Metropolis of Chicago

The Metropolis of Chicago is a metropolis of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America in the United States of America, under the jurisdiction of the Church of Constantinople. The metropolis includes the group of states in the western part of the Mid-west region of the United States.

History

The origin of the Metropolis of Chicago is traced back to the formal organization of the parishes in the Americas by the Ecumenical Patriarchate in the mid twentieth century. The Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of North and South America was formally established in 1921 and came under the jurisdiction of the Ecumenical Patriarchate in 1922 with jurisdiction over Greek Orthodox parishes in the Western Hemisphere. The first identification of the city of Chicago as a hierarchal see was the appointment of Bishop Philaret (Ioannides) as Bishop of Chicago in 1923.

In 1968, the Chicago area was designated the Second Archdiocese District of the Greek Archdiocese of North and South America which was administered by assistant Bishops and Archdiocesan Vicars. In 1979, the archdiocese was re-organized under a decree of the Ecumenical Patriarchate into a number of dioceses of which the second district was designated the Diocese of Chicago. The area of the diocese included the states of Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, and Wisconsin.

In 1996, the Archdiocese of North and South America was split into four separate archdioceses: those of America, Canada, Central America, and South America. With the establishment of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, the title of the dioceses was changed to metropolises and the Diocese of Chicago became the Metropolis of Chicago.

Parishes and Monasteries

There are fifty-nine parishes[1] and two monasteries within the metropolis. The monasteries are:

Holy Transfiguration Greek Orthodox Monastery in Harvard, Illinois.
Holy Monastery of St. John Chrysostomos in Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin.

Ruling Hierarchs

Bishop Philaret (Ioannides) of Chicago 1923 – 1930
Bishop Gerasimos of Chicago 1943 – 1954

Second District

Bishop Aimilianos (Laloussis) 1960 – 19xx

Diocese of Chicago

Bishop Iakovos (Garmatis) of Chicago 1979 – 1997
Metropolitan Iakovos (Garmatis) of Krinis and Exarch of Ionias 1997 – 2002