Panteleimon (Kontogiannis) of Belgium

From OrthodoxWiki
Revision as of 17:57, July 17, 2005 by ASDamick (talk | contribs) (wikification, image, cleanup, copyedit)
Jump to: navigation, search
Metr. Panteleimon

His Eminence the Most Reverend Metropolitan Panteleimon (Kontogiannis) of Belgium is the diocesan bishop (1982-present) of the Ecumenical Patriarchate's Archdiocese of Belgium.

Metr. Panteleimon, Nikolaos Kontogiannis, was born on February 7, 1935, in Chios, Greece). In 1957, he successfully graduated with a Master degree in Theology from the Theological Institute of Halki in Turkey). On November 28, 1954, he was ordained deacon by Metropolitan Iakovos of Ikonium, who also gave him the name of Panteleimon. The same metropolitan ordained him as priest on October 18, 1957.

Since 1957, he has served in Belgium and has created different parishes. He was promoted as archimandrite and then Epsicopal Vicar of the Archdiocese of France for Belgium and Luxembourg. When the Ecumenical Patriarchate created the Archdiocese of Belgium and Exarchate of the Netherlands and Luxemburg, he was named as its first chancellor. In 1974, he was unanimously elected by the Holy Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople as auxiliary bishop of the Metropolitan of Belgium with the title of Bishop of Apollonia. In December of 1982, he was unanimously elected by the Holy Synod as Metropolitan of Belgium.