Christoforos Knitis (Greek: Χριστόφορος Κνιτής; 17 December 1872, in Samos, Greece – 7 August 1959, in Samos, Greece) was a

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

priest and

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 ...

bishop in the

Metropolis A metropolis () is a large city or conurbation which is a significant economic, political, and cultural center for a country or region, and an important hub for regional or international connections, commerce, and communications. A big c ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

and

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island coun ...

from 1924 to 1928.

Overview

Knitis was born on 17 December 1872 and baptised Charidemos. He was born and raised in Vathi, on the island of

Samos Samos (, also ; el, Σάμος ) is a Greek island in the eastern Aegean Sea, south of Chios, north of Patmos and the Dodecanese, and off the coast of western Turkey, from which it is separated by the -wide Mycale Strait. It is also a sepa ...

, and was the son of Charidemos Knitis and his wife Fioritsa. He studied at the

University of Athens 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 ...

, and studied theology at the

Theological School of Halki The Halki seminary, formally the Theological School of Halki ( el, Θεολογική Σχολή Χάλκης and tr, Ortodoks Ruhban Okulu), was founded on 1 October 1844 on the island of Halki ( Turkish: Heybeliada), the second-largest of the ...

. He was made deacon in on 19 July 1898 and took the name Christoforos. He became a teacher at his old high school, Pythagoreion Gymnasion, on Samos. In 1905, he spent a year studying theology and English at the

University of St Andrews (Aien aristeuein) , motto_lang = grc , mottoeng = Ever to ExcelorEver to be the Best , established = , type = Public research university Ancient university , endowment ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to ...

, and transferred to the

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

where he graduated in 1909. He was ordained priest on 23 April 1910, raised to the rank of

archimandrite The title archimandrite ( gr, ἀρχιμανδρίτης, archimandritēs), used in Eastern Christianity, originally referred to a superior abbot (''hegumenos'', gr, ἡγούμενος, present participle of the verb meaning "to lead") whom ...

and then on 12 December titular bishop consecrated of Stauropolis. In 1918 he was elevated to

metropolitan bishop In Christian churches with episcopal polity, the rank of metropolitan bishop, or simply metropolitan (alternative obsolete form: metropolite), pertains to the diocesan bishop or archbishop of a metropolis. Originally, the term referred to the ...

of Serrai.

Metropolitan of Australia and New Zealand

The

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

Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis (" ...

established the Metropolis of Australia and New Zealand in 1924 and appointed Christophoros as hierarch. Metropolitan Christophoros arrived in Australia on 8 July 1924 to begin a stormy tenure. He was confronted by

Archimandrite The title archimandrite ( gr, ἀρχιμανδρίτης, archimandritēs), used in Eastern Christianity, originally referred to a superior abbot (''hegumenos'', gr, ἡγούμενος, present participle of the verb meaning "to lead") whom ...

Irenaios Kasimatis, a priest who ignored the metropolitan and wrote inflammatory articles in the local Greek press. Factional rivalry and bitterness prevented Knitis from achieving much, and divisions in the church made his position untenable. In February 1928 he was recalled to Greece. Father

Theophylactos Papathanasopoulos Metropolitan Theophylactos (born Vasileios Papathanasopoulos; 1891–1958) was a Greek Orthodox Metropolitan Bishop in the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia. Biography Papathanasopoulos was born on the feast of St. Basil on 1 January 189 ...

was sent to Sydney as administrator until a new bishop arrived. Knitis was officially succeeded by Metropolitan

Timotheos Evangelinidis Timotheos Evangelinidis ( el, Τιμόθεος Ευαγγελινίδης; 23 April 1880 in Polichnitos, Lesbos – 6 October 1949 in Istanbul), was a Greek priest and Greek Orthodox bishop who presided over the Metropolis of Australia and New ...

in 1931.

Metropolitan of Bizye

He was granted the title of Metropolitan of

Bizye Vize ( el, Βιζύη, bg, Виза) is a town and district of Kırklareli Province in the Marmara region of Turkey. The district governor is Elif Canan Tuncer, and the mayor is Ercan Özalp ( CHP). According to the Turkish Statistical Institu ...

(

East Thrace East Thrace or Eastern Thrace ( tr, Doğu Trakya or simply ''Trakya''; el, Ανατολική Θράκη, ''Anatoliki Thraki''; bg, Източна Тракия, ''Iztochna Trakiya''), also known as Turkish Thrace or European Turkey, is the pa ...

) and spent most of his remaining life back in Samos, where he died on 7 August 1959. :orthodoxwiki:Christoforos (Knitis) of Samos

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Knitis, Christoforos 1872 births Eastern Orthodox archbishops in Australia Greek emigrants to Australia 1959 deaths Theological School of Halki alumni People from Samos Greek expatriate bishops