Constantine Papastephanou (; born 1924,

Damascus Damascus ( , ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in the Levant region by population, largest city of Syria. It is the oldest capital in the world and, according to some, the fourth Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. Kno ...

State of Damascus The State of Damascus (; ') was one of the six states established by the French General Henri Gouraud in the French Mandate of Syria which followed the San Remo conference of 1920 and the defeat of King Faisal's short-lived monarchy in Syri ...

– 17 April 2016,

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

) was an

Eastern Orthodox Eastern Orthodoxy, otherwise known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity or Byzantine Christianity, is one of the three main Branches of Christianity, branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholic Church, Catholicism and Protestantism ...

hierarch and long serving (1969–2014)

Metropolitan Metropolitan may refer to: Areas and governance (secular and ecclesiastical) * Metropolitan archdiocese, the jurisdiction of a metropolitan archbishop ** Metropolitan bishop or archbishop, leader of an ecclesiastical "mother see" * Metropolitan ar ...

Baghdad Baghdad ( or ; , ) is the capital and List of largest cities of Iraq, largest city of Iraq, located along the Tigris in the central part of the country. With a population exceeding 7 million, it ranks among the List of largest cities in the A ...

and

Kuwait Kuwait, officially the State of Kuwait, is a country in West Asia and the geopolitical region known as the Middle East. It is situated in the northern edge of the Arabian Peninsula at the head of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to Iraq–Kuwait ...

, under the jurisdiction of the

Eastern Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch and All the East The Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch (), also known as the Antiochian Orthodox Church and legally as the Rūm Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch and All the East (), is an autocephalous Greek Orthodox church within the wider communion of E ...

Biography

Constantine was born in 1924 in

, the capital of Syria. Entering ecclesiastical service, he studied in

and received a Bachelor of Theology degree from the University of Athens. He was ordained priest in 1951 by Patriarch

Alexander III of Antioch Patriarch Alexander III Tahhan ( ; 1869–1958) was Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch and all the East from 1928 to 1958. He was instrumental in the revival of churches and monasteries within the patriarchate. He also moved for the revival of th ...

. At first, he served as a priest in Damascus and its vicinity for eighteen years. During the latter part of the 1950s he was the director of the

Balamand The Balamand Monastery (historically called Belmont, Bellimontis ultra Mare, or Bellus-Mons), is a monastery for the Greek Orthodox Church of Antioch founded in 1157 in Balamand (Belmont), the Crusader County of Tripoli, now in the Koura Distri ...

Clerical School. In 1964, he was appointed by Patriarch

Theodosius VI of Antioch Patriarch Theodosius VI ( ; born Sbīrīdūn ʾAbū Rujayla ; 1885–1970) was Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch from 1958 to 1970. Life Spyridon Abou Rjaileh was born in Karssoun, Mount Lebanon in 1885, after which his family moved to Ashrafie ...

to lead St. Georges Monastery. In 1967, he was given additional duties as general vicar for the Archdiocese of

Hama Hama ( ', ) is a city on the banks of the Orontes River in west-central Syria. It is located north of Damascus and north of Homs. It is the provincial capital of the Hama Governorate. With a population of 996,000 (2023 census), Hama is one o ...

. On October 7, 1969, Constantine was elected Metropolitan Bishop of

and

by the Holy Synod of the

. On October 17, he was consecrated at the Monastery of St. Elias in Dhor Al Shwair in Lebanon. After installation, he set out to visit and organize his archdiocese. On October 23, 1969, Metropolitan Constantine arrived in Baghdad to conduct his first liturgy at the Cathedral of St. Andrew the Apostle. On November 20, he visited the Kuwait parish, celebrating the liturgy on the next day in temporary facilities in the National Evangelical Church. During the following years he established a number of Eastern Orthodox parishes within the

Persian Gulf The Persian Gulf, sometimes called the Arabian Gulf, is a Mediterranean seas, mediterranean sea in West Asia. The body of water is an extension of the Arabian Sea and the larger Indian Ocean located between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula.Un ...

area, first in 1980 in

Dubai Dubai (Help:IPA/English, /duːˈbaɪ/ Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''doo-BYE''; Modern Standard Arabic, Modern Standard Arabic: ; Emirati Arabic, Emirati Arabic: , Romanization of Arabic, romanized: Help:IPA/English, /diˈbej/) is the Lis ...

and

Abu Dhabi Abu Dhabi is the capital city of the United Arab Emirates. The city is the seat of the Abu Dhabi Central Capital District, the capital city of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, and the UAE's List of cities in the United Arab Emirates, second-most popu ...

. In 1984, he was elected to the Synodal Commission charged with administering the St. John of Damascus Institute of Theology and in 1986 he became the administrator of the Institute itself. In 1998, he established an Eastern Orthodox parish in

Oman Oman, officially the Sultanate of Oman, is a country located on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in West Asia and the Middle East. It shares land borders with Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen. Oman’s coastline ...

, followed in 2000 with one in

Bahrain Bahrain, officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, is an island country in West Asia. Situated on the Persian Gulf, it comprises a small archipelago of 50 natural islands and an additional 33 artificial islands, centered on Bahrain Island, which mak ...

. In 2010, Metropolitan Constantine was hospitalized in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. Because of bad health and advanced age, he decided to retire on 17 June 2014, and was succeeded by the new Metropolitan

Ghattas Hazim Ghattas Hazim (born 1963, in Mhardeh, Syria) is a Greek Orthodox (Eastern Orthodox) hierarch. Since 2014, he serves as Metropolitan of Baghdad, Kuwait and Dependencies, under the jurisdiction of Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch and All the ...

. Metropolitan Constantine died on 17 April 2016.

References

External links

His Eminence, the Most Reverend Metropolitan Constantine (Papastephanou)

Memory Eternal: Metropolitan Constantine (Papastephanou)

Archbishop of Baghdad, Kuwait, and Dependencies Recovers in London Hospital

Resignation of Metropolitan Constantine of Baghdad and Kuwait accepted

Metropolitan Constantine (Papastephanou) funeral video

Metropolitan Constantine (Papastephanou) funeral photos 1

Metropolitan Constantine (Papastephanou) funeral photos 2
{{DEFAULTSORT:Papastephanou, Constantine Greek Orthodox Christians from Syria Bishops of the Greek Orthodox Church of Antioch Eastern Orthodoxy in Iraq Eastern Orthodoxy in Kuwait 20th-century Eastern Orthodox bishops 21st-century Eastern Orthodox bishops 1924 births 2016 deaths Syrian expatriates in Greece Syrian expatriates in Iraq

Biography

See also

References

External links