Philaret (Ioannides) of Syros
His Eminence, Philaret (Ioannides) also Philaretos, was the first ruling Bishop of Chicago under the jurisdiction of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of North and South America of the Ecumenical Patriarchate that now is the Metropolis of Chicago. He served from 1923 until he was appointed Metropolitan of Syros in Greece.
Life
The early years of Bp. Philaret's life are not known. Before 1921, Fr. Philaret was the priest at Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church in San Francisco. In June 1921, parishioners from Holy Trinity, who were supporters of the Greek prime minister Eleftherios Venizelos, established the Church of St. Sophia in San Francisco. At the request of the leaders of the St. Sophia community, Fr. Philaret was appointed the first priest at St. Sophia and also served as the president of the first board of trustees.
On June 1, 1923, Fr. Philaret was consecrated the first Bishop of Chicago. Also, before the election of Fr. Kallistos (Papageorgapoulos) as the first Greek bishop of San Francisco in 1927, Bp. Philaret served concurrently as “locum tenens” for the Bishop of San Francisco from June 1, 1923 until August 7, 1927. During the time that Bp. Philaret served in Chicago he received a Doctor of Divinity degree at Episcopal Seminary of Nashotah in Wisconsin.
On November 6, 1930, Bp. Philaret was elected to be Metropolitan of Syros on the Greek island in the Cyclades southeast of Athens, and departed Chicago after a farewell dinner in November 1930.
Metropolitan Philaret retired on November 11, 1960. He fell asleep in the Lord on June 8, 1961.
| Philaret (Ioannides) of Syros | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by: — |
Bishop of Chicago 1923-1930 |
Succeeded by: ? |
| Preceded by: ? |
Metropolitan of Syros 1930-1960 |
Succeeded by: ? |
