of Greek education, Orthodox theological training, the Greek American lobby and the administration of the Archdiocese.
Due to internal church conflicts, Spyridon resigned from the archiepiscopal throne of America on August 19, 1999. He never accepted his subsequent appointment as Metropolitan of Chaldia
by the Ecumenical Patriarchate and on September 15, 1999, he left New York City
and moved to Lisbon, Portugal, where he occasionally grants interviews and writes articles for the Greek press in America.
Bishop
A bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...
of the Ecumenical Patriarchate who was the archbishop of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America
Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America
The Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, headquartered in New York City, is an eparchy of the Church of Constantinople. Its current primate is Archbishop Demetrios of America.-About the Archdiocese:...
from July 1996 to August 1999. Internal conflicts within the church caused his resignation in 1999, after which he went into retirement, without accepting his subsequent assignment as Metropolitan
Metropolitan bishop
In Christian churches with episcopal polity, the rank of metropolitan bishop, or simply metropolitan, pertains to the diocesan bishop or archbishop of a metropolis; that is, the chief city of a historical Roman province, ecclesiastical province, or regional capital.Before the establishment of...
of Chaldia
Chaldia
Chaldia was a historical region located in the Black Sea coast of Asia Minor . Its name was derived from a people called the Chaldoi that inhabited the region in Antiquity. Chaldia was used throughout the Byzantine period and was established as a formal theme, known as the Theme of Chaldia , in...
.
Overview
Archbishop Spyridon was born on September 24, 1944, in Warren, OhioWarren, Ohio
As of the census of 2000, there were 46,832 people, 19,288 households and 12,035 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,912.4 people per square mile . There were 21,279 housing units at an average density of 1,322.9 per square mile...
and was the son of Clara and Constantine George.
Spyridon attended elementary school in both Steubenville, Ohio
Steubenville, Ohio
Steubenville is a city located along the Ohio River in Jefferson County, Ohio on the Ohio-West Virginia border in the United States. It is the political county seat of Jefferson County. It is also a principal city of the Weirton–Steubenville, WV-OH Metropolitan Statistical Area...
, and Rhodes, Greece
Rhodes, Greece
Rhodes is the principal city and a former municipality on the island of Rhodes, in the Dodecanese, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Rhodes, of which it is the seat and a municipal unit. It has a population of approximately 80,000. Rhodes has been famous...
and graduated from Tarpon Springs
Tarpon Springs, Florida
Tarpon Springs is a city in Pinellas County, Florida, United States. The population was 21,003 at the 2000 census. According to the U.S. Census Bureau's 2004 estimates, the city had a population of 22,554....
High School in 1962.
He studied at the Theological School of Halki where he graduated in 1966 and he then attended graduate school at the University of Geneva
University of Geneva
The University of Geneva is a public research university located in Geneva, Switzerland.It was founded in 1559 by John Calvin, as a theological seminary and law school. It remained focused on theology until the 17th century, when it became a center for Enlightenment scholarship. In 1873, it...
in Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
, specializing in The History of the Protestant Churches. Awarded a scholarship by the Ecumenical Patriarchate, he then studied Byzantine Literature at Bochum University in Germany from 1969 to 1973).
Following graduation, he served as secretary at the Permanent Delegation of the Ecumenical Patriarchate to the World Council of Churches from 1966 to 1977 and later served as secretary of the Orthodox Center in Pregny-Chambésy
Pregny-Chambésy
Pregny-Chambésy is a commune in the canton of Geneva in Switzerland. It is located directly north of the city of Geneva, on the south-western shore of Lake Geneva....
, Geneva
Geneva
Geneva In the national languages of Switzerland the city is known as Genf , Ginevra and Genevra is the second-most-populous city in Switzerland and is the most populous city of Romandie, the French-speaking part of Switzerland...
where he was the director of its well-known news bulletin "Episkepsis". In 1976, Spyridon was assigned as dean of the Greek Orthodox Community of St. Andrew in Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
, where he served until 1985.
Metropolitan of Italy
His stay in ItalyItaly
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, where Catholicism
Catholicism
Catholicism is a broad term for the body of the Catholic faith, its theologies and doctrines, its liturgical, ethical, spiritual, and behavioral characteristics, as well as a religious people as a whole....
is prominent, led to his 1984 appointment as Executive Secretary of the Inter-Orthodox Commission for the Theological Dialogue between the Orthodox and the Roman Catholic Church
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
es.
In 1985 the Holy Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate elected him titular bishop
Titular bishop
A titular bishop in various churches is a bishop who is not in charge of a diocese.By definition a bishop is an "overseer" of a community of the faithful, so when a priest is ordained a bishop the tradition of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches is that he be ordained for a specific place...
of Apamea
Apamea
Apamea or Apameia is the name of several Hellenistic cities in western Asia, after Apama, the wife of Seleucus I Nicator:*Apamea , on the Tigris near the Euphrates, precise location unknown, now in Iraq...
, assigning him as an auxiliary bishop
Auxiliary bishop
An auxiliary bishop, in the Roman Catholic Church, is an additional bishop assigned to a diocese because the diocesan bishop is unable to perform his functions, the diocese is so extensive that it requires more than one bishop to administer, or the diocese is attached to a royal or imperial office...
to the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Austria and Exarchate of Italy
Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Italy
The Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Italy and Exarchate of Southern Europe is a diocese of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, created in 1991...
, as it was then known. In November 1991, upon the creation the Archdiocese of Italy and Exarchate of Southern Europe, the Holy Synod
Holy Synod
In several of the autocephalous Eastern Orthodox churches and Eastern Catholic Churches, the patriarch or head bishop is elected by a group of bishops called the Holy Synod...
elected Spyridon as its first Metropolitan
Metropolitan bishop
In Christian churches with episcopal polity, the rank of metropolitan bishop, or simply metropolitan, pertains to the diocesan bishop or archbishop of a metropolis; that is, the chief city of a historical Roman province, ecclesiastical province, or regional capital.Before the establishment of...
.
During the course of the four years he served as Metropolitan of Italy, Spyridon increased the prevalence of the Orthodox Church and contributed to Orthodox unity by incorporating various Italian Orthodox
Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Italy
The Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Italy and Exarchate of Southern Europe is a diocese of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, created in 1991...
communities. He gave particular attention to the Orthodox youth by creating the Union of Greek Orthodox Students of Italy and after centuries, he reintroduced Orthodox monasticism in Italy by reopening the Byzantine monastery
Monastery
Monastery denotes the building, or complex of buildings, that houses a room reserved for prayer as well as the domestic quarters and workplace of monastics, whether monks or nuns, and whether living in community or alone .Monasteries may vary greatly in size – a small dwelling accommodating only...
of Saint John Theristis in Calabria.
In 1992 he was appointed chairman of the inter-Orthodox Commission for the Theological Dialogue between the Orthodox Church and the Lutheran World Federation. He was Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew
Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople
Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I is the Archbishop of Constantinople, New Rome and Ecumenical Patriarch, and thus "first among equals" in the Eastern Orthodox Communion, since 2 November 1991...
's delegate to the Special Synod of the Roman Catholic Bishops in Europe which took place in Rome in 1991 where his address on the theological dialogue between Eastern Orthodoxy and Catholicism received much praise.
Archbishop of America
Following his productive 22 year ministry in Italy and because of his American birth, he was appointed Archbishop of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of AmericaGreek Orthodox Archdiocese of America
The Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, headquartered in New York City, is an eparchy of the Church of Constantinople. Its current primate is Archbishop Demetrios of America.-About the Archdiocese:...
on July 30, 1996.
Spyridon stressed the importance of the Orthodox Church as a symbol of Greek-American pride. He took bold initiatives in dealing with vital matters affecting the Greek Orthodox Church of America
Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America
The Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, headquartered in New York City, is an eparchy of the Church of Constantinople. Its current primate is Archbishop Demetrios of America.-About the Archdiocese:...
in terms of Greek education, Orthodox theological training, the Greek American lobby and the administration of the Archdiocese.
Due to internal church conflicts, Spyridon resigned from the archiepiscopal throne of America on August 19, 1999. He never accepted his subsequent appointment as Metropolitan of Chaldia
Chaldia
Chaldia was a historical region located in the Black Sea coast of Asia Minor . Its name was derived from a people called the Chaldoi that inhabited the region in Antiquity. Chaldia was used throughout the Byzantine period and was established as a formal theme, known as the Theme of Chaldia , in...
by the Ecumenical Patriarchate and on September 15, 1999, he left New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
and moved to Lisbon, Portugal, where he occasionally grants interviews and writes articles for the Greek press in America.