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Before the establishment of a Greek Archdiocese in the Western Hemisphere there were numerous communities of Greek Orthodox Christians. The first Greek Orthodox community in the Americas was founded in New Orleans, Louisiana by a small colony of Greek merchants. History also records that on [[June 26]], 1768, the first Greek colonists landed at St. Augustine, Florida, the oldest city in America. The first permanent community was founded in New York City in 1892, today’s Archdiocesan Cathedral of the Holy Trinity and the See of the Archbishop of America. The Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of North and South America was incorporated in 1921 and officially recognized by the State of New York in 1922.
The Greek Archdiocese was initially dependent on the [[Church of Greece]] but later transferred to the jurisdiction of the [[Church of Constantinople]]. Later in the 20th centuryIn 1996, the one Archdiocese was split by the Ecumenical PatriarchPatriarchate, dividing the administration of the two continents into multiple four parts (America, Canada, Central America, and South America) and leaving only the territory of the United States for the Archdiocese of America.
== Recent History ==
In recent years, there has been much tension between the Archdiocese and the current Ecumenical Patriarch, [[Bartholomew I (Archontonis) of Constantinople|Bartholomew I]], especially regarding the level of autonomy the former has with regard to the latter. One of the important incidents in this ongoing tension was the allegedly forced retirement in 1996 of Archbishop [[Iakovos (Coucouzis) of America|Iakovos]] after his leadership during the [[Ligonier Meeting]] in 1994, where many of the Orthodox hierarchs in America came together to begin the formation of a unified Orthodox Church of America. Iakovos was replaced with Archbishop [[Spyridon (George) of America|Spyridon]], whose tempestuous tenure as archbishop lasted only 3 years, seeing his (again allegedly forced) retirement in 1999 and replacement by the current Archbishop, [[Demetrios (Trakatellis) of America|Demetrios]].
The Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America is composed of an Archdiocesan District (New York City) and eight Metropolises: New Jersey, Chicago, Atlanta, Detroit, San Francisco, Pittsburgh, Boston and Denver. It is governed by the Archbishop and the Eparchial Synod of Bishops. The Synod of Bishops is headed by the Archbishop and comprised of the Bishops who oversee the ministry of the Metropolises. It has all the authority and responsibility which the Church canons provide for a provincial synod.
There are 540 570 [[parish]]es, 800 [[priest]]s and approximately 1.5 million [[faithful]] in the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America. The Archdiocese receives within its ranks and under its spiritual aegis and pastoral care Orthodox Christians, who either as individuals or as organized groups in Metropolises and Parishes have voluntarily come to it and which acknowledge the ecclesiastical and canonical jurisdiction of the [[Church of Constantinople|Ecumenical Patriarchate]]. The Archdiocese also includes 21 monastic communities, 16 of which were founded by [[Elder Ephraim]] (former abbot of [[Philotheou Monastery (Athos)]]. The largest of these is [[St. Anthony's Greek Orthodox Monastery (Florence, Arizona)]].
