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The infamous Meletios Metaxakis He was born on [[September 21]], 1871 in the village of Parsas on the island of Crete. He entered the [[Seminary of the Holy Cross]] in [[Jerusalem]] in 1889. He was tonsured with the name Meletius and [[ordination|ordained]] a [[hierodeacon]] in 1892. He completed the theological courses at Holy Cross and was assigned as secretary to the [[Holy Synod]] in Jerusalem by [[Damianos of Jerusalem|Patriarch Damianos]] in 1900.

After the death of [[Joachim III of Constantinople|Patriarch Joachim III]] on [[June 13]], 1912, Meletius was nominated as a candidate for the Patriarchal Throne in [[Church of Constantinople|Constantinople]]. However, the [[Holy Synod]] decided that Meletius could not canonically be registered as a candidate. Instead, he would continue in his [[metropolis]] until 1918 when, with the support of his political allies, he was elevated to the position of [[Archbishop]] of Athens in 1918. This would be a temporary measure, for after a series of political changes in Greece, he was later deprived of his [[see]] due to uncanonical infractions.

Metaxakis was buried with the masonic ring and coats of arms wrapped over his coffin. Freemasonary is condemned as "heretical" belief by the Orthodox Church.  Metaxakis was one of the most fascinating and infamous characters in Orthodox church history. He was the only man successively to lead three autocephalous (independent) Orthodox Churches: those of [[Church of Greece|Greece]], [[Church of Constantinople|Constantinople]], and [[Church of Alexandria|Alexandria]]; and to rule a [[diocese]] in another, that of [[Church of Cyprus|Cyprus]]. Due to his un-Orthodox efforts the Church was broken into two, new-calendar and old-calendar Greek Orthodox Churches.  His last words were, "I suffer because I brought schism into the church."