Antonios Varthalitis, AA ( el, Αντώνιος Βαρθαλίτης; 1 January 1924 in – 27 October 2007) was from 1962 to 2003 Catholic Archbishop of the

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Corfu, Zakynthos and Cephalonia The Archdiocese of Corfu, Zakynthos, and Cefalonia ( la, Archdioecesis Corcyrensis, Zacynthiensis et Cephaloniensis) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church comprising the Ionian islands of Corfu, Zakyn ...

Life

Antonios Varthalitis joined the Congregation of the Assumption ( Augustinians of the Assumption) in Athens. He studied theology and philosophy in Lyon. On 11 January 1953, Varthalitis was ordained as a Catholic priest. He served as a priest in the parish of Saints Peter and Paul in

Piraeus Piraeus ( ; el, Πειραιάς ; grc, Πειραιεύς ) is a port city within the Athens urban area ("Greater Athens"), in the Attica region of Greece. It is located southwest of Athens' city centre, along the east coast of the Saronic ...

and engaged in the ecumenical movement with the

Greek Orthodox Church The term Greek Orthodox Church (Greek: Ἑλληνορθόδοξη Ἐκκλησία, ''Ellinorthódoxi Ekklisía'', ) has two meanings. The broader meaning designates "the entire body of Orthodox (Chalcedonian) Christianity, sometimes also call ...

. In 1962 he was named by

Pope John XXIII Pope John XXIII ( la, Ioannes XXIII; it, Giovanni XXIII; born Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli, ; 25 November 18813 June 1963) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 28 October 1958 until his death in June 19 ...

as Archbishop of the Archdiocese of

Corfu Corfu (, ) or Kerkyra ( el, Κέρκυρα, Kérkyra, , ; ; la, Corcyra.) is a Greek island in the Ionian Sea, of the Ionian Islands, and, including its small satellite islands, forms the margin of the northwestern frontier of Greece. The isl ...

Kefalonia Kefalonia or Cephalonia ( el, Κεφαλονιά), formerly also known as Kefallinia or Kephallenia (), is the largest of the Ionian Islands in western Greece and the 6th largest island in Greece after Crete, Euboea, Lesbos, Rhodes and Chios. It ...

and Zakynthos. From 1962 to 1964 Varthalitis participated of the I, II, III and IV sessions of the

II Vatican Council The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the , or , was the 21st ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic Church. The council met in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome for four periods (or sessions), each lasting between 8 and ...

. The episcopal ordination was done by Venediktos Printesis, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Athens.

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

in 1992 named him the first Apostolic Vicar of

Thessaloniki Thessaloniki (; el, Θεσσαλονίκη, , also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece, with over one million inhabitants in its Thessaloniki metropolitan area, metropolitan area, and the capi ...

. Varthalitis became involved in the

Commission of the Bishops' Conferences of the European Community The Commission of the Bishops' Conferences of the European Union, formerly the Commission of the Bishops' Conferences of the European Community, ( la, Commissio Episcopatuum Communitatis Europaeae; COMECE) is the association of Catholic Church e ...

(COMECE) and the Council of European Bishops' Conferences (CCEE). In 2003 his resignation was accepted by John Paul II.

External links

* * Greek Roman Catholic archbishops 1924 births 2007 deaths People from Poseidonia Assumptionists Roman Catholic archbishops of Corfu 20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in Greece Greek expatriates in France {{Greece-RC-archbishop-stub