Athenagoras I of Constantinople
Athenagoras I | |
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Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople | |
Denomination | Eastern Orthodox Church |
Alma mater | Holy Trinity Theological School |
Athenagoras I (Greek: Αθηναγόρας Αʹ), born Aristocles Matthaiou ("son of Matthew", a patronymic) Spyrou (Αριστοκλής Ματθαίου Σπύρου; 6 April [O.S. 25 March] 1886 – July 7, 1972), was Greek Orthodox Archbishop of North and South America from 1930 to 1948[1] and the 268th Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople from 1948 to 1972.
Biography
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Athenagoras was born as Aristocles Matthew Spyrou on April 6 [O.S. March 25] 1886 in the village of Vasiliko, near Ioannina, Epirus (then Ottoman Empire).[2] He has been described as having been of Aromanian,[3][4][5] Albanian,[6] or Greek descent.[2] Athenagoras was the son of Matthew N. Spyrou, a doctor, and Helen V. Mokoros.[2] Athenagoras devoted himself to religion at an early age because of the encouragement he received from his mother and a priest from his village.[2] After completing his secondary education in 1906, he entered the Holy Trinity Theological School at Halki, near Istanbul, and was ordained a deacon in 1910.[2]
Upon graduating, he was
Returning from a fact-finding trip to the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese in America in 1930,
When Archbishop Athenagoras assumed his new position on February 24, 1931, he was faced with the task of bringing unity and harmony to a diocese that was racked with dissension between Royalists and Republicans (
Archbishop Athenagoras
In 1938, Athenagoras was naturalized as a United States citizen.[8][9]
On November 1, 1948, he was elected Patriarch of Constantinople at the age of 62.
He was hospitalized on July 6, 1972, for a broken hip, but died from kidney failure in Istanbul (Constantinople) the following day at the age of 86.[11] He was buried in the cemetery within the grounds of the Church of Saint Mary of the Spring in Balıklı, Istanbul.
Ecumenical relations
Athenagoras's meeting with Pope Paul VI in 1964 in Jerusalem led to rescinding the excommunications of 1054 which historically mark the Great Schism, the schism between the churches of the East and West. This was a significant step towards restoring communion between Rome and Constantinople and the other patriarchates of Orthodoxy. It produced the Catholic–Orthodox Joint Declaration of 1965, which was read out on December 7, 1965, simultaneously at a public meeting of the Second Vatican Council in Rome and at a special ceremony in Constantinople.[12]
The controversial declaration did not end the 1054 schism, but rather showed a desire for greater reconciliation between the two churches, as represented by
References
Citations
- ^ Goff 2010, "Eastern Orthodox Christianity", p. 537.
- ^ a b c d e Block, Rothe & Candee 1950, "Athenagoras I, Patriarch", pp. 14–15: "Born March 25, 1886, in Vassilikon, near Janina in the Greek province of Epirus (at that time a part of the Ottoman Empire), the Patriarch, who is of Hellenic stock is the son of Matthew N. Spyrou, a physician, and Helen V. (Mokoros) Spyrou. His baptismal name was Aristocles Matthew Spyrou. Strongly encouraged by his mother and by "the humble priest" of his village (the quoted words are the Patriarch's own), the boy early resolved to devote his life to religion; and in 1906, after completing his secondary education at the Greek school on the island of Halki, near Istanbul, he entered the Holy Trinity Theological School on Halki. The thesis he submitted he submitted for ordination dealt with the election of the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople from the beginning up to the year 1453. On being ordained deacon in 1910..."
- ^ Kahl, Thede (2002). "The ethnicity of Aromanians after 1990: the identity of a minority that behaves like a majority". Ethnologia Balkanica. 6: 150.
Many national heroes referred to in national historiography are known as having been Aromanians. Examples in Greek history are [...] patriarch Athenagoras
- ^ Kahl, Thede (2003). "Aromanians in Greece: Minority or Vlach-speaking Greeks?". Jahrbücher für Geschichte und Kultur Südosteuropas. 5: 213.
Indeed, the list of examples of Aromanians in Greek history is quite impressive: [...] Athinagoras I. (1886-1972, Patriarch from 1948 to 1972)
- S2CID 188047262.
At Constantinople, he had another providential meeting with the Ecumenical Patriarch Athenagoras, of Aromanian origin, an eager supporter of the approaching of Orthodox Churches to the Church of Rome.
- .
Among notable Albanians of the diaspora are Johan Francis Albani, Pope Clement XI (1649-1720); the late Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, Athenagoras, and Agnes Gonzhe Bojaxkiu, better known as Mother Teresa, who was born in Skopje,
- ^ a b "Cathedral History". Archdiocesan Cathedral of the Holy Trinity. 2014. Archived from the original on 7 December 2012. Retrieved 26 July 2014.
- ^ Block, Rothe & Candee 1950, "Athenagoras I, Patriarch", pp. 14–15.
- ^ a b Cianfarra 1950, p. 87.
- ^ Chrissochoidis 2013, p. 131.
- ^ Newsweek 1972, p. 172: "Died: ATHENAGORAS I, 86, Ecumenical Patriarch of the Eastern Orthodox Church, spiritual leader of 125 million Eastern Christians, of kidney failure while hospitalized for a broken hip, in Istanbul, July 6. The Greek-born, white-bearded, 6-foot 4-inch prelate became Ecumenical Patriarch in 1948 after seventeen years in New York as Greek Orthodox Archbishop of North and South America."
- ^ "Joint Catholic-Orthodox Declaration of his Holiness Pope Paul VI and the Ecumenical Patriarch Athenagoras I". La Santa Sede (Vatican). 7 December 1965.
- ^ Metropolitan Philaret (December 1965). "A Protest to Patriarch Athenagoras: On the Lifting of the Anathemas of 1054". Orthodox Christian Information Center.
Sources
- Block, Maxine; Rothe, Anna Herthe; Candee, Marjorie Dent (1950). Current Biography: Who's News and Why 1949. New York: H.W. Wilson Company.
- Chrissochoidis, Ilias (2013). Spyros P. Skouras: Memoirs (1893–1953). Stanford: Brave World.
- Cianfarra, Camille Maximillian (1950). The Vatican and the Kremlin. New York: E.P. Dutton & Company, Inc.
- Goff, Philip (2010). The Blackwell Companion to Religion in America. Malden and Oxford: John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 978-1-44-432409-9.
- Newsweek (1972). "Time Marches Off". 80. Newsweek, Incorporated.
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External links
- Joint Catholic-Orthodox Declaration of his Holiness Pope Paul VI and the Ecumenical Patriarch Athenagoras I
- A Protest to Patriarch Athenagoras: On the Lifting of the Anathemas of 1054
- Common Declaration of Pope Paul VI and the Ecumenical Patriarch Athenagoras I (28 October 1967)
- Remembering Patriarch Athenagoras
- Athenagoras I of Constantinople at Find a Grave