View source for Metropolis of San Francisco

{{orthodoxyinamerica}}
The '''Metropolis of San Francisco''' is a [[diocese|metropolis]] of the [[Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America]] in the United States of America, under the [[jurisdiction]] of the [[Church of Constantinople]]. The metropolis includes the states of the extreme western United States.

==History==
The origin of the Metropolis of San Francisco is traced back to the formal organization of the parishes in the Americas by the Ecumenical Patriarchate in the mid twentieth century. The [[Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of North and South America]] was formally established in 1921 and came under the jurisdiction of the Ecumenical Patriarchate in 1922 with jurisdiction over Greek Orthodox parishes in the Western Hemisphere. At that time Ecumenical Patriarch [[Meletius IV (Metaxakis) of Constantinople|Meletius]] created the [[see]]s of San Francisco, Chicago, Boston, and New York. 

The Archdiocese of North and South America activated the see in San Francisco in 1927 with the installation of Bishop Kallistos (Papageorgapoulos) as Bishop of San Francisco. At times the see was moved to Los Angeles. Before 1955 when the archdiocese was partitioned into archdiocese districts the see of San Francisco included the Rocky Mountain area. In 1979, when the [[archdiocese]] was re-organized under a decree of the Ecumenical Patriarchate into a number of [[diocese]]s, the see of San Francisco was established as the Diocese of San Francisco. The area of the diocese included the states of Alaska, Arizona, California, Hawaii, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington[[http://www.sanfran.goarch.org/metropolis/about_the_metropolis.html]].

In 1996, the Archdiocese of North and South America was split into four separate archdioceses: those of America, Canada, Central America, and South America. With the establishment of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, the title of the dioceses was changed to metropolises and the Diocese of San Francisco became the Metropolis of San Francisco. Subsequent hierarchs are titled Metropolitans of San Francisco.

==Parishes and Monasteries== 
There are 57 parishes and eight missions, two [[chapel]]s, and three monasteries within the metropolis. The [[monastery|monasteries]] are:
*Monastery of St. Anthony - Florence, Arizona
*Monastery of the Theotokos the Life Giving Spring - Dunlap, California
*Monastery of St. John the Forerunner - Goldendale, Washington

==Ruling Hierarchs==
*Bishop [[Kallistos (Papageorgapoulos) of San Francisco]] 1927-1940
*Bishop [[Eirinaios (Tsourounakis) of San Francisco]] 1941-1944
*Vacant  1944 - 1950

===Fourth District===
*Bishop [[Athenagoras (Kokkinakis) of Thyateira and Great Britain|Athenagoras (Kokkinakis) of Elaia]] (titular) 1950-1955
*Bishop [[Demetrios (Makris) of Olympus]] (titular)  1955-1968
*Bishop [[Meletios (Tripodakis) of Christianoupolis]] (titular)  1968-1979

===Diocese of San Francisco===
* Bishop [[Anthony (Gergiannakis) of San Francisco]]   1979-1997
* Metropolitan Anthony (Gergiannakis) of the Dardanelles and Exarch of all Hellespont  - remained in San Francisco  1997-2002

===Metropolis of San Francisco===
*Metropolitan Anthony (Gergiannakis) of San Francisco   2002-2004 
*Metropolitan [[Gerasimos (Michaleas) of San Francisco]]   2005-Present

==Sources==
*[http://sf.goarch.org/metropolis/about_the_metropolis.html  About the Metropolis of San Francisco]
*[http://www.annunciation.org/tag/parish-history/ The Annunciation Cathedral: Its Past and Its Future]

==External link==
*[http://sf.goarch.org/metropolis/  The Metropolis - San Francisco]

[[Category: Jurisdictions|San Francisco]]
[[Category: Dioceses|San Francisco]]
[[Category: Ecumenical Patriarchate Dioceses|San Francisco]]