Ieronymos II of Athens

Ieronymos II (Greek: Ιερώνυμος B’, romanized: Ierōnymos II, pronounced [ʝeˈronimos]; born 10 March 1938) is the Archbishop of Athens and All Greece and as such the primate of the Autocephalous Orthodox Church of Greece. He was elected on 7 February 2008.[1]

His Beatitude

Ieronymos II
Archbishop of Athens
Native name
Ιερώνυμος B΄
ChurchChurch of Greece
SeeAthens
Installed7 February 2008
PredecessorChristodoulos
Other postsMetropolitan of Thebes and Levadeia (1981–2008)
Orders
Ordination10 December 1967
Consecration4 October 1981
Personal details
Birth nameIoannis Liapis
Born (1938-03-10) 10 March 1938
Oinofyta, Boeotia, Greece
NationalityGreek
DenominationGreek Orthodoxy
ProfessionTheologian
Alma materUniversity of Athens
University of Graz
University of Regensburg
University of Munich

Early life and career

He was born Ioannis Liapis (Greek: Ιωάννης Λιάπης, Iōánnēs Liápēs) in Oinofyta, Boeotia.[2] He is an Arvanite.[3]

Ieronymos holds degrees in archaeology, Byzantine studies, and theology from the University of Athens. He has undertaken postgraduate studies at the University of Graz, the University of Regensburg and the University of Munich.[2] Following a stint as lector in Christian archaeology at the Athens Archaeological Society under professor Anastasios Orlandos, he taught as a philologist in Lycée Léonin and he was ordained deacon and then presbyter in the Orthodox Church in 1967.[2]

Ieronymos served as Protosyncellus of the Metropolis of Thebes and Livadeia, abbot of the monasteries of the Transfiguration of Sagmata and Hosios Loukas, and Secretary, later Archsecretary, of the Holy Synod of the Church of Greece. In 1981 he was elected Metropolitan Bishop of Thebes and Levadeia. In addition to his pastoral ministry, Ieronymos has been pursuing his work on Christian archaeology and has published two major textbooks: "Medieval Monuments of Euboea" (1970), and "Christian Boeotia" (2006). In 1998, he unsuccessfully contested the election to the throne of the archbishopric of Athens.[2]

On 7 February 2008, Ieronymos was elected the new Archbishop of Athens and All Greece by the Holy Synod of the Church of Greece,[4] receiving 45 out of 74 votes in a two-ballot process.[5] He formally took office on 16 February 2008.

As of 2016, Ieronymos, is involved in a dispute with Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople over who has ecclesiastical authority over certain parts of Greece.[6]

On 16 April 2016, he visited, together with Pope Francis and Bartholomew I of Constantinople, the Mòria camp in the island of Lesbos, to call the attention of the world to the refugee issue.[7]

Titles
Styles of
Archbishop Ieronymos II of Athens
Reference styleHis Beatitude
Spoken styleYour Beatitude (Makariótate), Déspota
Religious styleArchbishop

The official title of the Archbishop of Athens and All Greece is:

His Beatitude Ieronymos II, Archbishop of Athens and All Greece;

in Greek:

Η Αυτού Μακαριότης ο Αρχιεπίσκοπος Αθηνών και Πάσης Ελλάδος Ιερώνυμος Β'

Social and political views

In 2012, Ieronymos criticized racism, antisemitism, Islamophobia and the Golden Dawn party, saying that "The church loves all people, including those who are black, white or non-Christians."[8]

Notes and references
  1. "Greek Orthodox bishops elect leader" Archived 2008-02-13 at the Wayback Machine, CNN.com/europe. Accessed 7 February 2008.
  2. "Ο μητροπολίτης Θηβών εξελέγη νέος Αρχιεπίσκοπος", (in Greek), Accessed 7 February 2008.
  3. Bintliff, John (2003), "The Ethnoarchaeology of a “Passive” Ethnicity: The Arvanites of Central Greece" in K.S. Brown and Yannis Hamilakis, eds., The Usable Past: Greek Metahistories, Lexington Books. p.139
  4. "Bulletin of the Church of Greece. Accessed 7 February 2008.
  5. "New Leader Named for Greek Orthodox Church, New York Times, 2008-02-07
  6. "Pope Francis skips many niceties in announcing a visit to Lesbos". The Economist. Retrieved 14 April 2018.
  7. Pope Francis visits Lesbos. The Guardian. Published: 16 April 2016
  8. "Greek Jews fight neo-Nazi party".
Eastern Orthodox Church titles
Preceded by
Christodoulos		 Archbishop of Athens and All Greece
2008 – present		 Incumbent
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