Archimandrite The title archimandrite (; ), used in Eastern Christianity, originally referred to a superior abbot ('' hegumenos'', , present participle of the verb meaning "to lead") whom a bishop appointed to supervise several "ordinary" abbots and monaste ...

Alexios of Xenophontos (; born Apostolos Mantziris, ) is a Greek Orthodox

archimandrite The title archimandrite (; ), used in Eastern Christianity, originally referred to a superior abbot ('' hegumenos'', , present participle of the verb meaning "to lead") whom a bishop appointed to supervise several "ordinary" abbots and monaste ...

and Abbot of Xenophontos Monastery at

Mount Athos Mount Athos (; ) is a mountain on the Athos peninsula in northeastern Greece directly on the Aegean Sea. It is an important center of Eastern Orthodoxy, Eastern Orthodox monasticism. The mountain and most of the Athos peninsula are governed ...

Biography

Since 1976, he has served as the

hegumen Hegumen, hegumenos, or igumen (, trans. ), is the title for the head of a monastery in the Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholic Churches, or an archpriest in the Coptic Orthodox Church, similar to the title of abbot. The head of a convent of ...

(abbot) of Xenophontos Monastery at

. In the 1970s, Alexios was a disciple of Elder Dionysios, the Metropolitan of Trikkis, and was also the spiritual brother of of

Simonopetra Simonopetra Monastery (, literally: "Simon's Rock"), also Monastery of Simonos Petra (), is an Eastern Orthodox monastery in the monastic state of Mount Athos in Greece. It ranks 13th in the hierarchy of the Athonite monasteries. It is on the sou ...

, as both of them were disciples of Elder Dionysios of Trikkis. In 1976, Alexios came to Xenophontos with 17 of his monks from the

Monastery of Great Meteoron The Monastery of Great Meteoron () is an Eastern Orthodox monastery that is part of the Meteora monastery complex in Thessaly, central Greece. It is situated on top of a rock called ''Meteora'' or ''Platylithos'', which is 415 metres above the ...

, of which he had been the abbot from 1973 to 1976. He continues to lead the monastery as of 2019. In 2019, he took part in the enthronement of the head of the

Orthodox Church of Ukraine The Orthodox Church of Ukraine (; OCU), also called the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, is an Eastern Orthodox Church in Ukraine. It was granted autocephaly by the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople on . Some of the Eastern Orthodox Churche ...

, Metropolitan

Epiphanius I of Ukraine Metropolitan Epiphanius of Kyiv and All Ukraine (, secular name: Serhii Petrovych Dumenko, ; born on 3 February 1979) is the primate of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU), holding the title of Metropolitan of Kyiv and All Ukraine. Metropoli ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Alexios Of Xenophontos Living people 1939 births Athonite Fathers Eastern Orthodox monks Archimandrites People associated with Xenophontos Monastery 20th-century Christian abbots