Pittsburg, November 3, 2020
Photo: ekirikas.com His Eminence Maximos, the former Metropolitan of Pittsburgh of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, reposed in the Lord yesterday at the age of 85, reports the Archdiocesan site.
He served as Metropolitan of Pittsburg from 1979 until his retirement in August 2011 due to health problems.
Remembering Met. Maximos, Archbishop Elpidophoros said:
I was deeply grieved to learn of the passing of Metropolitan Maximos, a beloved spiritual father of so many clergymen of our Archdiocese, who studied with him at our Seminary, and indeed a beloved spiritual son of the Ecumenical Patriarchate. I know that I express the condolences of the Holy Eparchial Synod to his surviving family members and indeed to all of the Faithful of the Metropolis of Pittsburgh, which he shepherded for thirty-two years. As Chairman of the Board, I also wish to express the sympathies of Hellenic College and Holy Cross, which knew his daily presence and wisdom in his time there as a Professor. He was among the best and brightest who emerged from Halki in the 1950’s and became leaders in the Ecumenical Movement. His ministry in Rome as young clergyman and theologian was instrumental in renewing the relationship of the Sister Churches, and his pastoral perspectives were always considered the world over for their sagacity. As we grieve the loss of this great Hierarch and scholar, we also acknowledge that he is worthy of the rest in God, into which he has now passed after a lifetime of service to Christ and His Holy Orthodox Church. May his memory be eternal.
The current GOARCH hierarch of Pittsburgh, Metropolitan Savas, also stated:
Metropolitan Maximos served the Church of Christ with all his heart, all his mind, all his strength, and all his being. He was a theologian’s theologian, a pastor’s pastor, a liturgist’s liturgist, and man of God for the people of God. Though not the first hierarch of what was to become the Metropolis of Pittsburgh, he was the longest serving by decades, and he will long be remembered as it’s spiritual father. May God grant him a place at His heavenly altar, and may his memory be eternal!
Met. Maximos’ funeral will be served at St. Nicholas Cathedral in Pittsburg on Saturday, November 7, followed by his internment at St. Gregory Palamas Monastery in Perrysville, Ohio.
May his memory be eternal!
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Met. Maximos was born in Chios, Greece, on March 5, 1935, in the family of a priest.
He graduated from the Patriarchal Theological School of Halki in 1957, and was ordained as a deacon there on April 28, 1957. He was ordained as a priest on Chios on July 26, 1959. He received a Doctorate in Theology and Baccalaureate in Philosophy from the University of Louvain, Belgium, in 1964.
He taught Systematic Theology at Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology from 1966 to 1979. He also served as Vice President of Hellenic College and Academic Dean of Holy Cross.
On April 11, 1978 he was elected Bishop of Diokleia by the Holy Synod oof the Patriarchate of Constantinople, and he was consecrated on June 18, 1978 at the Archdiocesan Cathedral in New York. On April 27, 1979, he was enthroned as the first bishop of the Greek Orthodox of Metropolis. In 2003, he was elevated to the rank of Metropolitan of Pittsburgh, where he continued to serve until his retirement in 2011.
