Methodios Fouyias ( el, Μεθόδιος Φούγιας; 12 September 1924 in

Corinth Corinth ( ; el, Κόρινθος, Kórinthos, ) is the successor to an ancient city, and is a former municipality in Corinthia, Peloponnese, which is located in south-central Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform, it has been part o ...

– 7 July 2006) served as

Greek Orthodox The term Greek Orthodox Church (Greek language, Greek: Ἑλληνορθόδοξη Ἐκκλησία, ''Ellinorthódoxi Ekklisía'', ) has two meanings. The broader meaning designates "the Eastern Orthodox Church, entire body of Orthodox (Chalced ...

Archbishop of Thyateira and Great Britain (concomitantly

apokrisiarios An ''apocrisiarius'', the Latinized form of ''apokrisiarios'' ( el, ), sometimes Anglicized as apocrisiary, was a high diplomatic representative during Late Antiquity and the early Middle Ages. The corresponding (purist) Latin term was ''respons ...

of the

Ecumenical Patriarch The ecumenical patriarch ( el, Οἰκουμενικός Πατριάρχης, translit=Oikoumenikós Patriárchēs) is the archbishop of Constantinople (Istanbul), New Rome and '' primus inter pares'' (first among equals) among the heads of th ...

to the

Archbishop of Canterbury The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. The current archbishop is Justi ...

) from 1979 to 1988. After studies in the Theological Faculty of the University of Athens and parochial responsibilities in

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...

, he served in various positions within the Patriarchate of Alexandria culminating in that of Metropolitan of

Axum Axum, or Aksum (pronounced: ), is a town in the Tigray Region of Ethiopia with a population of 66,900 residents (as of 2015). It is the site of the historic capital of the Aksumite Empire, a naval and trading power that ruled the whole region ...

covering Ethiopia and the

Horn of Africa The Horn of Africa (HoA), also known as the Somali Peninsula, is a large peninsula and geopolitical region in East Africa.Robert Stock, ''Africa South of the Sahara, Second Edition: A Geographical Interpretation'', (The Guilford Press; 2004), ...

. Fouiyas' studies and encounters led to a favourable understanding of the Church of England which he saw in some respects as a continuator of the

Saxon The Saxons ( la, Saxones, german: Sachsen, ang, Seaxan, osx, Sahson, nds, Sassen, nl, Saksen) were a group of Germanic * * * * peoples whose name was given in the early Middle Ages to a large country (Old Saxony, la, Saxonia) near the Nor ...

Church before the

Norman Conquest The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Norman, Breton, Flemish, and French troops, all led by the Duke of Normandy, later styled William the Conque ...

, the

Gregorian Reform The Gregorian Reforms were a series of reforms initiated by Pope Gregory VII and the circle he formed in the papal curia, c. 1050–80, which dealt with the moral integrity and independence of the clergy. The reforms are considered to be nam ...

and most importantly the

East–West Schism The East–West Schism (also known as the Great Schism or Schism of 1054) is the ongoing break of communion between the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches since 1054. It is estimated that, immediately after the schism occurred, a ...

of 1054. He was thus seen as the ideal candidate for the post of archbishop in London. Several years experience however of deepening division within

Anglicanism Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of the ...

led him openly to suggest (in an article in ''

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'') that the road to unity for Anglicans lay in submission to the discipline of the

Roman Catholic church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

. As his post involved close relations with

Lambeth Lambeth () is a district in South London, England, in the London Borough of Lambeth, historically in the County of Surrey. It is situated south of Charing Cross. The population of the London Borough of Lambeth was 303,086 in 2011. The area expe ...

it was judged expedient that he should be recalled. Methodios assumed the title of Pisidia and continued his studies (notably on Bessarion) in Greece.

References

* Christos P. Baloglou, "The Former Metropolitan of Nicaea Cardinal Bessarion and contemporary Greek bishops", in ''Bessarion from Trebizond of Pontos'', ed. I. A. Glarenis et al. Thessaloniki: omus Byzantinus* Matthew Baker & Todd Speidell, eds. ''T. F. Torrance and Eastern Orthodoxy'', Eugene, Ore.: Wipf & Stock Publishers, 2015 * G. D. Dragas (ed.) ''Aksum - Thyateira; A Festschrift for Archbishop Methodius of Thyateira & Great Britain'', London: (Thyateira House) he Editorial Committee 1985 * (online) Orthodox Archdiocese of Belgium: Ecumenical Patriarchate: Deceased Hierarchs of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, Part 3 {{DEFAULTSORT:Fouyias, Methodios 1924 births 2006 deaths 20th-century Eastern Orthodox archbishops 20th-century Greek people 21st-century Greek people Greek theologians National and Kapodistrian University of Athens alumni People from Corinth Greek expatriates in the United Kingdom Greek expatriates in Germany Greek expatriates in Ethiopia