{{no footnotes, date=July 2014 The first available information about the ecclesiastical organization of

Metsovo Metsovo ( el, Μέτσοβο; rup, Aminciu) is a town in Epirus, in the mountains of Pindus in northern Greece, between Ioannina to the west and Meteora to the east. The largest centre of Aromanian (Vlach) life in Greece, Metsovo is a large ...

and its environs points to the fact that, in the 14th century, it was part of the Metropolis of Ioannina. Furthermore, there are accounts of the existence of monasteries during the same period in the area, as well as in the wider region of the central Pindos. The administrative inclusion of Metsovo in the Ottoman Sanjak of Trikala in the mid-15th century would require corresponding changes in the ecclesiastic administration, but this is not attested before the mid-17th century, when Metsovo was under the

Metropolis of Stagoi 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 ci ...

. According to Aravantinos, in the 16th century the Patriarchate of Constantinople transferred the exarchate supervising the Aromanian villages in the area to the

hegoumenos Hegumen, hegumenos, or igumen ( el, ἡγούμενος, trans. ), is the title for the head of a monastery in the Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholic Churches, similar to the title of abbot. The head of a convent of nuns is called a heg ...

of the monastery of Voutsa. This testimony is evidence of the establishment of a distinct ecclesiastic Exarchate of Metsovo at the time, a development connected with the granting of privileges to Metsovo and the surrounding area. From then until 1795, Metsovo and six neighboring settlements constituted an autonomous church region, supervised directly by the Patriarchate of Constantinople. In 1924, the patriarchal Exarchate of Metsovo was briefly revived as a Metropolis, in order to find posts for high-ranking clergymen from Asia Minor that had lost their sees in the aftermath of the population exchange between Greece and Turkey. In 1929, the Metropolis was abolished without reinstating the exarchal status, and the area of the former Exarchate of Metsovo came under the

Metropolis of Grevena 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 ci ...

until 1932, when Metsovo, Anilio, Votonosi and Derventista were separated and annexed lasagna again to the Metropolis of Ioannina.

Sources

*M. Tritos, I Patriarchiki exarchia Metsovou (1659-1924). I thriskeftiki kai koinoniki tis prosfora he Patriarchal Exarchate of Metsovo (1659-1924). Its religious and social contribution publ. IBMT, Ioannina 1991. *P. Aravantinos, Chronographia tis Epirou hronography of Epirus vol. B’, publ. Koultoura, Athens, pp. 231, 309. *L. Vranousis, “To Chronikon ton Ioanninon kat’ anekdoton dimodi epitomin” hronicle of Ioannina according to anecdotal popular tradition Academy of Athens, Medieval Archive Yearbook, 12 (1962), pp. 91. *D. Sofianos, “Acta Stagorum, Ta yper tis Thessalikis episkopis Stagon palaia vyzantina eggrafa (ton eton 1163, 1336 kai 1393)” cta Stagorum: the Byzantine documents for the Thessalic diocese of Stagoi [from the years 1163, 1336 and 1393) Trikalina 13 (1993), pp. 27–54. *P. Aravantinos, Perigrafi tis Epirou [Description of Epirus], part C’, publ. Society for Epirote Studies. (EHM), Ioannina 1984, p. 70. Eastern Orthodoxy in Greece Metsovo Defunct dioceses of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople Exarchates of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, Metsovo Ottoman Greece