Archdiocese of Accra
The Holy Archdiocese of Accra is a diocese under the jurisdiction of the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Alexandria and All Africa. Its territory includes the parishes and missions located in the nations of Ghana, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Senegal, Mali, Burkina Faso, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, and Gambia.
The missionary origins of the archdiocese date from the establishment of the Holy Metropolis of Accra and West Africa on January 23, 1959.[[1]] The archdiocese was initially established as the Diocese of Ghana by a Patriarchal and Synodal decree in 1997. On November 30, 1999, Bishop Panteleimon was elected the first bishop of Ghana and took up residence in the diocese on January 18, 2000. In 2004, Bishop Damaskinos succeeded him as the diocesan bishop.
On June 26, 2008, His Beatitude Theodoros II, Pope and Patriarch of Alexandria and All Africa opened the Seminary of the Holy Metropolis of Ghana to serve the theological education needs of the metropolis.
The Diocese of Ghana was elevated to an archdiocese with the title of Archdiocese of Accra by a Patriarchal decree on October 6, 2009.
Archdiocese structure
The archdiocese is divided into five hierarchal districts:
- The region of the broader area of Accra.
- The region of central Ghana.
- The region of eastern Ghana.
- The region of Ashanti and Volta.
- The region of the Ivory Coast.
Ruling Bishops
- Efstathios (Efstathopoulos) 1959–1976
- Irenaeus (Talambekos) 1976–1990
- Petros I (Papapetrou) 1990–1997
- Panteleimon (Lampadarios) 1997–2004
- Damaskinos (Papandreou) 2004–2010
(lost territory to establish the Diocese of Sierra Leone)
- George (Vladimirou) 2010–2012
- Sabbas (Heimonetos) 2012–2015
- Narcissus (Gamo) 2015–2019
- Petros II (Parginos) 2019–Present
Sources
- Patriarchate of Alexandria Diocese website
- ORI: Bishop Panteleimon (Lampadarios) of Ghana
- New Orthodox Archbishop of Johannesburg and Pretoria 8 October 2010
- Holy Archbishopric of Accra Archdiocese web site
