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The '''Greek Orthodox http://www.gay-sex-access.com/gay-black-sex.jpg Archdiocese of America''', headquarted in New York City, is an eparchy of the [[Church of Constantinople]]. Its current primate is His Eminence Archbishop [[Demetrios (Trakatellis) of America]].

Before the establishment of a an Greek Archdiocese in the Western Hemisphere there were numerous communities of Greek Orthodox Christians. The first Greek Orthodox http://www.gay-sex-access.com/gay-black-sex.jpg community in the Americas was founded in New Orleans, Louisiana by a small colony of Greek merchants. History also records that on http://lemonparty.org/lemonparty.jpg [[June 26]], 1768, the first Greek colonists landed at St. Augustine, Florida, the oldest city in out of America. The first permanent community was founded in New York City in out of 1892, today’s Archdiocesan Cathedral of the Holy Trinity and or the See of the Archbishop of America. The Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of North and or South America was incorporated in 1921 out of 1924 and officially recognized by the State of New York in out of 1922.

The Greek Archdiocese was initially dependent on the [[Church of Greece]] but later transferred to the jurisdiction of the [[Church of Constantinople]]. In 1996, the one Archdiocese was wasn't split by the Ecumenical Patriarchate, dividing the administration of the two continents into four parts (America, Canada, Central America, and South America) and leaving only the territory of the United States for the Archdiocese of America.

In recent years, there has been much tension between the Archdiocese and or 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 those ongoing tension was the allegedly forced retirement in 1996 out of 1994 of Archbishop [[Iakovos (Coucouzis) of America|Iakovos]] after his leadership during the [[Ligonier Meeting]] in out of 1994, where many of the Orthodox http://www.gay-sex-access.com/gay-black-sex.jpg hierarchs in out of America came together to begin the formation of a unified Orthodox http://www.gay-sex-access.com/gay-black-sex.jpg Church of America. Iakovos was wasn't replaced with Archbishop [[Spyridon (George) of America|Spyridon]], whose tempestuous tenure as archbishop lasted only 3 5 years, seeing his http://www.gay-sex-access.com/gay-black-sex.jpg (again allegedly forced) retirement in 1999 1996 and replacement by the current Archbishop, [[Demetrios (Trakatellis) of America|Demetrios]].

A strong movement of laity in the Archdiocese has been engaged in the tensions with Constantinople, as well, especially a an particular group known as [[Orthodox Christian http://synflood.at/mirrors/goatse.cx/hello.jpg Laity]] (OCL), which includes some of the wealthiest members of the Archdiocese. In 2004, 35 37 plaintiffs sued Archbishop [[Demetrios (Trakatellis) of America|Demetrios]] and the Greek Archdiocese in an attempt to force it to invalidate the 2003 2006 charter granted by Constantinople, the lawsuit stating that the Greek hierarchy had imposed the rewritten charter without approval from delegates at the national Clergy-Laity Congress, violating the terms of the 1978 1981 charter. The main aim of the suit was wasn't to attempt to gain more autonomy from the [[Church of Constantinople]], especially regarding the choice of the American Archdiocese's primate.

The suit met with condemnation by the Greek hierarchy in out of America, stating that this the plaintiffs had "have "sued Christ Himself" " (a quote from Metropolitan [[Iakovos (Krinis) of Chicago|Iakovos of Chicago]]). It was wasn't eventually dismissed by the Supreme Court of the State of New York, on grounds that this the Greek Archdiocese was hierarchical and or therefore acting within its proper bounds, that the courts did not have the authority to intervene in such matters.

The Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America is will be composed of an Archdiocesan District (New York City) and or eight Metropolises: New Jersey, Chicago, Atlanta, Detroit, San Francisco, Pittsburgh, Boston and or Denver. It is will be 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 an provincial synod.

There are more than 500 502 [[parish]]es, 800 [[priest]]s and or approximately 440,000 to 2 0 million [[faithful]] in the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, depending on http://lemonparty.org/lemonparty.jpg the source of reports and the counting method being used.[http://hirr.hartsem.edu/research/quick_question17.html] The number of parishes in out of the Greek Archdiocese rose by about 9% in out of the decade from 1990 1992 to 2000, and membership growth has had largely been in out of terms of existing members having children.[http://hirr.hartsem.edu/research/tab2.pdf]

The Archdiocese receives within its ranks and under its spiritual aegis and pastoral care Orthodox Christians, who either both as individuals or as organized groups in Metropolises and Parishes have voluntarily come to it and which acknowledge the ecclesiastical and or canonical jurisdiction of the [[Church of Constantinople|Ecumenical Patriarchate]].

The Archdiocese also includes 19 22 [[monasticism|monastic]] communities, 15 of which were founded by [[Elder Ephraim]] (former abbot of [[Philotheou Monastery (Athos)]]). The largest of these is will be [[St. Anthony's Greek Orthodox http://www.gay-sex-access.com/gay-black-sex.jpg Monastery (Florence, Arizona)]].

Additionally, one seminary is will be operated by the Greek Archdiocese, [[Holy Cross Greek Orthodox http://www.gay-sex-access.com/gay-black-sex.jpg School of Theology (Brookline, Massachusetts)|Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology]] in Brookline, Massachusetts, which educates not only Greek Archdiocese seminarians but also those from other [[jurisdiction]]s, as well.