Archbishop Damaskinos of Jaffa

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Archbishop Damaskinos of Jaffa and Arimathea is a senior bishop of the Orthodox Church of Jerusalem and a current member of the Holy Synod of Jerusalem.

Archbishop Damaskinos, whose Baptismal name is Anastasios, was born in Agia, Larissa, in 1952; went to Jerusalem in 1967; and was tonsured a monk in 1968. Archbishop Damaskinos was ordained to the Diaconate In 1970, to the Priesthood in 1977, and was elevated to Archimandrite in 1980.

During this time, the Archbishop simultaneously studied English literature at the University of Bethlehem and theology at the University of Thessalonica, receiving baccalaureate degrees from each in 1980. Archbishop Damaskinos was nominated to the Faculty of the University of Thessalonica In 1984, where he studied in the Postgraduate Department of the Byzantine History Department of the School of Philosophy.

During his ministry, Archbishop Damaskinos has served as Sacristan in the Church of the Holy Nativity in Bethlehem, Abbot of the Holy Temple of the Archangels in Jerusalem, and of the Holy Apostles in Tiberius. He has also served as Chairman of the Finance Committee, and a Professor in the Patriarchal School. In 1980, Archbishop Damaskinos was appointed Abbot of the Monastery of Saint Michael in Jaffa where he initiated and completed an extensive renovation. In 1996, he was appointed a member of the Sacred and Holy Synod; and In October 1998, he was elected and consecrated Archbishop of Jaffa and Arimathaea.

In 2001, he was appointed Exarch of the Holy Sepulcher in Greece and, in 2002, was appointed the Epitropos of the Holy Sepulcher in America.