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Description
Description:
The Antiochian Archdiocese of Europe is one of the eparchies in the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch and all the East. It is an integral part of the patriarchate of Antioch, the historical city in which "the disciples were first called Christians" (Acts 11: 26). The present patriarch of the Antiochian apostolic see is his Beatitude Ignatius IV (Hazim).
The Antiochian Archdiocese of Europe (based in Paris) is the most recent eparchy of the Antiochian See. It was established in the last quarter of the year 2000 by a decision of the Holy Antiochian Synod that transformed the Vicariate of western and central Europe, founded in 1980, into an Archdiocese (Eparchy).
In 2000, Bishop Gabriel Saliby, the first Vicar Bishop, was elected by the Holy Antiochian Synod to be the first Metropolitan of the Antiochian Archdiocese of West and Central Europe.
In 2008, the Holy Antiochian Synod elected His Eminence Metropolitan John (Yazigi) to be the successor of Metropolitan Gabriel of blessed memory. The enthronement of His Eminence John took place in Paris on the 20th of September 2008 with the blessing and the presence of His Beatitude Ignatius IV.
Considering the need to extend the pastoral care to further parts of Europe, such as the Scandinavian countries, the Holy Synod, held in August 2010, decided to modify the name of the eparchy to become "The Antiochian Orthodox Archdiocese of Europe".
The most important characteristic of the Archdiocese is its vast geographical extent in all the countries of Europe. This vast extent leads to a huge diversity of cultural backgrounds. Thus, the Archdiocese provides pastoral care to spiritual sons in France, Germany, UK, Switzerland, Austria, Ireland and Sweden. The Archdiocese also works hard to establish new parishes for the faithful spread in other countries.
The Archdiocese now has 44 parishes served by 41 priests.