Metropolis of Denver
The Metropolis of Denver 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 belt of states in the Rocky Mountains and upper plains area of the United States.
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History
The origin of the Metropolis of Denver 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.
Prior to 1968, the parishes in the present area of the Metropolis of Denver were under the jurisdiction of the Greek Orthodox Bishop of San Francisco. In 1968, this area became the Eighth Archdiocese District of the Greek Archdiocese of North and South America which was administered by Assistant Bishops and Archdiocesan Vicars. The headquarters of the district was located initially in New Orleans in 1960 before moving to Houston, Texas in 1967. In 1974, the headquarters was moved to Denver, Colorado.
In 1979, the archdiocese was re-organized under a decree of the Ecumenical Patriarchate into a number of dioceses of which one was the Diocese of Denver, replacing the 8th district. The area of the diocese included the states of Colorado, Idaho, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, and Wyoming, as well as the western parts of Louisiana and Missouri[1].
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 Denver became the Metropolis of Denver.
Parishes and Monasteries
There are fifty parishes[2], two chapels, and two monasteries within the metropolis. The monasteries are:
- Holy Archangels Greek Orthodox Monastery in Kendalia, Texas
- St. Paraskevi Greek Orthodox Monastery in Washington, Texas
Ruling Hierarchs
The following are administrating hierarchs and vicars of the Metropolis of Denver and its predecessor organizations:
Eighth District
- Bishop Silas (Koskinas) of Amphipolis 1960-1965
- Bishop Iakovos of Catania 1968-70
- Reverend William Gaines 1971
- Bishop John (Kallos) of Thermon 1972-1979
Diocese of Denver
- Bishop Anthony of Amissos 1979
- Very Reverend Kallistos Samaras 1980
- Bishop Kallistos of Zelon 1982
- Bishop Philip (Koutoufas) of Daphnousia 1983
- Bishop Anthimos (Draconakis) of Denver 1984-1987 (enthroned first Bishop of Denver)
- Bishop Kallistos (Samaras) of Zelon 1988-1991
- Reverend Nicholas Triantafilou 1991-1992
- Bishop Isaiah (Chronopoulos) 1992 -1997 (enthroned second Bishop of Denver)
Metropolis of Denver
- Metropolitan Isaiah 1997-Present
