The Holy Metropolis of Servia and Kozani ( el, Ιερά Μητρόπολις Σερβίων και Κοζάνης, ''Iera Mitropolis Servion kai Kozanis'') is an

Orthodox Christian Orthodoxy (from Greek: ) is adherence to correct or accepted creeds, especially in religion. Orthodoxy within Christianity refers to acceptance of the doctrines defined by various creeds and ecumenical councils in Antiquity, but different Churche ...

diocese In Ecclesiastical polity, church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided Roman province, pro ...

located in West Macedonia,

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 ...

, with the bishop's seat at Kozani. Its archdeaconries include the cities of Kozani,

Aiani Aiani ( el, Αιανή, before 1926: Καλλιανή - ''Kalliani'') is a town and a former municipality in the Kozani regional unit, Macedonia, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Kozani, of which it is ...

, Drepano, Krokos, Servia and

Velvendos Velventos ( el, Βελβεντός) is a town and municipality in Kozani regional unit, West Macedonia, Greece. The 2011 census recorded 3,360 people in the village of Velventos, 3,399 in the municipal community and 3,448 in the municipal unit. Th ...

. the Bishop of the Holy Diocese of Servia and Kozani was Pavlos Papalexiou.

History

It was first mentioned in the fifth century as the Bishopric of Caesarea under the jurisdiction of the Diocese of

Larissa Larissa (; el, Λάρισα, , ) is the capital and largest city of the Thessaly region in Greece. It is the fifth-most populous city in Greece with a population of 144,651 according to the 2011 census. It is also capital of the Larissa regiona ...

. An

Ancient Greek Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic peri ...

marble tombstone was found having the inscription: "...προεδρίαν έλαχεν τη Εκκλησία Καισάρων πόλεως Μακεδόνιος έστιν ούτος ανήρ τα παντ’ εύφημος ος Επισκοπήσας έτη εν μήνα ένα του τήδε βίου εκδημήσας μηνί Ιανουαρίω ΚΓ′ Ινδικτιώνος ΙΑ′ προς Θεόν ενεδήμησεν...". Archaeologists infer that the tombstone was written in the 5th century and that the Bishopric of Caesarea was established in the 4th century, when persecution against Christians ceased. The Bishopric of Caesarea was moved to Servia from the 9th century onwards. It is Leo VI the Wise who first mentions the new "Bishopric of Servia",Leo VI the Wise, ''Διατύπωσις των θρόνων των Εκκλησιών'' (Transliterated: Diatyposis ton thronon ton Ekklesiou) which kept its name until 1745. The seat was then moved to Kozani and the title was changed to Bishopric of Servia and Kozani being under the jurisdiction of the

Metropolitan see 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 t ...

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

. In 1882 the bishopric was promoted to a Metropolis and from then has been under the jurisdiction of the

Ecumenical Patriarchate The Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople ( el, Οἰκουμενικὸν Πατριαρχεῖον Κωνσταντινουπόλεως, translit=Oikoumenikón Patriarkhíon Konstantinoupóleos, ; la, Patriarchatus Oecumenicus Constanti ...

. In 1923, when Greek refugees from

Asia Minor Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The re ...

fled to Kozani, the House of the Diocese was used as a hospital and temporary shelter. During the German occupation of Greece (1941–44) the House of the Diocese was occupied by German troops and much of its historical archive was destroyed or lost.

Monasteries

There are 5 monasteries in the Diocese: * Holy Trinity at Lariou (male) * St. Antony at Kastania of Servia (male) * St. Nektarios at Palaiogratsano (male) * Holy Theotokos at Zidani (female) * Holy Trinity at

(female) The local saints of the Diocese are

Theodora of Arta Theodora Petraliphaina ( el, Θεοδώρα Πετραλίφαινα), canonized as Saint Theodora of Arta ( el, Αγία Θεοδώρα της Άρτας; ca. 1225 – after 1270), was a consort of Epirus and an Orthodox Christian saint. Li ...

and Varadatos.

References

Bibliography

External links

Diocesan website (in Greek)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Servia Dioceses of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople Western Macedonia Eastern Orthodox dioceses in Greece