The Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Italy (and Malta from until the creation of the

Exarchate of Malta An exarchate is any territorial jurisdiction, either secular or ecclesiastical, whose ruler is called an exarch. The term originates from the Greek word ''arkhos'', meaning a leader, ruler, or chief. Byzantine Emperor Justinian I created the firs ...

in 2021), officially the Sacred Orthodox Archdiocese of Italy and Exarchate of Southern Europe ( it, Sacra Arcidiocesi Ortodossa d'Italia ed Esarcato per l'Europa Meridionale), is a

diocese In 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 provinces were administratively associa ...

of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople with

see See or SEE may refer to: * Sight - seeing Arts, entertainment, and media * Music: ** ''See'' (album), studio album by rock band The Rascals *** "See", song by The Rascals, on the album ''See'' ** "See" (Tycho song), song by Tycho * Television * ...

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 bridges. The isla ...

. The diocese was created in 1991. The current archbishop and exarch is Polykarpos Stavropoulos.

History

The Italo-Byzantine Monastery of St Mary of

Grottaferrata Grottaferrata () is a small town and ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Rome, situated on the lower slopes of the Alban Hills, south east of Rome. It has grown up around the Abbey of Santa Maria di Grottaferrata, founded in 1004. Nearby comm ...

, 20 kilometers south of

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

, was founded by Saint Nilus the Younger in 1004. After the fall of Constantinople, many Greeks sought refuge in Italy and the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople appointed a series of Metropolitans, who resided in

from 1537 to 1797. But it was not until 1539 that the

Greek community of Venice The Greek community in Venice dates back to the Middle Ages, when the Republic of Venice was still formally part of the Byzantine Empire. Settled mostly in the ''sestiere'' of Castello, it reached its height in the centuries after the Fall of Con ...

was authorised to begin building the church of San Giorgio dei Greci which still stands in the centre of the city on the canal known as the . The church was completed in 1573 and is the oldest of the churches of the Greek diaspora in western Europe. In 1557, Venice's Greek community had nominated Pachomios, bishop of Zante and Cephalonia, to act in their church as bishop, which he apparently did for one year only. In 1577 a Greek Orthodox archbishop resided in Venice who was recognized him as the religious head of the Greek Orthodox community in Venice, though with the non-Venetian title of

Archbishop of Philadelphia The Roman Catholic Metropolitan Archdiocese of Philadelphia is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in southeastern Pennsylvania, in the United States. It covers the City and County of Philadelphia as well a ...

Archbishops of Italy

* Spyridon Papageorgiou (1991–1996) * Gennadios Zervos (1996–2020) * Polykarpos Stavropoulos (since 2021)

References

Bibliography

External links

Official website
{{Dioceses of the Ecumenical Patriarchate

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

Eastern Orthodox dioceses in Europe Eastern Orthodoxy in Italy Greek Orthodoxy in Europe Dioceses in Italy

History

Archbishops of Italy

See also

References

Bibliography

External links