The Metropolis

The Greek Orthodox Metropolis of San Francisco oversees 67 parishes in the western region of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, which is under the spiritual guidance and jurisdiction of the Ecumenical Patriarchate. His Eminence Metropolitan Gerasimos leads over 150,000 Greek Orthodox faithful in Alaska, Arizona, California, Hawaii, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington. Under the direction of His Eminence, the Metropolis supports the ministries and work of local parishes and, through the life of the parish, extends its support to both clergy and laity. Today, the Metropolis has developed thirteen distinct Ministries which support the unique needs of its parishes and provides spiritual and educational programs for the preservation and perpetuation of our Orthodox faith and Hellenic culture, as well as social and outreach activities to support local and international communities.

In addition to our parishes, there are also three vibrant monastic communities:

St. Anthony Monastery in Florence, Arizona; the Monastery of the Theotokos the Life Giving Spring in Dunlap, California; and Saint John the Forerunner Monastery in Goldendale, Washington.

History

Since the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of North and South America was established in 1922, the Diocese of San Francisco has been one of its most important components caring for the Greek Orthodox faithful and anchoring growth in the Western United States. Since its inception, Greek Orthodox in the west have been led by distinguished Bishops, all of blessed memory: +Bishop Kallistos (Papageorgapoulos 1927-1940), and +Bishop Eirinaios (Tsourounakis 1941-1944) both bore the title of Bishop of San Francisco. +Bishop Athenagoras (Kokkinakis 1950-1955), +Bishop Demetrios (Makris 1955-1968) and +Bishop Meletios (Tripodakis 1968-1979) were Titular Bishops (of Elaia, Olympus, and Christianoupolis, respectively).

The election of +Bishop Anthony (Gergiannakis, 1979-2004) in 1979 coincided with the canonical restructuring of the Archdiocese. Having served one year in the Diocese of Denver as Titular Bishop of Amissos, he was enthroned on June 7, 1979, as the Bishop of San Francisco. On November 24, 1997, the Holy and Sacred Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate elected +His Grace Bishop Anthony as Metropolitan of the Dardanelles and Exarch of all Hellespont.

In September 2002, the Diocese of San Francisco was declared the Holy Metropolis of San Francisco, and +Metropolitan Anthony, of blessed memory, was named Metropolitan of San Francisco. Following the passing of +Metropolitan Anthony on December 25, 2004, the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople elected His Eminence Gerasimos, formerly Bishop of Krateia, as Metropolitan of San Francisco.