Constantine Papastephanou ( el, Κωνσταντίνος Παπαστεφάνου; born 1924,

Damascus )), is an adjective which means "spacious". , motto = , image_flag = Flag of Damascus.svg , image_seal = Emblem of Damascus.svg , seal_type = Seal , map_caption = , ...

, State of Damascus – 17 April 2016,

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...

) was an

Eastern Orthodox Eastern Orthodoxy, also known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity, is one of the three main branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholicism and Protestantism. Like the Pentarchy of the first millennium, the mainstream (or "canonical") ...

hierarch and long serving (1969-2014)

Metropolitan Metropolitan may refer to: * Metropolitan area, a region consisting of a densely populated urban core and its less-populated surrounding territories * Metropolitan borough, a form of local government district in England * Metropolitan county, a typ ...

Baghdad Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the Sassanid Persian capital of Ctesiphon ...

and

Kuwait Kuwait (; ar, الكويت ', or ), officially the State of Kuwait ( ar, دولة الكويت '), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated in the northern edge of Eastern Arabia at the tip of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to the nort ...

, under the jurisdiction of the

Eastern Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch and All the East The Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch ( el, Ελληνορθόδοξο Πατριαρχείο Αντιοχείας), also known as the Antiochian Orthodox Church and legally as the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch and All the East ( ar ...

Biography

Constantine was born in 1924 in

Damascus )), is an adjective which means "spacious". , motto = , image_flag = Flag of Damascus.svg , image_seal = Emblem of Damascus.svg , seal_type = Seal , map_caption = , ...

, capital of Syria. Entering ecclesiastical service, he studied in

and received Bachelor of Theology degree from the University of Athens. He was ordained priest in 1951 by Patriarch Alexander III of Antioch. At first, he served as a priest in Damascus and its vicinity for eighteen years. During the latter part of the 1950s he was the director of the

Balamand The Balamand Monastery (historically called Belmont, Bellimontis ultra Mare, or Bellus-Mons), is a monastery for the Greek Orthodox Church of Antioch founded in 1157 in Balamand (Belmont), the Crusader County of Tripoli, now in the Koura Distric ...

Clerical School. In 1964, he was appointed by Patriarch

Theodosius VI of Antioch Patriarch Theodosius VI ( ar, البطريرك ثاودوسيوس السادس ; born Sbīrīdūn ʾAbū Rujayla ; 1885–1970) was Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch from 1958 to 1970. Life Spyridon Abou Rjaileh was born in Karssoun, Mount Leb ...

to lead St. Georges Monastery. In 1967, he was given additional duties as general vicar for the Archdiocese of

Hama , timezone = EET , utc_offset = +2 , timezone_DST = EEST , utc_offset_DST = +3 , postal_code_type = , postal_code = , ar ...

. On October 7, 1969, Constantine was elected Metropolitan Bishop of

and

by the Holy Synod of the

. On October 17, he was consecrated at the Monastery of St. Elias in Dhor Al Shwair in Lebanon. After installation, he set out to visit and organize his archdiocese. On October 23, 1969, Metropolitan Constantine arrived in Baghdad to conduct his first liturgy at the Cathedral of St. Andrew the Apostle. On November 20, he visited the Kuwait parish, celebrating the liturgy on the next day in temporary facilities in the National Evangelical Church. During the following years he established a number of Eastern Orthodox parishes within the

Persian Gulf The Persian Gulf ( fa, خلیج فارس, translit=xalij-e fârs, lit=Gulf of Persis, Fars, ), sometimes called the ( ar, اَلْخَلِيْجُ ٱلْعَرَبِيُّ, Al-Khalīj al-ˁArabī), is a Mediterranean sea (oceanography), me ...

area, first in 1980 in

Dubai Dubai (, ; ar, دبي, translit=Dubayy, , ) is the most populous city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the capital of the Emirate of Dubai, the most populated of the 7 emirates of the United Arab Emirates.The Government and Politics of ...

and

Abu Dhabi Abu Dhabi (, ; ar, أَبُو ظَبْيٍ ' ) is the capital and second-most populous city (after Dubai) of the United Arab Emirates. It is also the capital of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi and the centre of the Abu Dhabi Metropolitan Area. ...

. In 1984, he was elected to the Synodal Commission charged with administering the St. John of Damascus Institute of Theology and in 1986 he became the administrator of the Institute itself. In 1998, he established an Eastern Orthodox parish in

Oman Oman ( ; ar, عُمَان ' ), officially the Sultanate of Oman ( ar, سلْطنةُ عُمان ), is an Arabian country located in southwestern Asia. It is situated on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula, and spans the mouth of t ...

, followed in 2000 with one in

Bahrain Bahrain ( ; ; ar, البحرين, al-Bahrayn, locally ), officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, ' is an island country in Western Asia. It is situated on the Persian Gulf, and comprises a small archipelago made up of 50 natural islands and an ...

. In 2010, Metropolitan Constantine was hospitalized in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. Because of bad health and advanced age, he decided to retire on 17 June 2014, and was succeeded by new Metropolitan Ghattas Hazim. Metropolitan Constantine died on 17 April 2016.Memory Eternal: Metropolitan Constantine (Papastephanou)
/ref>

References

External links

His Eminence, the Most Reverend Metropolitan Constantine (Papastephanou)

Memory Eternal: Metropolitan Constantine (Papastephanou)

Archbishop of Baghdad, Kuwait, and Dependencies Recovers in London Hospital

Resignation of Metropolitan Constantine of Baghdad and Kuwait accepted

Metropolitan Constantine (Papastephanou) funeral video

Metropolitan Constantine (Papastephanou) funeral photos 1

Metropolitan Constantine (Papastephanou) funeral photos 2
{{DEFAULTSORT:Papastephanou, Constantine Greek Orthodox Christians from Syria Bishops of the Greek Orthodox Church of Antioch Eastern Orthodoxy in Iraq Eastern Orthodoxy in Kuwait 20th-century Eastern Orthodox bishops 21st-century Eastern Orthodox bishops 1924 births 2016 deaths Syrian expatriates in Greece Syrian expatriates in Iraq

Biography

See also

References

External links