Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Alexandria
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Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Alexandria and all Africa | |
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Apostolic Era | |
Recognition | Orthodox |
Members | 500,000 - 1.5 million[1][2][3][4][5] |
Official website | www.patriarchateofalexandria.com |
Part of a series on the |
Eastern Orthodox Church |
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Overview |
The Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Alexandria and all Africa (
It is commonly called the Greek or Eastern Orthodox Patriarchate of Alexandria to distinguish it from the
The head bishop of the Patriarchate of Alexandria is the
History
The history of the Patriarchate of Alexandria includes some of the greatest and most renowned
Diaspora growth in the 19th century
In the 19th century Orthodoxy in Africa began to grow again. One thing that changed this in the 19th century was the Orthodox diaspora. People from Greece, Syria and Lebanon, in particular, went to different parts of Africa, and some established Orthodox Churches. Many Greeks also settled in Alexandria from the 1840s and Orthodoxy began to flourish there again, and schools and printing presses were established.
For a while there was some confusion, especially outside Egypt. As happened in other places, Orthodox immigrants would establish an ethnic "community", which would try to provide a church, school, sporting and cultural associations. They would try to get a priest for the community in the place they had emigrated from, and there was some confusion about which bishops were responsible for these priests.
Eventually, in the 1920s it was agreed that all Orthodox churches in Africa would be under the jurisdiction of the Patriarchate of Alexandria, and so Africa has managed to avoid the jurisdictional confusion that has prevailed in places like America and Australia.
Mission growth in the 20th century
In Africa south of the Sahara most of the growth in Christianity began as a result of mission initiatives by Western Christians; Roman Catholic, Protestant and especially in the 20th century adherents to Western-origin Christian bodies that do not fit into this old dichotomy. These Western-initiated churches were, however, very often tied to Western culture. The Greek missions to African outposts followed Greek-speaking settlers, as with the missions to America and Australia, and still provide cultural links to Greece and the Greek patriarchy in Egypt.
African-initiated churches interested in the various forms of Orthodoxy, but finding it difficult to make contact with historic Orthodoxy in the parts of Africa where they lived, sought further afield. In the 1920s some of them made contact with the so-called African Orthodox Church in the USA (not a part of the canonical community of Eastern Orthodox Churches), notably Daniel William Alexander in South Africa, and Ruben Spartas Mukasa in Uganda.
In the 1930s, Daniel William Alexander visited first Uganda, and later
In the 1950s, however, the Orthodox Church in Kenya suffered severe oppression at the hands of the
After Kenya became independent in 1963 the situation eased, and the Greek-speaking Church of Cyprus helped to get the presence of the Greek Orthodox Church in Kenya once more, building a seminary and sending missionary teachers.
Late 20th-early 21st century
In recent years, a considerable
Today, some 300,000 Eastern Orthodox Christians constitute the Patriarchate of Alexandria in Egypt, the highest number since the Roman Empire. The current primate of the Greek Church of Alexandria is Theodoros II, Pope and Patriarch of Alexandria and all Africa.
2019 schism with Moscow
On 27 December 2019 the Russian Orthodox Church officially cut ties with the Eastern Orthodox Patriarchate in Alexandria over the latter's recognition of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, which is rejected by the Russian Orthodox Church and several other Orthodox churches. This was done after Theodore II announced support for the OCU.[8] The Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church noted that it remains in communion with clerics of the Alexandria church who reject Theodore II's decision.[citation needed]
Offikialoi of the Throne
The institution of the Offikialoi has its roots in the Hierarchy of the Byzantine Empire and primarily came into the ecclesiastical world around the 9th century, beginning with the Ecumenical patriarchate in Constantinople, where the offices existed hierarchically in three pentads. There are ecclesiastical offices, for both the clergy and lay people. However, the offices for lay people acquired greater validity and dissemination during the Ottoman period whence they were gradually disseminated to the other ancient Patriarchates of the East.
The offices are awarded by "patriarchal esteem and intention" as a recompense to the Patriarchate of Alexandria and all Africa, while in earlier years they were connected to particular positions within the patriarchal court and the administrative mechanism of the Patriarchate, which over the years slackened.
Administrative structures and hierarchy
Patriarch
- Patriarch Theodore II (Choreftakis), Pope and Patriarch of the Holy Archdiocese of Alexandria in Egypt, Primate of the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Alexandria and All Africa.
Archbishops (Metropolitans)
- Metropolitan Narcissus (Gammo) of the Holy Archdiocese of
- Metropolitan Peter (Giakoumelos) of the Holy Archdiocese of Axum, seated in Addis Ababa with jurisdiction over the Horn of Africa
- Metropolitan Gennadius (Stantzios) of the Holy Archdiocese of Botswana
- Metropolitan Pantaleon (Arathymos) of the Holy Archdiocese of Brazzaville and Gabon, with jurisdiction over the Congo and Gabon
- Metropolitan Gregory (Stergiou) of the Holy Archdiocese of Cameroon with jurisdiction over Cameroon, the Central African Republic, Chad, Equatorial Guinea and São Tomé and Príncipe
- Metropolitan Meletius (Koumanis) of the Holy Archdiocese of Carthage, seated in Tunis with jurisdiction over Algeria, Mauritania, Morocco, and Tunisia
- Metropolitan Demetrius (Zacharengas) of the Holy Archdiocese of Dar es Salaam with jurisdiction over eastern Tanzania and the Seychelles
- Metropolitan Sergius (Kykkotis) of the Holy Archdiocese of Swaziland
- Metropolitan Nicholas (Antoniou) of the Holy Archdiocese of Hermopolis, seated in Tanta with jurisdiction over the Arabic-speaking Orthodox Christians of Egypt
- Metropolitan Damascene (Papandreou) of the Holy Archdiocese of Johannesburg and Pretoria with jurisdiction over northeastern South Africa
- Metropolitan Jonah (Lwanga) of the Holy Archdiocese of Kampala with jurisdiction over Uganda
- Metropolitan Meletius (Kamiloudis) of the Holy Archdiocese of Katanga, seated in Lubumbashi in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Metropolitan Nicephorus (Konstantinou) of the Holy Archdiocese of Kinshasa with jurisdiction over the Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Metropolitan Gabriel (Raftopoulos) of the Holy Archdiocese of Leontopolis, seated in Ismailia with jurisdiction over northeastern Egypt
- Metropolitan Ignatius (Sennis) of the Holy Archdiocese of Madagascar with jurisdiction over Madagascar, the Comoros, Mayotte, Mauritius, and Réunion
- Metropolitan Nicodemus (Priangelos) of the Holy Archdiocese of Memphis, seated in Heliopolis
- Metropolitan Jerome (Muzeeyi) of the Holy Archdiocese of Mwanza, seated in Bukoba with jurisdiction over western Tanzania
- Metropolitan
- Metropolitan Alexander (Gianniris) of the Holy Archdiocese of Nigeria with jurisdiction over Nigeria, Niger, Benin and Togo.
- Metropolitan Savvas (Cheimonetos) of the Holy Archdiocese of Nubia, seated in Khartoum with jurisdiction over Sudan and South Sudan
- Metropolitan Nephon (Tsavaris) of the Holy Archdiocese of Pelusium, seated in Port Said
- Metropolitan Emmanuel (Kagias) of the Holy Archdiocese of Ptolemais, seated in Minya with jurisdiction over Upper Egypt
- Metropolitan Theophylact (Tzoumerkas) of the Holy Archdiocese of Tripoli with jurisdiction over Libya
- Metropolitan Yohanis (Ιιοανις)(Tsaftaridis) of the Holy Archdiocese of Zambia, Mozambique and Malawi, seated in Lusaka
- Metropolitan Seraphim (Iakovou) of the Holy Archdiocese of Zimbabwe and Angola, seated in Harare
- Metropolitan Innocentius (Byakatonda) of the Holy Archdiocese of Burundi and Rwanda
Bishops
- Bishop Chrysostome (Karagounis) of the Holy Diocese of Mozambique
- Bishop Neophytos (Kongai) of the Holy Diocese of Nyeri and Mount Kenya
- Bishop Athanasius (Akunda) of the Holy Diocese of Kisumu and Western Kenya(Posthumously)
- Bishop Agathonicus (Nikolaidis) of the Holy Diocese of Arusha and Central Tanzania
- Bishop Silvestros (Kisitu) of the Holy Diocese of (Gulu) and eastern Uganda
Greek Orthodox Churches in Egypt
List of Greek Orthodox Churches in Egypt[9]
- St. Constantine and St. Helena Church – Cairo
- St. Spyridon Church – Helwan
- Patriarchal Monastery of St. George – Old Cairo
- St. Nicholas Church - Heliopolis
- Church of the Archangels - Al-Zahir
- Our Lady of El Nayah Church – Alexandria
- St. Anthony the Great Shatby – Alexandria
- The Annunciation of the Virgin Mary Church – Mansheya, Alexandria
- Patriarchal Monastery of Saint Savvas of the Blessed Virgin of Alexandria[10]
- Church of the Entry of Christ into the Temple – Tanta
- St. George Church – Tanta[11]
- Saint Nicholas Church – Mansoura
- Saint Nicholas Church – Port Said
- St. Nicholas Church – Old Patriarchate, Damietta
- The Most Holy Theotokos Church - Heliopolis
See also
- List of Greek Orthodox Patriarchs of Alexandria
- Greek Orthodox Church
- Greeks in Egypt
- Syro-Lebanese in Egypt
References
- ^ Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Alexandria and All Africa
- ^ "President Lauds Orthodox faith on 100 Years | Uganda Media Centre".
- ^ "Kenya: A Fruitful Land". 4 December 2019.
- ^ "Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Alexandria and All Africa - Construction - Stavros Niarchos Foundation".
- ^ "Ορθόδοξη Διασπορά και Ιεραποστολή στην Αφρική".
- ^ The Letters of Gregory the Great Translated and Introduction nand Notes by John R.C. Martyn. 3 vols. (Toronto: Pontifical Institute of Medieval Studies, 2004) q.v. 1.24; 5.41; 6.61; 7.5, 31, 37; 8.28, 28; 9.176; 10.14, 21; 12.16; 13.42, 43
- ^ Steven Runciman. The Eastern Schism. (Oxford, 1955). p. 99-100.
- Crux Now. Associated Press. Retrieved December 27, 2019.
- ^ www.goac-pa-eg.com http://www.goac-pa-eg.com/bg6.htm. Retrieved 2021-11-06.
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(help) - ^ "Πατριαρχική Μονή Οσίου Σάββα". patriarchateofalexandria.com (in Greek). Retrieved 2021-11-06.
- ^ www.goac-pa-eg.com http://www.goac-pa-eg.com/bg6j.htm. Retrieved 2021-11-06.
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Literature
- Brakke, David (2008). "The East: Egypt and Palestine". The Oxford Handbook of Early Christian Studies. Oxford: Oxford University Press. pp. 344–364. ISBN 978-0-19-927156-6.
- Dick, Iganatios (2004). Melkites: Greek Orthodox and Greek Catholics of the Patriarchates of Antioch, Alexandria and Jerusalem. Roslindale, MA: Sophia Press.
- ISBN 9780664223014.
- ISBN 9780664223007.
- Hayes, Stephen (November 1996). "Orthodox mission in tropical Africa". Missionalia. 24 (3): 383–398. Archived from the original on 2006-11-17. Retrieved 2006-12-07.
- Kiminas, Demetrius (2009). The Ecumenical Patriarchate: A History of Its Metropolitanates with Annotated Hierarch Catalogs. Wildside Press LLC. ISBN 9781434458766.
- Koukousas, Vasileios (2012). "The Representation of the Patriarchate of Alexandria at Ferrara-Florence and the Fight against Proselytization in the Provinces from the 15th to 18th century: Investigation on the Basis of the Sources". Εκκλησιαστικός Φάρος. 94: 260–289.
- Loon, Hans van (2009). The Dyophysite Christology of Cyril of Alexandria. Leiden-Boston: Brill. ISBN 978-9004173224.
- ISBN 9780881410563.
- Ostrogorsky, George (1956). History of the Byzantine State. Oxford: Basil Blackwell.
- Panchenko, Constantin A. (2021). Orthodoxy and Islam in the Middle East: The Seventh to the Sixteenth Centuries. Jordanville, NY: Holy Trinity Publications. ISBN 9781942699330.
- Roussos, Sotiris (2010). "Eastern Orthodox Christianity in the Middle East". Eastern Christianity in the Modern Middle East. London-New York: Routledge. pp. 107–119. ISBN 9781135193713.
- Roussos, Sotiris (2011). "The Greek Orthodox Church in Interwar Egypt: Between Lay Constitutionalism and Diaspora Politics". Journal of Eastern Christian Studies. 63 (1–2): 127–142.
External links
- The Patriarchate of Alexandria (Official Site)
- Archdiocese of Lagos (Official Site)
- Archdiocese of Mwanza Archived 2011-02-02 at the Wayback Machine (Official Site)
- Uganda Orthodox Church (Official Site)
- Orthodox Church of Kenya (Official Site)
- Orthodox Church in Tanzania (Official Site)
- Orthodox Archbishopric of Good Hope, Cape Town Archived 2014-08-02 at the Wayback Machine (Official Site)
- Website of the Arabic-speaking Alexandrian Orthodox Christians of Egypt
- CNEWA Profile of the Alexandrian Orthodox Church by Ronald Roberson