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) (Source: Orthodox Tradition, Vol. 36, No. 1, 2019, page 4)
Churches, Parishes, and Missions -
- Greece: 229
- United States and Canada: 50
- Colombia, Guatemala, and Haiti: 3
- Europe: 18
- South Ossetia and Georgia: 12
- Africa: 18
- Australia and New Zealand: 9
- Asia: 1
- Total: 340
Monastic Houses -
- Greece: 105
- United States and Canada: 12
- Europe: 5
- South Ossetia and Georgia: 2
- Africa: 3
- Total: 127
Clergy -
- Bishops (including inactive): 23
- Priests: 292
- Deacons: 54
- Total: 369
- Major Philanthropic Organizations: 8
- Schools, Theological Training Programs: 6
- Major Presses: 6
Primates (1935-present)
- Metropolitan Germanos of Demetrias (1935-1943)
- Metropolitan Chrysostomos of Florina (1943-1955)
- Archbishop Akakios of Athens (1960-1963)
- Archbishop Auxentios of Athens (1963-1986)
- Archbishop Chrysostomos II of Athens (1986-2010)
- Archbishop Kallinikos of Athens (2010-present)
Current hierarchs
Metropolitans
- Akakios of Attica and Diavleia
- Maximos of Thessalonica and Demetrias
- Klemes of Larissa and Platamon
- Justin of Euripos and Euboia
- Gerontios of Piræus and Salamis
- Chrysostomos of Attica and Boiotia
- Moses of Toronto
- Demetrios of America
- Cyprian of Oropos and Phyle
Bishops
- Bishop Auxentios of Etna and Portland
- Gregory of Christianoupolis
- Photios of Marathon
- Ambrose of Philippi
- Ambrose of Methone
- Michael of Nora
- Silvano of Luni
- Theodosios of Bresthena (Vresthena)
- Christodoulos of Theoupolis (Assistant to the Metropolitan of America)
- Maximus of Pelagonia
Retired Hierarchs
- Metropolitan Paul (Pavlos) (formerly) of America
- Bishop Chrysostomos of Christianoupolis
- Bishop Johannes of Makarioupolis
- Bishop George (formerly) of Alania
- Bishop Sergius of Portland (formerly)
External link
- Official website
- 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.