| Athenagoras I | |
|---|---|
| Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople | |
Statue of the Ecumenical Patriarch Athenagoras I of Constantinople in Chania (Crete). |
|
| Enthroned | November 1, 1948 |
| Reign ended | July 7, 1972 |
| Predecessor | Maximos V |
| Successor | Demetrios I |
| Personal details | |
| Birth name | Aristocles Spyrou |
| Born | 6 April [O.S. 25 March] 1886 Vasilikón, Epirus, Greece |
| Died | July 7, 1972 (aged 86) Phanar, Istanbul, Turkey |
Ecumenical Patriarch Athenagoras I (Greek: Αθηναγόρας Α'), born Aristocles Spyrou (Greek: Αριστοκλής Σπύρου; 6 April [O.S. 25 March] 1886 – July 7, 1972) was the 268th Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople from 1948 to 1972.
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Patriarch Athenagoras was born on April 6 [O.S. March 25] 1886 into an Albanian,[1] Aromanian[2] or Greek family[3] as Aristocles Spyrou in Vasiliko, near Ioannina, Epirus (then Ottoman Empire). He was the son of the village doctor and his mother died when he was only 13. He attended the Patriarchical Theological School at Halki, Turkey, graduating in 1910. Upon graduating he was tonsured a monk, given the name Athenagoras, and ordained to the diaconate. He served as archdeacon of the Diocese of Pelagonia before becoming the secretary to Archbishop Meletius (Metaxakis) of Athens in 1919. While still a deacon, he was elected the Metropolitan of Corfu in 1922 and straightway raised to the episcopacy.
Returning from a fact-finding trip to the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese in America in 1930, Metropolitan Damaskinos recommended to Patriarch Photios II that he appoint Metropolitan Athenagoras to the position of Archbishop of North and South America as the best person to bring harmony to the American diocese. The patriarch made the appointment on August 30, 1930.
When Archbishop Athenagoras assumed his new position on February 24, 1931, he was faced with the task of bringing unity and harmony to a diocese that was racked with dissension between Royalists and Republicans (Venizelists), who had virtually divided the country into separate dioceses. To correct that, he centralized the ecclesiastical administration in the Archdiocese offices with all other bishops serving as auxiliaries, appointed to assist the archbishop, without dioceses and administrative rights of their own. He actively worked with his communities to establish harmony. He expanded the work of the clergy-laity congresses and founded the Holy Cross School of Theology. Through his capable and fatherly leadership he withstood early opposition and gained the love and devotion of his people.
In 1938, Athenagoras was naturalized as a United States citizen.[4] On November 1, 1948, he was elected Patriarch of Constantinople at the age of 61.[5] In January 1949, he was honored to be flown in the personal airplane of the American president Harry Truman to Istanbul, Turkey to assume his new position. As Patriarch, he was actively involved with the World Council of Churches and improving relations with the Roman Catholic Pontiff, the Pope of Rome.
He was hospitalized on July 6, 1972 for a broken hip, but died from kidney failure in Istanbul (Constantinople) the following day at the age of 86.[6]
His meeting with Pope Paul VI in 1964 in Jerusalem led to rescinding the excommunications of 1054 which historically mark the Great Schism, the schism between the churches of the East and West. This was a significant step towards restoring communion between Rome and Constantinople and the other patriarchates of Orthodoxy. It produced the Catholic–Orthodox Joint Declaration of 1965, which was read out on December 7, 1965, simultaneously at a public meeting of the Second Vatican Council in Rome and at a special ceremony in Constantinople.
The controversial declaration did not end the 1054 schism, but rather showed a desire for greater reconciliation between the two churches, as represented by Pope Paul VI and Ecumenical Patriarch Athenagoras I. Not all Orthodox leaders, however, received the declaration with joy. Metropolitan Philaret's 1965 epistle to the Patriarch openly challenged his efforts at repproachmant with the Roman Catholic Church fearing it would lead to heresy.
| Orthodox Church titles | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Alexander |
Archbishop of America 1931–1948 |
Succeeded by Michael |
| Preceded by Maximus V |
Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople 1948–1972 |
Succeeded by Demetrius I |