Metropolitan Ieronymos of Thebes and Levadeia elected Archbishop of Athens and Primate of the Church of Greece
On Thursday, February 7, 2008, His Eminence, Metropolitan Ieronymos of Thebes and Levadeia was elected Archbishop of Athens and Primate of the Church of Greece by the Church’s Holy Synod.
Metropolitan Ieronymos was born in 1938. He is a graduate of the University of Athens’ School of Philosophy, majoring in Archaeology, and the School of Theology. After completing his studies at the University of Athens, he did research in Byzantine studies through a Greek state scholarship and post-graduate work in Austria and Germany. He was also the recipient of an honorary doctorate from the University of Craiova in Romania for his work on health-related issues in the Metropolis of Thebes and Levadeia.
His Eminence was ordained a deacon and a priest in 1967. He served as assistant to the Metropolitan of Thebes and Levadeia from 1967 to 1978. From 1978 to 1981, he was chief secretary of the Holy Synod of the Church of Greece. From 1971 to 1981 he also served as abbot of two monasteries in the Metropolis of Thebes and Levadeia. He was elected Metropolitan of Thebes and Levadeia in 1981.
Metropolitan Ieronymos has worked on Church committees dealing with religious education, church property, Church-state relations, and Church scholarships. He was also vice-chairman of the Church of Greece’s radio station.
Under his archpastoral care the Metropolis of Thebes and Levadeia saw the establishment of boarding schools, orphanages, a foster care program, shelters for the elderly, rehabilitation centers for the mentally challenged, a training centre for children with special needs, a drug abuse prevention centre, parish cultural centers, youth centers, a Metropolis Church camp and food banks. He was also instrumental in the revitalization of six men’s monasteries and 17 women’s monasteries in the Metropolis.
Metropolitan Ieronymos was involved in the establishment of the Viotia History and Culture Research Centre which collaborates with the universities of Durham and Cambridge. Additionally, he helped found a Population Awareness Centre on environmental and economic migrants’ issues in his home town of Oinofyta, and he is president of the Hellenic Heart Foundation (ELIKAR), a public benefit foundation.
In the Greek Church’s Synodal election process, a candidate for Archbishop must garner an overall majority of votes - 38 of a possible 75 - to be elected. If this does not happen, the candidate with the smallest number of votes will be eliminated and a second round of voting will be held. If a candidate does not win an overall majority in the second round, a third round is held. Metropolitan Ieronymos, who was also a candidate 10 years ago against the late Archbishop Christodoulos, won 45 of 74 votes in the second round of voting.
Based on information from ecclesia.gr, ana.com, and christianitytoday.com.