Orthodox Archdiocese of Italy

The Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Italy (and Malta from 2005 until the creation of the Exarchate of
Malta in 2021),[1] officially the Sacred Orthodox Archdiocese of Italy and Exarchate of Southern
Europe (Italian: Sacra Arcidiocesi Ortodossa d'Italia ed Esarcato per l'Europa Meridionale), is a diocese
of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople with its see in Venice.[2] The diocese was created in
1991. The current archbishop and exarch is Polykarpos Stavropoulos.[3]

History
The Italo-Byzantine
Monastery of St Mary of
Grottaferrata, 20
kilometers south of Rome,
was founded by Saint
Nilus the Younger in
1004.[4]

After the fall of

Cathedral church of Saint George of the
Greeks in Venice
completed in 1573 and is the oldest of the churches of the Greek diaspora in western Europe.[6]
Constantinople, many
Greeks sought refuge in
Italy and the Ecumenical
Patriarchate of
Constantinople appointed
a series of Metropolitans,
Archbishop Polykarpos
who resided in Venice
Stavropoulos
from 1537 to 1797. But it
was not until 1539 that
the Greek community of
Venice was authorised to begin building the church of San
Giorgio dei Greci which still stands in the centre of the city on
the canal known as the Rio dei Greci.[5] The church was

In 1557, Venice's Greek community had nominated Pachomios, bishop of Zante and Cephalonia, to act in
their church as bishop, which he apparently did for one year only.[7] In 1577 a Greek Orthodox archbishop
resided in Venice who was recognized him as the religious head of the Greek Orthodox community in
Venice, though with the non-Venetian title of Archbishop of Philadelphia.[8]

Archbishops of Italy
Spyridon Papageorgiou (1991–1996)
Gennadios Zervos (1996–2020)
 Polykarpos Stavropoulos (since 2021)

See also
Eastern Orthodoxy in Italy
Greek Orthodox Church
San Giovanni Theristis

References
1. "New Exarchate of Ecumenical Patriarchate in Malta | Orthodox Times (En)" (https://orthodox
times.com/new-exarcate-of-ecumenical-patriarchate-was-created-in-malta/).
2. "Sacra Arcidiocesi Ortodossa d'Italia e Malta" (http://www.ortodossia.it/w/index.php?option=c
om_content&view=article&id=509:amministrazione3&catid=143:informazioni&lang=it).
www.ortodossia.it. Retrieved 2020-09-17.
3. "Exclusive: This is the new Metropolitan of Italy | Orthodox Times (En)" (https://orthodoxtime
s.com/exclusive-this-is-the-new-metropolitan-of-italy/).
4. "History and Origins of the Exarchic Greek Abbey of St. Mary of Grottaferrata - Basilian
Monks" (https://www.abbaziagreca.it/en/origins/origins.asp). www.abbaziagreca.it. Retrieved
2020-09-17.
5. "Venice Art & Culture: San Giorgio dei Greci" (https://www.facarospauls.com/apps/venice-art
-and-culture/8380/san-giorgio-dei-greci). www.facarospauls.com. Retrieved 2020-09-17.
6. Nicol, Donald M. (1988). Byzantium and Venice: A Study in Diplomatic and Cultural
Relations (https://books.google.com/books?id=rymIUITIYdwC). Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press. ISBN 0-521-34157-4.
7. A Companion to Venetian History, 1400-1797 (https://books.google.com/books?isbn=90042
52525) (first ed.). Eric R. Dursteler. July 11, 2013. p. 992. ISBN 978-90-04-25251-6.
Retrieved April 24, 2018.
8. Nili, Cohen; Heldrich, Andreas (October 10, 2002). The Three Religions: Interdisciplinary
Conference of Tel Aviv University and Munich University (https://books.google.com/books?is
bn=9783896759764). Venice. p. 200. ISBN 9783896759764. Retrieved April 24, 2018.

Bibliography
Kiminas, Demetrius (2009). The Ecumenical Patriarchate: A History of Its Metropolitanates
with Annotated Hierarch Catalogs (https://books.google.com/books?id=QLWqXrW2X-8C).
Wildside Press LLC. ISBN 9781434458766.

External links
Official website (http://www.ortodossia.it/w/index.php?lang=it)

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