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Iakovos (Coucouzis) of America

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[[Image:Athenagoras and Iakovos.jpg|left|thumb|250px|Patr. [[Athenagoras I (Spyrou) of Constantinople|Athenagoras]] and Abp. Iakovos]]
===Early Years===
Iakovos was born '''Demetrios A. Coucouzis''' on the Greek island of Imvros (Turkey) in 1911 to Maria and Athanasios Coucouzis, one of four children, including two sisters (Virginia and Chrysanthi) and a brother (Panagiotis). He enrolled at the Ecumenical Patriarchal [[Theological School at of Halki ]] at the age of 15, where he earned a Master's Degree in Orthodox Theology, graduating in 1934 with high honors.
Demetrios was ordained to the holy [[deacon|diaconate]] in 1934, receiving then the name Iakovos, and he served as a deacon to Archbishop [[Athenagoras I (Spyrou) of Constantinople|Athenagoras]] (later Ecumenical Patriarch). In 1940, Iakovos was ordained to the [[priest]]hood in Lowell, Massachusetts, serving churches in Connecticut, St. Louis, and New York, and also serving as the assistant dean of [[Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology (Brookline, Massachusetts)]]. In 1942, he was appointed as dean of Annunciation Cathedral in Boston and served in that capacity until 1954. During this time, he earned a Master's degree in Sacred Theology from Harvard Divinity School (1945) and became a U.S. citizen (1950).
==Criticism==
[[Image:Iakovos Coucouzis tomb.jpg|right|thumb|200px|The tomb of Abp. Iakovos at [[Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology (Brookline, Massachusetts)|Holy Cross Seminary]]]]
In his endeavours to relate to members of other religions, some Orthodox felt that Archbishop Iakovos went entirely too far, that he violated the [[canons]] and betrayed the faith by praying with [[heresy|heretics]]. Perhaps one of the more famous instances of an Orthodox hierarch rebuking Archbishop Iakovos was Metropolitan [[Philaret (Voznesensky) of New York|Philaret]] ([[ROCOR]]) writing an [http://www.orthodoxinfo.com/ecumenism/philaret_iakovos.aspx open letter] in 1969 on the occasion of Iakovos's participation at St. Patrick's Cathedral in the "Week of Prayer for Christian Unity" and the [http://www.orthodoxinfo.com/ecumenism/doxology.pdf "Ecumenical Doxology"] in the Greek Cathedral of the Holy Trinity in New York City. In this letter, Philaret says: "You are uniting with the heterodox not in truth but in indifference to it."
During his tenure as archbishop, Iakovos drew a great deal of criticism from those especially concerned about his activities pertaining to [[ecumenism]]. His own definition of ecumenism was as follows: "Ecumenism is the hope for international understanding, for humanitarian allegiance, for true peace based on justice and dignity, and for God’s God's continued presence and involvement in modern history" (ca. 1960).[http://www.goarch.org/en/archbishop/iakovos/biography.asp]
==Other accomplishments==
*Improved parish organizations and enhanced roles of the Archdiocesan Council, the Biennial Clergy-Laity Congress, and the Ladies Philoptochos Society
*Established departments of Church and Society and Youth Ministry
*Expanded work of Saint Michael’s Michael's Home for the Aged and [[St. Basil Academy (Garrison, New York)|Saint Basil Academy]]
*Founded the Archbishop Iakovos Leadership 100 Endowment Fund
*Guided the reorganization and accreditation of [[Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology (Brookline, Massachusetts)|Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology]] and established [[Hellenic College (Brookline, Massachusetts)|Hellenic College]]
*''A Breath of God, Portrait of a Prelate: A Biography of Archbishop Iakovos'', by George Poulos (Holy Cross Orthodox Press, 1984) (ISBN 0916586987)
*''Iakovos: The Making of an Archbishop''. Nikki Stephanopoulos, ed. (New York: Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, 1996)
*''Orthodox Theology and Diakonia: Essays in Honor of His Eminence Archbishop Lakovos on the Occasion of His Seventieth Birthday'', [[Demetrios Constantelos|Demetrios J. Constantelos]], ed. (Holy Cross Orthodox Press, 1981) (ISBN 0916586790)
==Quotations==
{{succession|
before=[[Michael (Konstantinides) of America|Michael (Konstantinides)]]|
title=[[Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America|Archbishop of North and South America]] (Greek)|
years=1959-1996|
after=[[Spyridon (Papageorge) of AmericaChaldea|Spyridon (Papageorge)]]}}
{{end box}}
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