Metropolis of Leros, Kalymnos and Astypalea
The Metropolis of Leros, Kalymnos and Astypalea is one of five metropolises under the jurisdiction of the Church of Constantinople, located in the Dodecanese island group in the eastern Aegean Sea. The metropolis consists of the islands of Leros, Kalymnos and Astypalea and a number of smaller inhabited islands.
History
Orthodox Christianity among the islands of the Dodecanese is traced back to the time that the Apostle Paul visited Rhodes. Orthodox Christianity maintained a continuous presence during the centuries as the islands of the metropolis endured occupation by many invaders including Arab, Turkish, and various Latin forces. In 1912, the islands of the Dodecanese, including Leros, Kalymnos and Astypalea, came into possession of Italy, which pursued a policy of de-Hellenization and conversion of the population to the Roman Catholic Church. Following the end of World War II, the islands became part of Greece in 1947, and the Orthodox churches came under the jurisdiction of the Church of Constantinople. Under the Ecumenical patriarchate, the faithful of the islands of the Dodecanese was formed into five metropolises of which the Metropolis of Leros, Kalymnos and Astypalea is one.
Metropolitans
- Paisios (Aravantinos) 2005 - Present
- Nektarios (Hadjimichalis) 1980 - 2005