Metropolis of Zimbabwe

The Holy Archdiocese of Zimbabwe and Angola and Southern Africa is an archdiocese under the jurisdiction of the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Alexandria and All Africa. The territory included in its jurisdiction are the countries of Zimbabwe and Angola.

History

The archdiocese was established from the Archdiocese of Johannesburg in 1968 with Kyrillos I (Papadopoulos) as the ruling hierarch. The bishopric was originally called Archdiocese of Rhodesia and Nyasaland, but was renamed after the end of the British rule in 1980 to Archdiocese of Zimbabwe and Southern Africa. With the election of Abp Seraphim in 2010, it received its current name. On November 1, 2006, Mozambique, that had been part of the Archdiocese of Zimbabwe, was established as a separate diocese.

Facilities

A missionary center, dedicated to St. Nectarios, is located in the Zimbabwe capital city of Harare. Another mission center, dedicated to St. Augustine, is under development in the city of Bulawayo. Two new churches are under construction dedicated to St. George and to Christ the Savior.

Ruling Bishops

• Kyrillos I (Papadopoulos) 1968–1986

(vacant)

• Crysostomos (Papadopoulos) 1990–1997
• Ioannis (Zachariou) 1997–1998
• Makarios (Tillyrides) 1998–2001

(lost territory to establish the Diocese of Zambia)

• Kyrillos II (Econompoulos) 2001–2002
• Theodoros (Choreftakis) 2002–2004
• George (Vladimirou) 2004–2010

(lost territory to the Archdiocese of Zambia and to establish the Diocese of Mozambique and the Diocese of Botswana)

• Seraphim (Kykkotis) 2010–Present

Sources

• Patriarchate of Alexandria Archdiocese website: Holy Archdiocese of Zimbabwe and Angola
• Official Archdiocese site
• Official Archdiocese site
• New Orthodox Archbishop of Johannesburg and Pretoria 8 October 2010