Metropolis of Pittsburgh

The Metropolis of Pittsburgh 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 majority of Pennsylvania (except Greater Philadelphia), Central and Eastern Ohio, and all of West Virginia.

History

Prior to the establishment of metropolises as sub-organizations of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, Pittsburgh was designated in 1955 as the seat of the Sixth Archdiocese District of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of North and South America, and initially included parishes in Western and Central Pennsylvania, Ohio, Northern Kentucky, Michigan, West Virginia, and one parish each in New York and Ontario. Over the following two decades the boundaries shifted as additional Districts were formed. In 1979, the archdiocese was re-organized under a decree of the Ecumenical Patriarchate into a number of dioceses of which the Diocese of Pittsburgh replaced the 6th district, including the current canonical boundaries.

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 Pittsburgh became the Metropolis of Pittsburgh in December 2002.

Parishes and Monasteries

There are 51 parishes and missions [1] and four monasteries within the metropolis. The monasteries are:

St. Gregory Palamas Monastery at Perrysville, Ohio,
Nativity of the Theotokos Monastery at Saxonburg, Pennsylvania,
Holy Protection Monastery at White Haven, Pennsylvania, and
Entrance of the Theotokos Skete at Hayesville, Ohio.

Two monastic communities have closed since 2013, one in Cleveland, Ohio (St. Mary of Egypt) and one in Galion, Ohio (St. Theodore House).

Ruling hierarchs

The following are administrating hierarchs of the Metropolis of Pittsburgh and its predecessor organizations:

Sixth District

Bishop Polyevktos (Finfinis) of Tropaiou 1955-1960
Bishop Theodosios (Sideris) of Ancona 1960 - 1967
Bishop Gerasimos (Papadopoulos) of Abydos 1967 - 1977
Bishop Anthimos (Drakonakis) of Christoupolis 1977 - 1979

Diocese of Pittsburgh

Bishop Maximos (Aghiorgoussis) of Pittsburgh 1979 - 2002

(Elevated to "Metropolitan of Ainou and Presiding Hierarch of the Diocese of Pittsburgh" in 1997.)