Metropolis of Polyani and Kilkis
The Holy Metropolis of Polyani and Kilkis, also Metropolis of Polyanis and Kilkisiou and Metropolis of Polyani and Kilkision, is one of the metropolises of the New Lands in Greece that is within the jurisdiction of the Church of Constantinople but de facto is administered for practical reasons as part of the Church of Greece under an agreement between the churches of Athens and Constantinople. The metropolis is located in northern Greece in Greek Central Macedonia.
Contents
History
The formation of dioceses in the area of the city of Kikis was evident from the fourth century when two dioceses appeared under the jurisdiction the Metropolis of Thessalonica, one, the Diocese of Dovirou in the area of today's Dojran and another south of Kilkis. It was the tenth century before a Diocese of Polyanis was mentioned. Over the following centuries variants of the name Polyanis appeared in historical accounts. As Ottoman control of the area weaken in the last decades of the nineteenth century, the status of the dioceses of the area wavered among the Greeks, Serbians, and Bulgarians which influenced the integrity of the Diocese of Polyanis.
The Treaty of Bucharest, in 1913, that marked the end of the Balkan Wars, established borders upon which the Greek populated Diocese of Polyanis was formed with its seat in Kilkis. The diocese was further populated with refugees in 1922, following the population exchange after the catastrophe in Asia Minor, within boundaries for the metropolis established by the Ecumenical Patriarchate in 1924. At that time the Diocese of Polyanis was partitioned, and renamed the Metropolis of Polyanis and Kilkisiou, to form a new Metropolis of Goumenissa, Axioupolis and Polykastron.
Metropolitans
- Emmanuel (Sigalas) 2009 - Present
- Apostolos (Papakonstantinou) 1991 - 2009 [1]
- Ambrose 1989 - 1991
- Chariton (Symeonides) 1945 - 1989 [2]
- Joachim (Smirniotis) 1945 - 1965
- Joachim (Martianos) 1942 - 1945
- Cyril (Afentoulidis) 1928 - 1942
- Photios (Madytos) 1904 - 1928 (First primate of the present metropolis)
Monastery
- Monastery of St. George at Lofos For Women
