The Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Italy (and Malta from until the creation of the
Exarchate of Malta in 2021), officially the Sacred Orthodox Archdiocese of Italy and Exarchate of Southern Europe (), is a
diocese
In Ecclesiastical polity, church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop.
History
In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided Roman province, prov ...
of the
Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople
The Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople (, ; ; , "Roman Orthodox Patriarchate, Ecumenical Patriarchate of Istanbul") is one of the fifteen to seventeen autocephalous churches that together compose the Eastern Orthodox Church. It is heade ...
with its
see in
Venice
Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...
. The diocese was created in 1991.
The current archbishop and exarch is
Polykarpos Stavropoulos.
History
The Italo-Byzantine Monastery of St Mary of
Grottaferrata, 20 kilometers south of
Rome
Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...
, was founded by Saint Nilus the Younger in 1004.
After the
fall of Constantinople
The Fall of Constantinople, also known as the Conquest of Constantinople, was the capture of Constantinople, the capital of the Byzantine Empire by the Ottoman Empire. The city was captured on 29 May 1453 as part of the culmination of a 55-da ...
, many Greeks sought refuge in Italy and the
Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople
The Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople (, ; ; , "Roman Orthodox Patriarchate, Ecumenical Patriarchate of Istanbul") is one of the fifteen to seventeen autocephalous churches that together compose the Eastern Orthodox Church. It is heade ...
appointed a series of
metropolitans, who resided in
Venice
Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...
from 1537 to 1797. But it was not until 1539 that the
Greek community of Venice was authorised to begin building the church of San Giorgio dei Greci which still stands in the centre of the city on the canal known as the . The church was completed in 1573 and is the oldest of the churches of the Greek diaspora in western Europe.
In 1557, Venice's Greek community had nominated Pachomios, bishop of Zante and Cephalonia, to act in their church as bishop, which he apparently did for one year only. In 1577 a Greek Orthodox archbishop resided in Venice and was recognized as the religious head of the Greek Orthodox community in Venice, though with the non-Venetian title of
Archbishop of Philadelphia.
Archbishops of Italy
*
Spyridon Papageorgiou (1991–1996)
*
Gennadios Zervos (1996–2020)
*
Polykarpos Stavropoulos (since 2021)
See also
*
Eastern Orthodoxy in Italy
*
Greek Orthodox Church
Greek Orthodox Church (, , ) is a term that can refer to any one of three classes of Christian Churches, each associated in some way with Christianity in Greece, Greek Christianity, Antiochian Greek Christians, Levantine Arabic-speaking Christian ...
*
San Giovanni Theristis
*
Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of Italy and Malta
*
Greeks in Italy
Greeks in Italy have been present since the migrations of traders and colonial foundations in the 8th century BC, continuing down to the present time. Nowadays, there is an ethnic minority known as the Griko people, who live in the Southern It ...
*
Grikos
References
Bibliography
*
External links
Official website
{{Dioceses of the Ecumenical Patriarchate
Italy
Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
Eastern Orthodox dioceses in Europe
Eastern Orthodoxy in Italy
Italy
Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
Dioceses in Italy
Metropolises without suffragan dioceses