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{{cleanup}}Archbishop His Beatitude '''Seraphim (Tikas) ''', Archbishop of Athens(b. Aug. 15, 1913, Artesianon, and All Greece--d. April 10, 1998, Athens, Greece), served as was the head of the Orthodox [[Church in of Greece ]] from 1974-1998. Conservative While he was conservative and anti-intellectual, he had a common touch that brought him great popularity. After receiving a degree in theology from the University of Athens in 1941, Seraphim was ordained a priest in 1942 and became active in the Greek resistance extremely popular due to his down-to the Nazi occupation. He established soup kitchens and orphanages and later fought with the Greek Democratic National Army resistance group. Seraphim became bishop of Arta in 1949 and of Ioannina in 1958-earth nature. In the latter post he took up the cause of the ethnic Greek minority in southern Albania, whose religious practices were being suppressed by the government. He also supported guerrillas fighting for the union of Cyprus with Greece in the 1950s. Even though Seraphim His tenure was chosen archbishop in a controversial election during the final months of the military dictatorship in transition between Greece, he was able to keep his post when democracy was restored. In the years that followed, he clashed with government leaders in his attempt to resist changes in society brought about by a lessening of the church's influence. Though his efforts were generally futile, he achieved a notable victory in the mid-1980s when he helped prevent the military dictatorship and democratic government from expropriating church landholdings. Seraphim's last years were marked by his opposition to Roman Catholic missionary activities in Eastern Europe and to other Orthodox leaders and by his resistance to his bishops' requests for his resignation.