Paul the Apostle delivering the Areopagus sermon in Athens. Raphael, 1515

This is a list of Bishops, Metropolitans, and Archbishops of Athens. The Church of Athens was created by Paul the Apostle during his second missionary journey, when he preached at the Areopagus, probably in 51 AD. According to the Acts of the Apostles (17:16–34), after the sermon, many became followers of Paul, thus forming the kernel of the Church in Athens. The see of Athens has been unilaterally declared autocephalous on 4 August 1833 (officially recognized by the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople on 11 July 1850) and was elevated to an archbishopric on 31 December 1923. As the head of the Church of Greece, the holder has styled Archbishop of Athens and All Greece (Αρχιεπίσκοπος Αθηνών και πάσης Ελλάδος).

Bishops of Athens

No. Incumbent From Until
Roman period (1st century – 395 AD)
1 Hierotheus (uncertain) ? 52
2 Dionysius I (first bishop according to some sources[1]) 52 96
Vacant 96 117
3 Narcissus 117 c. 120
4 Publius c. 120 125
5 Quadratus 125 129
Vacant 129 ?
6 Leonidas [el] ? 250
7 Olympius ? ?
8 Pistus ? c. 325
9 Clematius c. 325 ?
Byzantine period (395–1205 AD)
10 Modestus c. 431 c. 451
11 Athanasius I c.451 c. 458
12 Anatolius c. 458 c. 459
13 John I c. 459 c. late 5th century
Vacant 6th century c. 680
13 John II c. 680 c. 694
15 Contias c. 694 c. 702
16 Theocharistus c. 702 c. 704
17 Marinus c. 704 c. 714
18 John III c. 714 ?

Metropolitans of Athens

Pre-modern period

No. Incumbent From Until
Byzantine period (395–1205 AD)
19 Gregory I c. 780 c. 810
20 Adamantius c. 810 c. 819
21 John IV c. 819 9th century
22 Theodosius 9th century
23 Hypatius 9th century
24 Demetrius I 9th century
25 Germanus I
(Archbishop) 		9th century 841
26 Demetrius II 841 846/857
27 Gabriel I 846/857 858/860
28 Gregory II 858/860 9th century
29 Cosmas 9th century 869/870
30 Nicetas I 869/870 881?
31 Sabbas I c. 881
32 Anastasius 881? 889
33 Sabbas II 889 914
34 George I 914 922
35 Nicetas II 922 927
36 Constantine 927 965?
37 Philip 965? 981
38 Theodegius 981 c. 1007
39 Michael I c. 1007 c. 1030
40 Leo I c. 1030 1061
41 Leo II 1061 1069
42 John V 1069 c. 1087
43 Nicetas III c. 1087 1103
44 Nicephorus 1103 c. 1112
45 Gerasimus? ? ?
46 George II Bourtzes c. 1156/7
47 Nicholas I Hagiotheodorites 1160 1175
48 Michael II 12th century
49 Theophylactus 12th century
50 George III 12th century c. 1172
51 George IV c. 1172 c. 1180
52 Michael II Choniates 1182 1222?
Latin period (1205–1456 AD), holders in exile or titular until 1388
53 Meletius I 1275 1289
54 Elias 1289 c. 1300
55 Neophytus I c. 1300 c. 1336
56 Anthimus I c. 1336 1366
57 Nicodemus 1371 c. 1387
58 Dorotheus I 1388 1392
59 Macarius I 1392 c. 1432
60 Gerbasius c. 1432 1440
61 Phantinus 1440 1443?
62 Theodore 1443? c. 1453
Ottoman period (1456–1821/27 AD)
63 Isidore c. 1456
64 Dorotheus II c. 1472
65 Anthimus II c. 1489 c. 1492
66 Neophytus II c. 1492 c. 1528
67 Lawrence 1528 1546
68 Callistus 1550 1564
69 Sophronius I 1565 1574?
70 Nicanor [el] 1574 1592
71 Theophanes I [fr] 1592 1597
72 Neophytus III 1597 1602
73 Samuel 1602 1602
74 Nathaniel 1602 1606
75 Anthimus III 1606 1611?
76 Cyril I 1611 1619?
77 Metrophanes 1619 1620?
78 Theophanes II 1620? 1633
79 Sophronius II 1633 1636
80 Daniel 1636 1665
81 Anthimus IV 1665 1676
82 Iakovos I 1676 1686
83 Athanasius II 1686 1689
84 Makarius II 1689 1693
85 Anthimus V 1693 1699
86 Cyril II 1699 1703
87 Meletius II 1703 1713
88 Iakovos II 1713 1734
89 Zachary 1734 1740
90 Anthimus VI 1741 1756
(90) Anthimus VI 1760 1764
91 Bartholomew 1764 1771?
92 Neophytus IV 1771? 1775
(91) Bartholomew 1775 1780
93 Gabriel II 1781? 1781?
94 Benedict 1781 1785
95 Athanasius III 1785 1787
(94) Benedict 1787 1797?
(95) Athanasius III 1797? 1799
96 Gregory III 1799 1820
97 Dionysius II [el] 1820 1823

Modern period

No. Primate Portrait Reign Notes
98 Gregory IV 16 September 1827 March 1828
99 Anthimus VII March 1828 27 July 1833
100 Neophytus V [el] 2 December 1833 10 January 1862 Bishop in 1833–1850
101 Michael IV [el] 13 January 1862 2 August 1862
102 Theophilus [el] 8 August 1862 15 July 1873
103 Anthony 9 August 1873 15 May 1874
104 Procopius I [el] 8 June 1874 11 February 1889
105 Germanus II [el] 17 July 1889 30 January 1896
106 Procopius II [el] 23 October 1896 21 November 1901
107 Theocletus I [el] 17 November 1902 11 October 1917 1st tenure
108 Meletius III 13 March 1918 29 November 1920
(107) Theocletus I [el] 29 November 1920 16 December 1922 2nd tenure
109 Chrysostomos I 8 March 1923 31 December 1923

Archbishops of Athens and All Greece

No. Primate Portrait Reign Notes
110 Chrysostomos I 31 December 1923 22 October 1938
111 Damaskinos 5 November 1938 1 December 1938 1st tenure. Election cancelled by the regime of Ioannis Metaxas
112 Chrysanthus 12 December 1938 2 July 1941 Resigned in the aftermath of the German invasion of Greece, after refusing to swear-in the collaborationist government of Georgios Tsolakoglou
(111) Damaskinos 2 July 1941 20 May 1949 2nd tenure
113 Spyridon 4 June 1949 21 March 1956
114 Dorotheus (III) 29 March 1956 26 July 1957
115 Theocletus II [el] 7 August 1957 8 January 1962
116 Jacob III [el] 13 January 1962 25 January 1962
117 Chrysostomos II 14 February 1962 11 May 1967 Forced to resign by the military regime following the coup d'état on 21 April 1967
118 Ieronymos I 14 May 1967 12 December 1973 Resigned following the Athens Polytechnic uprising and the coup d'état on 25 November 1973
119 Seraphim 12 January 1974 10 April 1998
120 Christodoulos 28 April 1998 28 January 2008
121 Ieronymos II 7 February 2008 Incumbent

See also

References

  1. ^ Ιστορία της Εκκλησίας των Αθηνών: Ίδρυση της Εκκλησίας των Αθηνών (in Greek). Archbishopric of Athens. Archived from the original on 21 July 2015. Retrieved 26 September 2015.

External links

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