Petros VII (September 3, 1949 – September 11, 2004) was the
Greek Orthodox
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 cal ...
Pope and Patriarch of Alexandria and all Africa
The Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Alexandria and all Africa ( grc, Πατριαρχεῖον Ἀλεξανδρείας καὶ πάσης Ἀφρικῆς, Patriarcheîon Alexandreías kaì pásēs Aphrikês, The Patriarchate of Alexandria and ...
from 1997 to 2004. During his reign, Petros VII was credited with reviving the Greek Orthodox churches in Africa by increasing the churches' attendance of about 250,000 people.
Early life
Petros was born Petros Papapetrou ( el, Πέτρος Παπαπέτρου) in
Sichari,
Kyrenia District
Kyrenia District is one of the six districts of Cyprus. Its main town is Kyrenia ( el, Κερύνεια; tr, Girne). It is the smallest of Cyprus' districts, and is the only one controlled in its entirety by the unrecognised de facto state o ...
,
Cyprus
Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is ge ...
on September 3, 1949. He was the oldest son of a Greek Orthodox family and both his father and grandfather were priests.
Education
At the age of 12, Petros enrolled at the
Machairas Monastery
Machairas Monastery ( el, Μαχαιράς []) is a historic monastery dedicated to the Virgin Mary located about 40 km from the capital of Cyprus, Nicosia. It lies at an altitude of about 900 m and was founded at the end of the 12th centur ...
.
Then at 17, Petros entered the Apostle Barnbas Seminary in
Nicosia.
He graduated from Barnbas Seminary in 1969 and was ordained as a deacon at the Machairas Monastery.
A year later, Petros was summoned by
Patriarch Nicholas VI to
Alexandria
Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandri ...
. He served as a deacon under Nicholas VI while studying at the Averof High Schools.
Later on, in 1974, Petros received a scholarship from the
Greek Foreign Ministry to attend the School of Theology at
Athens University
The National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA; el, Εθνικό και Καποδιστριακό Πανεπιστήμιο Αθηνών, ''Ethnikó ke Kapodistriakó Panepistímio Athinón''), usually referred to simply as the Univers ...
.
Career
Work in Africa
Upon graduating from Athens University in 1978, Petros was ordained as a priest by Bishop Chrysostomos of Dodonis and left for
Cairo
Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the Capital city, capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, List of ...
, where he was given the title of Patriarchal Vicar.
Later, in 1983, Petros was promoted to Bishop of Babylon.
Throughout his career, Petros took on multiple posts throughout Africa, ranging from
Johannesburg
Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a megacity, and is one of the 100 largest urban areas in the world. According to Dem ...
,
Accra,
Cameroon
Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west-central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; the C ...
and
Central East Africa.
While in Africa, Petros focused on restoring monasteries, such as the Monastery of St. Sawas in Alexandria, and extending his missionary work in East Africa.
Patriarchate of Alexandria
Petros assumed the title of
Patriarchate
Patriarchate ( grc, πατριαρχεῖον, ''patriarcheîon'') is an ecclesiological term in Christianity, designating the office and jurisdiction of an ecclesiastical patriarch.
According to Christian tradition three patriarchates were est ...
of
Alexandria
Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandri ...
on March 9, 1997, following his election by the Holy Synod in February 1997. He had a close rapport with his predecessor,
Patriarch Parthenius III of Alexandria and assumed the latter's post after his death in 1996.
[Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Alexandria died in a weekend helicopter crash - English pravda.ru]
/ref> Throughout his reign, Petros built relationships with other church organizations and engaged with religious churches outside the Greek Orthodox community. Petros also initiated peaceful relationships between the Muslim and Christian people in the Middle East and interacted with Arab leaders, including Yasser Arafat
Mohammed Abdel Rahman Abdel Raouf al-Qudwa al-Husseini (4 / 24 August 1929 – 11 November 2004), popularly known as Yasser Arafat ( , ; ar, محمد ياسر عبد الرحمن عبد الرؤوف عرفات القدوة الحسيني, Mu ...
. Petros reigned as Patriarch of Alexandria for seven years until his death.
Missionary work
Petros used his position as patriarch to connect Orthodox groups throughout the world and to "spread the voice of Orthodoxy throughout Africa, to people who have never heard of Christ, who are dying from hunger and sicknesses, where there are no schools". In 2002, Petros wrote to George W. Bush
George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...
in an attempt to prevent the Iraq War
{{Infobox military conflict
, conflict = Iraq War {{Nobold, {{lang, ar, حرب العراق (Arabic) {{Nobold, {{lang, ku, شەڕی عێراق ( Kurdish)
, partof = the Iraq conflict and the War on terror
, image ...
. In his letter, Petros stated that invading Iraq would be viewed as an attack on Islam and create future problems on other religions.
Death
On September 11, 2004, Petros VII died in a 17-person helicopter crash alongside three other Church of Alexandria bishops. The Chinook helicopter
A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forward, backward and laterally. These attributes ...
carrying the passengers crashed into the Aegean Sea
The Aegean Sea ; tr, Ege Denizi (Greek: Αιγαίο Πέλαγος: "Egéo Pélagos", Turkish: "Ege Denizi" or "Adalar Denizi") is an elongated embayment of the Mediterranean Sea between Europe and Asia. It is located between the Balkans ...
while travelling to the monasteries of Mount Athos. In 2007, Boeing was sued by the victims' families for negligence and product liability. The lawsuit was settled out of court.
He was awarded Order of the Yugoslav Crown
The Royal Order of the Yugoslav Crown was instituted by King Alexander I of Yugoslavia on 5 April 1930, to commemorate his changing of the name of the Kingdom of the Serbs, Croats and Slovenes
The Kingdom of Yugoslavia ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separa ...
and Order of Saint Sava
The Royal Order of St. Sava is an Order of merit, first awarded by the Kingdom of Serbia in 1883 and later by the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, and the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. It was awarded to nationals and foreigners for meritorious ach ...
.
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Peter 07 Of Alexandria, Patriarch
1949 births
2004 deaths
Greek Cypriot people
20th-century Greek Patriarchs of Alexandria
21st-century Greek Patriarchs of Alexandria
Eastern Orthodox Christians from Cyprus
Recipients of the Order of the Yugoslav Crown
Recipients of the Order of St. Sava
Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in Greece
Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 2004
Victims of helicopter accidents or incidents