Archbishopric of Athens

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
For the Roman Catholic archdiocese, see Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Athens.
Archbishop of Athens and All Greece
Archbishopric
Eastern Orthodox
Coat of arms of the
Coat of arms
Incumbent:
Ieronymos II
since 7 February 2008
Location
CountryGreece
Information
Established1st century
autocephalous since 1850
Current form since 1923
DioceseAthens
CathedralCathedral of Annunciation
Website
http://www.iaath.gr/

The Archbishopric of Athens (

autocephalous Church of Greece. Its incumbent (since 2008) is Ieronymos II of Athens
. As the head of the Church of Greece, the holder is styled Archbishop of Athens and All Greece (Αρχιεπίσκοπος Αθηνών και πάσης Ελλάδος).

History

As with most of Greece, the Church of Athens was established by

St. Paul during his second missionary journey, when he preached at the Areopagus, probably in 50 or 51 AD. According to the Acts of the Apostles (17:16–34), after the sermon, a number of people became followers of Paul, thus forming the kernel of the Church in Athens. Dionysius the Areopagite was the first Bishop of Athens.[1]

With the

Neoplatonic Academy by Justinian I in 529.[3]

As with the rest of the

Byzantine period.[4]

Due to the influence of Empress

Dauleia, Koroneia, Andros, Oreos, Skyros, Karystos, Porthmos, Aulon, and Syros.[7] With the exception of the addition of the sees of "Kea and Thermia" and of Megara in the middle of the 12th century, the list remained the same until the Fourth Crusade.[7]

At the time of the Fourth Crusade, the see of Athens was in the hands of

Roman Catholic archbishopric under the Frenchman Berard.[8] Based on a 1209 letter by Pope Innocent III, the list of suffragans under Latin rule only slightly changed: Euripus (Egripontis), Thermopylae (Cermopilensem, seat in Bodonitsa), Dauleia (Davaliensem), Aulon (Abelonensem), Oreos (Zorconensem), Karystos (Caristiensem), Koroneia (Coroniacensem), Andros (Andrensem), Megara (Megarensem), Skyros (Squirensem), and Kea (Cheensem), although most of these sees were vacant. In 1212, the formerly autocephalous archbishopric of Aegina, and the newly founded see of Salona (Salonensis) also appear as Athens' suffragans.[8] The Catholic see remained vacant for a period after the Catalan Company conquered the Duchy of Athens in 1311 due to the Catalans' conflict with the papacy, and a residential archbishop is not attested until around the mid-14th century.[9]

For the duration of the Frankish rule, the Orthodox see had continued to be filled in exile, either with titular holders or with bishops of other sees functioning as stewards (

Acciaioli family. With little military might of their own, and surrounded by potential rivals and enemies, the Acciaioli cultivated a policy of conciliation towards the overwhelmingly Orthodox local Greek population. To that end, they adopted Greek as the official language of their chancery, and allowed an Orthodox metropolitan, Dorotheus, to resume residence in their capital. The cathedral Church of the Virgin in the Parthenon remained the residence of the Latin Archbishop of Athens, however, and Dorotheus used the small church of Dionysius the Areopagite in the lower city.[6][10]

This situation prevailed until the

millet system, the metropolitan became also the chairman of the council of the community of Athens. The metropolitan cathedral in the Parthenon, however, was converted into a mosque, and the metropolitan bishop instead used the Church of St. Panteleimon, now destroyed.[11]

Following the Greek War of Independence and the declaration of the autocephaly of the Church of Greece in 1833, the Church was reorganized and the Bishopric of Attica (Επισκοπή Αττικής) was established, with its jurisdiction covering the Attica Prefecture.[12] Following the recognition of the autocephaly by the Patriarchate of Constantinople in 1850, the bishopric was raised again to metropolitan rank and renamed to Metropolis of Athens. As the sole metropolitan see of the independent Kingdom of Greece, its incumbent was assigned the permanent presidency of the Holy Synod of the Church of Greece.[12] This situation lasted until 1922, when all episcopal sees in Greece were raised to metropolitan status. As a result, on 31 December 1923 the new Constitutional Charter of the Church of Greece raised the bishop of Athens to the position of Archbishop of Athens and All Greece.[12]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Ιστορία της Εκκλησίας των Αθηνών: Ίδρυση της Εκκλησίας των Αθηνών" (in Greek). Archbishopric of Athens. Archived from the original on 21 July 2015. Retrieved 26 September 2015.
  2. ^ Koder & Hild 1976, p. 79.
  3. ^ a b Koder & Hild 1976, p. 80.
  4. ^ Koder & Hild 1976, pp. 80–81.
  5. ^ a b Koder & Hild 1976, p. 81.
  6. ^ a b c "Ιστορία της Εκκλησίας των Αθηνών: Από το 733 έως το 1456" (in Greek). Archbishopric of Athens. Archived from the original on 21 July 2015. Retrieved 26 September 2015.
  7. ^ a b Koder & Hild 1976, p. 82.
  8. ^ a b Koder & Hild 1976, p. 84.
  9. ^ a b Koder & Hild 1976, p. 86.
  10. ^ Miller 1908, pp. 334–338.
  11. ^ a b "Ιστορία της Εκκλησίας των Αθηνών: Από το 1456 έως το 1833" (in Greek). Archbishopric of Athens. Archived from the original on 21 July 2015. Retrieved 26 September 2015.
  12. ^ a b c "Ιστορία της Εκκλησίας των Αθηνών: Από το 1833 κι εξής" (in Greek). Archbishopric of Athens. Archived from the original on 21 July 2015. Retrieved 26 September 2015.

Sources

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Archbishopric_of_Athens&oldid=1226994200"