Sotirios Trambas (; 17 July 1929 – 10 June 2022) was a Greek Orthodox prelate, who served as Orthodox Metropolitan of Korea from 2004 to 2008.

Biography

Trambas was born in Arta in 1929. He graduated from the Theological School of the University of Athens in 1951. He served his military service at the Military Department of Religion and preached at the military units of Northern Greece. In 1956, he was tonsured monk of the Holy Monastery of Leimonos in

Mytilene Mytilene (; ) is the capital city, capital of the Greece, Greek island of Lesbos, and its port. It is also the capital and administrative center of the North Aegean Region, and hosts the headquarters of the University of the Aegean. It was fo ...

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 ...

. He was ordained Deacon and served as a preacher at the Metropolis of Methymnis. In 1961 he was ordained Priest and received the office of

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 ...

. In 1963, he returned to the

Greek Army The Hellenic Army (, sometimes abbreviated as ΕΣ), formed in 1828, is the land force of Greece. The term '' Hellenic'' is the endogenous synonym for ''Greek''. The Hellenic Army is the largest of the three branches of the Hellenic Armed F ...

and served as chaplain in the Evros area. From 1969 to 1974, he held the office of Chancellor (senior Archimandrite) of the Archdiocese of Athens. While at this position he established and organized the Center for Family Support and other public welfare institutions of the Archdiocese of Athens. In November 1975, he volunteered to serve the Orthodox Church in Korea, and with permission from the Holy Synod of Constantinople, became Dean of the St. Nicholas Church in

Seoul Seoul, officially Seoul Special Metropolitan City, is the capital city, capital and largest city of South Korea. The broader Seoul Metropolitan Area, encompassing Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon, emerged as the world's List of cities b ...

. In 1986, he was appointed to be the chairman of the Orthodox Eastern Mission. As chairman, he translated Greek church texts into Korean and founded the monastery, a seminary and several parishes in Korea and in other places in Asia. Then in 1991, he was elected an

auxiliary bishop An auxiliary bishop is a bishop assigned to assist the diocesan bishop in meeting the pastoral and administrative needs of the diocese. Auxiliary bishops can also be titular bishops of sees that no longer exist as territorial jurisdictions. ...

of the Metropolis of New Zealand and Exarch of Korea and was given the title of Bishop of Zelon, and after more than a decade in 2004 he was elected first Metropolitan of newly established Orthodox Metropolis of Korea by the Holy Synod of Constantinople. He also received an honorary citizenship of the Seoul in 2000. In 2008, he resigned voluntarily as Metropolitan of Korea for health reasons. The Holy Synod of Constantinople accepted his resignation and elected him Metropolitan of

Pisidia Pisidia (; , ; ) was a region of ancient Asia Minor located north of Pamphylia, northeast of Lycia, west of Isauria and Cilicia, and south of Phrygia, corresponding roughly to the modern-day province of Antalya in Turkey. Among Pisidia's set ...

(Turkey).

References

External links

Official biography of Sotirios Trambas

Sotirios Trambas
at Orthodoxia
Sotirios (Trambas) of Pisidia
at OrthodoxWiki {{DEFAULTSORT:Trambas, Sotirios 1929 births 2022 deaths People from Arta, Greece National and Kapodistrian University of Athens alumni Bishops of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople Bishops in Korea 20th-century Eastern Orthodox bishops 20th-century Greek people 21st-century Eastern Orthodox bishops 21st-century Greek people Eastern Orthodox Christians from Greece Greek theologians 20th-century Greek philosophers Greek writers Greek religious writers Eastern Orthodox missionaries in South Korea Greek expatriates in South Korea 21st-century Greek philosophers