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On [[November 5]], 1985, Fr. Spyridon was elected the [[Titular bishop|titular Bishop]] of Apameia by the [[Holy Synod]] of the Ecumenical Patriarchate. He was [[consecration of a bishop|consecrated]] [[bishop]] on the following [[November 24]] at the [[Patriarchal Church of Saint George (Phanar)|Patriarchal Cathedral of St. George]] and assigned as an [[auxiliary bishop]] to the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Austria and Exarchate of Italy. In November 1991, the Holy Synod elected Bp. Spyridon the first metropolitan for the newly created [[Archdiocese of Italy and Malta|Archdiocese of Italy and Exarchate of Southern Europe]]. During his tenure as metropolitan, he reintroduced Orthodox [[monasticism]] in Italy following a lapse of many centuries.
On [[July 30]], 1996, Metr. Spyridon was elected Archbishop of America by the Holy Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, presided over by Ecumenical Patriarch [[Bartholomew I (Archontonis) of Constantinople|Bartholomew]]. On [[September 21]], 1996, Archbishop Spyridon was [[enthronmententhronement|enthroned]] at the Archdiocesan Cathedral of the Holy Trinity in New York City, the fifth archbishop to be enthroned since the establishment of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese by the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople in 1922, and the first American-born Archbishop of America.
As archbishop, Abp. Spyridon focused his strategic policy on the pressing issue of the survival of Orthodoxy and Hellenism within the Greek American community. In this, he took bold initiatives in dealing with vital matters affecting the [[GOARCH|Greek Orthodox Church of America]] including Greek education, Orthodox theological training, the Greek American lobby, and the administration of the Archdiocese.
