Church of the Genuine Orthodox Christians of Greece
The Church of the Genuine Orthodox Christians of Greece is an Old Calendarist Church which severed communion with the Church of Greece in 1935 over the acceptance of the Revised Julian Calendar. The adoption of the new calendar was viewed as an abrogation of the Orthodox Church's historical festal unity and a contradiction of Orthodox self-understanding by establishing common worship with non-Orthodox and furthering the goals of Ecumenism, while sacrificing festal unity among the Orthodox Churches. It is not in communion with any of the mainstream Orthodox churches, though it has enjoyed occasional support from mainstream churches which have retained the Julian Calendar. It also has support from some of the monks of Mount Athos, including the historical brotherhood of the Monastery of Esphigmenou. Its current primate is Archbishop Kallinikos (Sarantopoulos) of Athens and All Greece. The North American eparchy is known as the Church of the Genuine Orthodox Christians of America.
Organization
The Church of the Genuine Orthodox Christians of Greece is made up of the Archdiocese of Athens, twelve Metropoleis in Greece, and three overseas Eparchies: America, Australia, and Europe. The Eparchy of America was granted the status of semi-autonomy in 2002, which included the establishment of an Eparchial Synod along with a local Ecclesiastical Tribunal, and is comprised of two Metropoleis (America and Toronto) and two Dioceses (Boston, and Etna and Portland), whose ruling hierarchs are suffragans of the Metropolitan of America based in New York City.
Synod statistics (2019)
Figures from Orthodox Tradition, Vol. 36, No. 1 (2019), p. 4.
| Region | Churches, parishes, and missions |
Monastic houses |
|---|---|---|
| Greece | 229 | 105 |
| United States and Canada | 50 | 12 |
| Colombia, Guatemala, and Haiti | 3 | — |
| Europe | 18 | 5 |
| South Ossetia and Georgia | 12 | 2 |
| Africa | 18 | 3 |
| Australia and New Zealand | 9 | — |
| Asia | 1 | — |
| Total | 340 | 127 |
| Rank | Number |
|---|---|
| Bishops (including inactive) | 23 |
| Priests | 292 |
| Deacons | 54 |
| Total | 369 |
| Type | Number |
|---|---|
| Major philanthropic organizations | 8 |
| Schools and theological training programs | 6 |
| Major presses | 6 |
Primates (1935–present)
| Primate | Title | Years |
|---|---|---|
| Germanos | Metropolitan of Demetrias | 1935–1943 |
| Chrysostomos | Metropolitan of Florina | 1943–1955 |
| Vacant | 1955–1960 | |
| Akakios | Archbishop of Athens | 1960–1963 |
| Auxentios | Archbishop of Athens | 1963–1986 |
| Chrysostomos II | Archbishop of Athens | 1986–2010 |
| Kallinikos | Archbishop of Athens | 2010–present |
Current hierarchs
Metropolitans
| Name | Metropolis |
|---|---|
| Akakios | Attica and Diavleia |
| Maximos | Thessalonica and Demetrias |
| Klemes | Larissa and Platamon |
| Justin | Euripos and Euboia |
| Gerontios | Piræus and Salamis |
| Chrysostomos | Attica and Boiotia |
| Moses | Toronto |
| Demetrios | America |
| Cyprian | Oropos and Phyle |
Bishops
| Name | See |
|---|---|
| Auxentios | Etna and Portland |
| Gregory | Christianoupolis |
| Photios | Marathon |
| Ambrose | Philippi |
| Ambrose | Methone |
| Michael | Nora |
| Silvano | Luni |
| Theodosios | Bresthena (Vresthena) |
| Christodoulos | Theoupolis Assistant to the Metropolitan of America |
| Maximus | Pelagonia |
Retired hierarchs
| Name | Rank | See |
|---|---|---|
| Paul (Pavlos) | Metropolitan | America (former) |
| Chrysostomos | Bishop | Christianoupolis |
| Johannes | Bishop | Makarioupolis |
| George | Bishop | Alania (former) |
| Sergius | Bishop | Portland (former) |
External links
- Official website of the Holy Synod
- Church of the Genuine Orthodox Christians of America
- Metropolitan Cyprian of Oropos and Phyle. Official Notification: Thursday of the Third Week of the Great Fast, March 7/20, 2014 – The Ecclesiastical Union of the [Church of the] True Orthodox Christians and the Orthodox Community in Resistance. March 7/20, 2014. 6 pp.
- A Brief History of the Martyric Church of the Genuine Orthodox Christians of Greece and Concerning Its Apostolic Succession – English translation of the Greek edition published by the Holy Synod in 2015.