Archdiocese of Accra
- This article is for the diocese created in 1997. For the bishopric called “Accra” between 1959 and 1997 in Yaoundé, see Archdiocese of Cameroon.
The Holy Archdiocese of Accra and West Africa is a diocese under the jurisdiction of the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Alexandria and All Africa. Its territory includes the parishes and missions located in the nations of Ghana, Ivory Coast, Mali, and Burkina Faso.
The missionary origins of the archdiocese date from the establishment of the Archdiocese of Accra in 1959, which was in Yaoundé, French Cameroon. At that time, Ghana was transitioning from the British rule to a socialist government, and the possibility of hostility towards Greeks made the archdiocese to be formed in French Cameroon, where independence was being gained by a rather conservative movement.
The city of Accra officially received a bishopric in 1997 with the Diocese of Ghana being established by a Patriarchal and Synodal decree in 1997 under the now-called Archdiocese of Cameroon. On November 30, 1999, Bishop Panteleimon was elected the first bishop of Ghana and took up residence in the diocese on January 18, 2000. In 2004, Bishop Damaskinos succeeded him as the diocesan bishop. The Diocese of Ghana was elevated to an archdiocese by a Patriarchal decree on October 6, 2009.
On June 26, 2008, His Beatitude Theodoros II, Pope and Patriarch of Alexandria and All Africa opened the Seminary of the Holy Metropolis of Ghana to serve the theological education needs of the metropolis.
Archdiocese structure
The archdiocese is divided into five hierarchal districts:
- The region of the broader area of Accra.
- The region of central Ghana.
- The region of eastern Ghana.
- The region of Ashanti and Volta.
- The region of the Ivory Coast.
Ruling Bishops
- Panteleimon (Lampadarios) 1999–2004
- Damaskinos (Papandreou) 2004–2010
(lost territory to establish the Diocese of Sierra Leone)
- George (Vladimirou) 2010–2012
- Savvas (Heimonetos) 2012–2015
- Narkissos (Gammoh) 2015–2019
- Petros II (Parginos) 2019–Present
Sources
- Patriarchate of Alexandria Diocese website
- ORI: Bishop Panteleimon (Lampadarios) of Ghana
- New Orthodox Archbishop of Johannesburg and Pretoria 8 October 2010
- Holy Archbishopric of Accra Archdiocese web site
