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The archbishop was born on the island of [[Patmos]] as Theodore Kokkinakis. He graduated from the [[Theological School of Halki]] in 1934. In 1936 he came to the United States and undertook studies at the General Theological Seminary, Columbia University, and Northwestern University. Theodore was ordained to the [[priest|priesthood]] in 1940 (simultaneously taking the name Athenagoras) and assigned to the church of St. Andrew in Chicago. He served there until 1945, when he was assigned to the church of St. Demetrios in Astoria, New York. While there, he served as editor of the ''[[Orthodox Observer]]'', the archdiocesan magazine.
In 1950 Fr. Athenagoras was elected [[bishop]] of Eleia. His consecration took place on [[September 14]] at the [[Cathedral]] of the Holy Trinity in New York, celebrated by [[Michael (Konstantinides) of America|Archbishop Michael of North and South America]], [[Germanos (Polyzoides) of Hierapolis|Bishop Germanos of Nyssa]], [[Gerasimos (EliasPapadopoulos) of ChicagoAbydos|Bishop Gerasimos of Chicago]] and [[Orestes (Chornock) of Agathoniketa|Bishop Orestes]] of the [[ACROD|Carpatho-Russian Diocese]].
Bishop Athenagoras was initially assigned to oversee the western portion of the United States. In 1954, he was transferred to Boston and the oversight of New England. At the same time he was appointed dean of [[Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology (Brookline, Massachusetts)|Holy Cross Seminary]]. He resigned as dean in 1959. The next year, he was elevated to the degree of [[Metropolitan]] of Eleia and assigned to oversee [[parish]]es in Canada.
